So now what am I supposed to do with my New Era Reds cap and its bowl of chili/bucket of dog food logo?
I’m sticking to stick to sports, as I said I would a few months ago. I got tired of banging my head and my opinions against the wall. Folks gonna believe what they’re gonna believe. All I got was a headache.
That doesn’t mean we’ll ignore Real World when it intrudes on sports, as it does quite often in these mean and angry times. The one-year anniversary of a police officer murdering George Floyd is upon us. And all over the country, college athletics people, coaches mainly, have to make a choice: Lead, follow or become irrelevant to the young people you’re paid to coach.
The days of ignoring racial issues in quasi-am sports are done. There is no way in 2021 that a coach or administrator can do anything except support the sentiments of the players who make them millions. USA TODAY:
“It’s impossible for a coach or administrator to stand up in front of a group of athletes and tell them to set aside their views or concerns to appease donors because those players would simply walk out the door.’’
This might be distasteful to the Stick to Sports crowd. But it’s as real as million-dollar donations. Players all over have made it clear they’re going to speak up. And the people in charge better listen.
Coaches now not only can’t stay mum. Mum implies apathy on a subject that’s front and center among players, especially players of color. Coaches now need to be prepared to speak clearly and smartly about the need for change.
There is still resistance to that, according to the USA TODAY story:
“You have to understand that many football programs have a lot of local police support,” said one person involved in those public messaging conversations, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they were intended to be private. “They have bodyguards; they have stadium people. …These are such sensitive, polarizing issues. I think people were looking at it like it’s better to be judicious and make sure it’s fact-based.”
Judicious? Fact based? What’s more fact-based than a knee on a defenseless man’s neck? Let’s go to the videotape.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has gotten religion on the subject. “Nobody is ever going to fully agree on certain things,” Swinney said to USA TODAY. “But, hopefully, people can respect our young men and what they believe in.’’
I’ve argued in This Space recently that what has happened within the UC men’s basketball program indicated the power balance had swung too far in the players direction. Players who didn’t like John Brannen or his methods helped to get him fired. There’s something wrong with that.
But this isn’t that. Black athletes asking to have their feelings respected and their concerns given authoritative voice are not attempting the palace coup. They just want to be heard.
It’s about time.
I mean, what if you were a Black football player at Ole Miss or Mississippi State, and you had to see Confederate flags flying at home games? How could you play for a coach who supported publicly a far-right news organization that denounced Black Lives Matter?
Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy did that. He had to apologize for it.
You can’t have it both ways anymore, coaches. Respect in, respect out.
USA TODAY:
“Predominantly white coaches, predominantly white ADs, predominantly white college presidents, predominantly white boards of regents … their voices are becoming less powerful than the guys on the field,” said the person who was involved in the messaging conversations last May. “When it became so important to them, it had to be important to the coaches.”
We’re in a time when no one wants to be told what to do, certainly not by “the guvmint.’’ When everyone has “rights’’ and uses them as a defense against everything, from attacking the capitol to refusing a COVID-19 vaccination. Well, Black athletes have a right to express themselves on an issue as central to who they are – to who all of us are – as the George Floyd murder.
Coaches and administrators need to listen. And be respectful in their responses.
Now, then. . .
WELL, I NEVER. . . I’m never less than amazed that I keep discovering new, cool places around here. In 33 years here, I’d never heard of the Cabana on the River, near what I think is Sayler Park. It’s possible Cabana hasn’t been around that long, but you get the point.
I met a long-lost bud there Tuesday night, and a new acquaintance he brought with him. My first words after 36 years? “What is this place, and how did you find it?’’
It’s exactly 32 miles and 41 minutes from my house, down the river road. It makes perfect use of its spot on a hill above the Ohio. The beer was icy, the sunset spectacular. I’ll be back.
So. . . have you lived here a long time, only to happen upon a fabulous spot you never knew existed? I’ve had two in the past month: Cabana on the River and Grant’s boyhood home in Bethel. In the past year, I’ve discovered the Swampwater Grill’s seafood boils and the incredible bourbon at the boutique distillery near Frankfort, Glenns Creek, and the interesting 18-hole layout called Hickory Sticks.
I’ve said it a few times: The Tri-State area is loaded with cool things to do and daytrips to take. I could write a book.
IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, but props to Saint Joe. He was on the field Tuesday, almost exactly six months after he blew out his knee. We thought Carson Palmer’s return was rapid. Sure, the science is better than it was in January ’06, but it needs diligence by its patient for it to work fully. There is seemingly no reason Burrow won’t be back fully healed by Opening Day. Remarkable.
PERFECT USE OF TEJAY ANTONE last night. He’s arguably the Reds best pitcher now, certainly their most consistent. Drop him into the most critical situation in a tight game, lift him when he shows the slightest slippage.
As for Suarez leading off. . . the hope is he’ll see more fastballs, at least his first time up. Can that help him be more selective? Employ a little bat control?
After 45 games, Suarez has 10 homers and 24 BI. That projects to 36 and 86, roughly. That’s damned good. He’s also K’d 65 times, which projects to a MLB-record 231, eight more than Mark Reynolds and nine more than Adam Dunn. That’s a lot of air.
And he’s batting .150 with an on-base of .220.
If you’d take the power and suffer the rest, you have no problem with how the Reds have played offense since about 2000. With a few exceptions, Homers Or Bust has been the norm. It hasn’t led to world domination.
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Not a big Aerosmith guy, but they do a nice job with this old blues standard.
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