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I firmly believe that nearly everyone who produces anything creative in nature, draws (or has drawn) upon some source of real life inspiration, usually a person with success in a similar area of creativity. We witness such inspiration often in music and literature. Athletes, often, discuss former players whose styles inspired their drive to be a professional. Indeed, practicing any skill that brings enjoyment to the craftsman is often accompanied by a senior practitioner.
In bringing you the Hat Trick for most of the last year, I, too, had some sources of inspiration for the Pulitzer-worthy writing you get to consume five days per week. The two most significant inspirations for me were Josh Innes, a radio talk show host in Houston and a close, personal friend of mine, and Jim Rome, possibly the Godfather of sports talk radio.
Today’s edition is inspired by something Rome says frequently on his show. Whenever an athlete posts something to his Twitter page that causes controversy (and often a sense of regret in the athlete Tweeting) Rome says that,
“Twitter is like a gun, a loaded gun without a safety.” Lately, athletes have been firing into the air, irresponsibly and with reckless abandon.
TWEET!
Today is about Twitter. In the Old West, outlaws and law abiding citizens, alike, toted shooting irons. The images we see in movies depict a time when men would leave their homes without a hat and a gun as soon as men today would leave without their wallets. Most only used their weapons in self defense. Some fired first and regretted the decision later. A few were simply trigger happy and did not care what the consequences were. I think that athletes today have fallen into an Old West mentality on Twitter and it is time to leave the guns at home.
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| Twitter and the Old West: "Go ahead! Make my day! (tweet)" 2 |
On Tuesday, the Hat Trick ran a piece about other athletes who have exercised their rights to free speech but would regret it. Many of you are aware of Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall’s Tweet regarding Osama bin Laden. If you read The Daily Hat Trick regularly, you’ve read several accounts of
my take on Mendenhall’s remarks. You may be tired of hearing it.
Here are a few examples of athletes firing their Twitter guns only to have it backfire at them:
Rashard Mendenhall:
What was said: “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…” … “I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”
What I think was meant: Two things: 1) I think he was uncomfortable with the outpouring of joy in response to news of a death. Hey, I whooped and hollered like anyone else and even I felt a little cognitive dissonance from rejoicing in response to a news of a death. It just so happens that THIS death unequivocally equaled “justice”, which is from where my source (and I believe many sources) of euphoria came. 2) I think he was trying to stir conversation. If you look at his Twitter history, it is consistent with that theme.
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| Mendenhall? 8 |
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? Not only “no”, but “hell no”. Everyone has a right to say or think what they want. But when those thoughts are put in a public forum, they are subject to the free speech and thoughts of others in REACTION to those thoughts. Even if you disagree, you’d have to be an ostrich with his head in the ground to not see that the masses were elated because the man that the masses held responsible for killing 3,000 Americans, and forever altering our lives forever, met his end. You HAVE to expect backlash from those types of remarks at that time.
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| You believe your eyes, don't you Mr. Mendenhall? 3 |
Reggie Bush:
What was said: "Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I'm making the most of it! Vacation, rest, relaxing, appearances here and there! I'm good!" he wrote. "Right about now we would be slaving in 100 degree heat, practicing twice a day, while putting our bodies at risk for nothing."…"FYI last tweet was a joke! Relax people damn it's called sense of humor! Cry me a river why don't you..."
What I think was meant: I think he was trying to make a tongue-in-cheek, humorous remark in light of the lockout. Frankly, I got the “joke” on the first go round and I think this is evidence that people take Tweets WAY too seriously.
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? NO! Just because I don’t have a problem with what Bush said doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t anticipate a problem from making remarks, essentially, about getting over on my employer. He’ll either be released, traded, or paid, like every other NFL player under contract, without having to do the work that most players do right now. Some people are incapable of seeing the humor in that and since Bush is more of a “mainstream” celebrity athlete (as opposed to a “lightning rod” type like Terrell Owens), not all press is good press.
