Have you heard about this one? I hadn't either until a few minutes ago; obviously, I'm not a big "sports fan" or anything, so it had to be a pretty big story for me to pick up on it, and I guess it was. But I'm not covering it for any other reason than to defend the guy:
Some college coach for some university in Oklahoma (like my fact-checking?) took issue with a newspaper article which a local journalist had written, insulting one of his players for his performance (or lack thereof) on the field. The reporter criticized the player's attitude and apparently really laid into the guy; obviously, we here to The Rundown haven't read the article - like that fact-checking? So at a press conference the other day, after the team had won their game, the coach laid into her. And the newspaper... the editor, the city, and the media in general.
And he made some damned good points.
For one thing, he noted that the player in question was a good guy - a good student, a good citizen, and all-round decent human being - and said he had no problem with them taking exception to one of his "kids" when that guy had done something wrong, but it was quite another thing to slam a good guy just for his playing ability. Like the coach said, that's for him and the team to decide, isn't it? Yes, sir.
Further, he noted that these guys are not professional athletes and do not deserve to be held to the same level of scrutiny. Now, I agreed with this, but Headline News had another sports journalist on there who reminded us that these "kids" are really more like semi-pro athletes, as they are receiving thousands of dollars a year in tuition and other school-related expenses, as well as the fact that the schools themselves spend millions of dollars a year recruiting these players in hopes of winning games (which, in turn, will boost attendance and thus the school's coffers). All good points, too.
But my beef here is with the media, who is condemning this coach for his "tirade," calling it "unbelievable" and "outrageous" and all other sorts of pejoratives:
What's so outrageous or unbelievable about getting upset over what you perceive to be a wrong?
These smug, bottom-feeding haircuts are quite literally saying, "Twist a pig's ear, watch it squeal."
Now the journalist in question has written a front-page response to the coach, standing by her initial column. That's fine, too. This coach used the press and media to vent his frustration and outrage over what he saw as a mealy-mouthed reporter who doesn't really know shit from... that other stuff about what she was saying. She then used her press to respond.
But here's the difference: the team won their game!
So really, what is this journalist's grudge against the guy she wrote about?
Some college coach for some university in Oklahoma (like my fact-checking?) took issue with a newspaper article which a local journalist had written, insulting one of his players for his performance (or lack thereof) on the field. The reporter criticized the player's attitude and apparently really laid into the guy; obviously, we here to The Rundown haven't read the article - like that fact-checking? So at a press conference the other day, after the team had won their game, the coach laid into her. And the newspaper... the editor, the city, and the media in general.
And he made some damned good points.
For one thing, he noted that the player in question was a good guy - a good student, a good citizen, and all-round decent human being - and said he had no problem with them taking exception to one of his "kids" when that guy had done something wrong, but it was quite another thing to slam a good guy just for his playing ability. Like the coach said, that's for him and the team to decide, isn't it? Yes, sir.
Further, he noted that these guys are not professional athletes and do not deserve to be held to the same level of scrutiny. Now, I agreed with this, but Headline News had another sports journalist on there who reminded us that these "kids" are really more like semi-pro athletes, as they are receiving thousands of dollars a year in tuition and other school-related expenses, as well as the fact that the schools themselves spend millions of dollars a year recruiting these players in hopes of winning games (which, in turn, will boost attendance and thus the school's coffers). All good points, too.
But my beef here is with the media, who is condemning this coach for his "tirade," calling it "unbelievable" and "outrageous" and all other sorts of pejoratives:
What's so outrageous or unbelievable about getting upset over what you perceive to be a wrong?
These smug, bottom-feeding haircuts are quite literally saying, "Twist a pig's ear, watch it squeal."
Now the journalist in question has written a front-page response to the coach, standing by her initial column. That's fine, too. This coach used the press and media to vent his frustration and outrage over what he saw as a mealy-mouthed reporter who doesn't really know shit from... that other stuff about what she was saying. She then used her press to respond.
But here's the difference: the team won their game!
So really, what is this journalist's grudge against the guy she wrote about?
No comments:
Post a Comment