The Good Samaritan

I just love it when good things happen to good people! With so many negative things happening in the world, we tend to fixate on the drama and create more unfavorable things in our lives. This pessimistic aura weaved in our society has been magnified with social media, so much so, I have to purge myself from it. So when an uplifting story comes along I try to grab ahold of it and savor its’ positivity.

Just this past week, Tommy Henry, was named the 2016 Gatorade Michigan Baseball Player of the Year. This Portage Northern student-athlete is not only a good (soon to be great) pitcher, but is a great person. How do I know this? I had the pleasure of not only coaching him in basketball in middle school, but I was able to observe him throughout his middle school years with his peers and how he conducted himself in and out of school. I can easily say, not once did he ever show an inkling of juvenile maturity. He always displayed maturity beyond his years, yet remained humble and steadfast on his goals.

In the world of sports the media publicizes and glamorizes the professional or student-athlete scandal stories. The allure of the troubled player is more intriguing than the humanitarian athlete and will garner more hits and posts on their websites. Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Well, I want to change the common plot of the student-athlete and start to honor and appreciate them for more than their athletic accomplishments, but for their academic and altruistic exploits.

So thank you, Tommy Henry! Thank you for not only being a good (soon to be great) baseball player, but for being a great young man. You are a prime example of being more than your accolades. Keep up the good work!

 

NFL Hypocrisy Draft

As I watched the 2016 NFL Draft and waited (like everyone else in the world watching it) to see what team was going to select LaremyTunsil, I couldn’t help but think what a hypocrisy the world of sports really is. My beliefs have nothing to do with how I feel about smoking weed or players taking money from coaches and alumni while in college. It has everything to do with the emphasis society and the powers that be (NCAA administrators, coaches, media analysts, professional sports administrators, etc...) put on the character of young people, yet give passes to the transgressions of grown adults that were hired to mold the character of the players we criticize.  

As Tunsil fell from a projected #1 pick to the #13 overall first round pick, so did his salary. By no means am I saying this young man should have known better, but I know I did at a younger age than he was in that video and yet I did some very remorseful things. I knew better, but I underage drank! I smoke weed as a minor! I smoke a cigarette! All these things I knew I wasn’t supposed to do, but I did them anyway. Why? I was trying to be cool and thought that trying these things would make me look like I was. Was it fun? Not really, but at the moment I thought they were. Fast forward to today and I can honestly say, “Thank You, Lord!” that I made it through that period of my life unscathed and with all my faculties.

While I got to live my youthful years free from social media, todays’ youth don’t have that luxury. They have to walk the fine line and pretend to be perfect when no one else is. They have to say and do the right thing or be subject to criticism from adults like myself that lived their teen and college years free from the social microscope; as they collect their enormous salaries for administrating, coaching, or commentating a kids’ sport and give passes to their fellow colleagues that are doing way more juvenile and treacherous acts than smoking weed, yet are supposed to be (or should I say “should be”) held to a higher standard than the young, immature athlete.

Unfortunately, no one amongst those elite circles will speak out for Tunsil or anyone like him, which are all the high school and college athletes in the world, because they don’t want that money to stop coming in. They would rather say that Tunsil has character issues, because he smoked weed, yet at the same time take a picture with former POTUS Bill Clinton. That’s right, I forgot. He didn’t inhale nor did he have sexual relations with that woman.

The Clinton Rules

In 1998, POTUS Bill Clinton was in the hot seat for allegedly having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, which he adamantly stated “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!” Ok Bill, whatever you say! It was the scandal of the century and it garnered much attention, mainly because it dealt with the POTUS and of the course the Republicans were not going to let it die for their own political gain. Unfortunately, the mindset of all the Clinton supporters felt the matter was a personal matter and not one that effected his role or performance as POTUS. The moral compass was set from that point on.

Now, speed up to present day. Over and over again, more college coaches are being outed for their transgressions and not being held accountable for their actions, while the players are being held to the fullest extent of the campus, NCAA, state and federal laws for their immature actions. Rick Petino, Bobby Petrino, and now Bo Ryan were all involved in extramarital affairs with mistresses.

Coach Petino is back in the mix with allegations of using prostitutes and strippers to help recruit players. One coach was fired and the university self-imposed a penalty of not competing in any post season tournaments, but Petino still has his job. How is that? Bobby Petrino was fired at the University of Arkansas after he was involved in a motorcycle accident with his mistress and tried to cover up all the details from his superiors. He landed another Division I coaching job a year later at Western Kentucky. A year after that, he took a higher Division I head coaching job at the University of Louisville. I guess the administration and fans careless about promiscuous and adulterous coaches heading their athletic programs. Again, how did this happen?

And now Bo Ryan is the new poster boy for Cheating College Coaches! I would say allegedly that it’s true, but he admitted to his affair as well as all the evidence to prove it. Still, I don’t know what’s more disturbing and appalling. A highly respected, senior coach having an affair with a cheerleader (allegedly his mistress was a former cheerleader) or him having the audacity to retire midseason to make sure the Wisconsin administration hired his trusted assistant coach, Greg Gard, for the head coaching position and them allowing him to do it. I’m a betting man, so my money is on the fact that Gard knew about this affair as well. Although, Gard had no control over Ryan’s actions, typically ones integrity and reputation tends to be tarnished due to association. Gary Alvarez, Wisconsin’s AD, thought otherwise and gave Gard a five year deal at almost $2 million a year. Again, what is the message being sent?

The message I’m hearing is that some coaches are untouchable, mainly senior and middle age white ones. I know some people don’t want to admit it, but the facts are the facts. The media helps separate their indiscretions from their leadership position by talking about the coaches winning traditions and accolades, instead of focusing on their current immoral act and the negative impact it will have on others and the universities they represent. The universities help perpetuate the problem by sweeping things under the rug, administering minimal punishments, or discrediting the story itself. In the end the immature, youthful players are held to higher standards than the silver fox headed, (allegedly) wise coaches and moral corruption wins again.