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| Okay, this picture is a little dated, but if you were Reggie, would you rather be "relaxing" like in the photo, or ramming yourself and being brought to the ground by big, stong, men when it won't help your career, long term? 4 |
Hockey Agent Todd Reynolds:
What was said: "Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender 'marriage.' Legal or not, it will always be wrong,"… "To clarify. This is not hatred or bigotry towards gays. It is not intolerance in any way shape or form. I believe we are all equal."
What I think was meant: “WTF is wrong with Sean Avery? F___ them F(pejorative)S! God created Adam and EVE, not Adam and STEVE!”
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
First of all, for those of you not familiar with the National Hockey League, Sean Avery is the most infamous goon of his time. This is the same man who referred to ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert as “sloppy seconds”. That Avery is taking a controversial, not necessarily popular, moral high ground on behalf of a demographic – gay people – that he is not a part of, is absolutely shocking to me.
That said, even if I held every homophobic view under the sun, I should have the sense to know that the world will perceive remarks, like those of Mr. Reynolds, to be bigoted and no normal person expecting to do business with and sell (in part) his reputation to others wants to be associated with bigotry in
any way. Reynolds was
very foolish in posting those comments.
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| Reynolds? 5 |
Tennessee Titans Running Back Chris Johnson:
What was said: "Y did the police just walk into my condo saying they think it's drug activity because it's alot of traffic but it was the MTV camera crew."… "Hard being young, black, and rich."
What I think was meant: The Orlando Police Department dispatched officers to and searched Chris Johnson’s home because a neighbor saw a number of high-end vehicles entering the area and reported possible drug activity. I think Chris Johnson was PISSED that he was minding his own business in his home, doing nothing wrong, and some nosy, pot-stirring neighbor called the police, assuming the worst, with absolutely no reasonable cause to think so. I think he was angry and, let’s face facts, Chris Johnson is young, black, has gold teeth, dreds, and does have an unusual amount of money for a guy fitting his profile. I’m going to scrap political correctness and just say it: if Johnson is a clean-cut, middle-aged white guy, nobody calls anybody.
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? No. The cops came, quickly realized there was nothing inappropriate happening, apologized, and left. No harm…no foul. I would have been PISSED, too and may have echoed Johnson’s sentiments to the other people in the room, friends, and family, but race is the ultimate lightning rod in America. Unless I was treated like a King (Rodney King, Martin Luther King, etc.) I don’t think I would have made a public statement involving race. I would not have done as Johnson did, but I UNDERSTAND.
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| I would probably agree with the decision to Tweet if THIS happened to Chris Johnson. 6 |
LeBron James:
What was said: “Crazy. Karma is a b****. Gets you every time. It’s not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!” – LeBron James’ Twitter after the L.A. Lakers’ 112-57 demolition of James’ former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
What I think was meant: “In your face Cleveland!”
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? No. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sank to a low level, last summer, in his inflammatory and angry response to LeBron James' decision to take his talents to South Beach. I understand why James would want to return fire. Still, the Cavs became a competitively worthless franchise after James’ departure. LeBron’s Tweet could be perceived as laughing at or kicking others while they are down. Again, I may have made similar remarks in private, with glee. But that type of remark, for a public-brand sensitive individual like James, was not the best for his image.
Maurice Jones-Drew:
What was said: “All I’m saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee ... I played the whole season on one.” - In reaction to Jay Cutler leaving the 2010 NFC Championship game in the 3rd quarter and standing on the sideline during the second half.
What I think was meant: "Jay Cutler was a punk."
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? No. Questioning another NFL player’s toughness, as I understand, is tantamount to a verbal declaration of war from another player. I pick my battles and that one seems unnecessary. It also comes across as ignorant, in my view, to question how hurt another player is without knowing all of the facts. It turned out that Cutler had a ligament tear in his knee.
Carmelo Anthony:
What was said: “I got 5k for whoever see @ihatekatstacks and slap the shit out her pigeon face ass. Real talk. U fucked with the right one now."
What I think was meant: This needs to be put in context. Kat Stacks is a small time Internet sensation who is famous for sleeping with (mostly) underground or emerging rappers then blabbing about it on the web. Allegedly, she claimed to have slept with (the married) Anthony. Understandably, Anthony was furious and that fury is reflected in his words.
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? Offer a bounty for battering a woman (no matter how despicable)? Um…NO.
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| Kat Stacks (left) and Carmelo Anthony's wfie, Lala Vasquez (right). If Melo did tap that behind his wife's back, HE MESSED UP! 7 |
Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams:
What was said: "No comment ... and make sure you write that it is a no comment with a head shake from side to side," Williams said.
What I think was meant: This isn’t even a Tweet. This was Williams response to the news that outspoken, colorful, and sometimes controversial White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen activated a Twitter account. What I think was meant was, “Oh no! Ozzie has a Twitter page. God help us all!”
Would you ever find the same remarks in The Daily Hat Trick if I were in their positions? I think Williams made the
only comment he could have made. Fortunately, to date, there have been some media-friendly Tweets, but no melt downs from Ozzie on Twitter…YET. He embarrasses his superiors in front of the camera: the old fashioned way!
What We've Learned Today
Note that in every instance of whether I would post the same remarks to Twitter as the athletes in question, the answer is always, “No.” We live in a much smaller world, thanks in large part to the Internet. When people are looking at us to see what we have to say, as is the case with anyone famous, anything that we do say WILL be interpreted. Unless it is your goal, make sure there is no room for MISunderstanding and make sure the message you send is the one you want received.
Don’t forget to vote in the fan polls!
To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.
1) Image from nexus404.com
2) Image from theresasheridan.com
3) Image from 911closeup.com
4) Image from celeb.wohoo.co.uk
5) Image from freewebs.com
6) Image from employees.oneonta.edu
7) Image of Stacks from honeymag.com; image of Vasquez from Sports Illustrated via theprobasketballtalk.com
8) Image from ostrichheadinsand.com
What a horrible irony that Penn State’s alma mater includes the words, “May no act of ours bring shame.” For more than 15 years, coaching assistant Jerry Sandusky disgraced the school by sexually abusing boys placed in his care. The resulting embarrassment enveloped once-beloved head coach Joe Paterno, the Penn State football program, the NCAA, and every fan of college football in America. “JoePa” did not live to see his statue removed from its place near Beaver Stadium and forklifted into storage, or his record vacated of more than 100 wins, knocking him from atop the list of winningest college football coaches ever. For the NCAA, having such a man in the record books was clearly too humiliating.
Whether college athletes should be paid for their services is a debate worth having. Nevertheless, as the rule stands (and as it stood in the early 2000s), accepting nearly $290,000 in cash and gifts is $290,000 more than players are allowed to accept. USC star running back Reggie Bush was certainly not the first to take people’s offers of limo rides and free housing, but he was the first to go on to win the Heisman Trophy. In a huge black eye for USC and the Heisman Trust, Bush opted to relinquish the award before it was snatched out of his soiled hands, the first time the award has been returned.
In the wake of Penn State’s devastating NCAA punishment, many are reminded of another name in the annals of college sports embarrassments: Southern Methodist University. Although Penn State will retain a crippled football program, SMU’s entire 1987 and 1988 seasons were canceled when it was discovered players had been paid thousands of dollars out of a slush fund with the full knowledge of people like former Texas governor and chairman of SMU’s board of governors Bill Clements and AD Bob Hitch. Ironically, Penn State was among the schools who raided SMU’s football roster for players. As a result of the death penalty, SMU’s program took two decades to recover, Clements’ political career was killed, and the Southwest Conference had one of the final nails put in its coffin.
Players accepting money for playing their best is one thing; players taking money for making errors and helping bookies beat the spread is a whole other can of worms. In 1951, a cloud was cast over NCAA basketball when a point-shaving scandal involving seven schools and 32 players came to light. What began with the arrest of three of the stars of City College New York’s NIT-winning 1950 team for conspiring with gangsters to fix games soon spread to NYU, Long Island University, the University of Kentucky, and elsewhere. The scandal remains one of the worst black eyes in college basketball history.
Jim “The Sweater Vest” Tressel was so ensconced as head football coach at Ohio State that when asked if Tressel was going to be fired, OSU president Gordon Gee responded, “No, are you kidding? I’m just hoping the coach doesn’t dismiss me.” Clearly Tressel’s 106-22 record with OSU had brought him significant power, power enough that, when informed his players were selling memorabilia to a known drug dealer in exchange for tattoos, he sat on the knowledge for eight months in 2011. Then he lied to investigators about how long he knew the truth. A red-faced OSU tried to keep Tressel’s chastening to a five-game suspension and $250,000 fine, but ultimately bowed to public pressure and asked for his resignation.
The thought process while watching the clip of this embarrassing moment in college basketball history goes something like this: ‘OK, that was a pretty hard foul. Oh, nice, that player is going to help him up OH, NOT THE GROIN!’ Angered at an impending loss to their Big Ten rivals, Minnesota initiated a street fight by punching and kneeing Ohio State player Luke Witte and then stomping his head while he was on the floor. The crowd even booed him as he was helped off the court on his way to the hospital. The governor of Ohio called it a “public mugging.” Two Minnesota players were suspended for the season, and dunking before games — showboating that the NCAA believed attributed to the hostile environment — was banned.
To call this Miami football’s all-time low is saying a lot, considering their history. But on the night of Oct. 14, 2006, the country watched in disgust as Hurricane players goaded Florida International’s Golden Panthers into a fight with taunting and showing off. FIU took the bait. A Golden Panther tackled a holder and punched him, and all hell broke loose. Miami players took their helmets off and used them as weapons. An injured FIU player swung a crutch at some Hurricanes. A ‘Cane body-slammed a Panther. Players were stomped and kicked in the head. State troopers had to help separate the teams. More than 30 players were later suspended. Even a TV commentator, former Hurricane Lamar Thomas, was fired for the embarrassing in-game comments, “You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked.”
Minnesota basketball managed to go almost 30 years after the 1972 brawl before falling on their faces in front of the country all over again. On the morning of the team’s first-round game in the 1999 NCAA tournament, news broke of a former academic advisor claiming to have written 400 papers for Gopher basketball players over a period of five years, with head coach Clem Haskins’ total knowledge. Haskins later admitted paying the woman to do so and was subsequently fired and banned from coaching college basketball until 2007. Some supporters wished he would have fought harder to clear his name, but he correctly decided that would have only dragged the school’s name further through the mud than it had already traveled.
When Nevin Shapiro was imprisoned in 2010 for participating in a nearly $1 billion Ponzi scheme, more than a few people in the college sports world must have started to worry. Such worry is warranted. Eight players on the Miami Hurricanes football team have already been suspended for accepting gifts from this persona non grata, but according to Shapiro, dozens more players are involved. He says from 2002 to 2010 he hooked up at least 72 college players with money, prostitutes, yacht and limo rides, tackle bounties (which are currently roiling the NFL), jewelry, and travel. Shapiro is peeved at his predicament and has vowed he will take Miami football down with him.
Three, six, and 15. These are the numbers of Rick Pitino’s most notable achievements: three schools led to the Final Four, six NCAA Tournament regional championships, and 15 seconds of sex with extortionist Karen Cunagin Sypher. In one of Louisville basketball’s most embarrassing moments, and certainly the most embarrassing moment of Pitino’s storied career, the coach had an extremely brief sexual encounter with the wife of his equipment manager in a restaurant booth in 2003. The woman then tried to milk Pitino for $10 million. Pitino called the cops on her but in so doing opened himself up to some humiliating courtroom interrogation and accusations of rape by Sypher. Ultimately he was vindicated, but not until adding another sad chapter to the college sports history books.
