It’s Risky Business Taking Sides in Sports Controversies

Storyline: For me, as a fan, sports are a lot like LAY’s Potato Chips. I can’t lay off the Lay’s! I know I should. I know I overdo it. I keep eating. And I keep regretting. 

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A reader, Ben, chastised me recently for lauding Roger Goodell’s leadership in trying to resolve the Tom Brady matter. He wrote: “Roger Goodell lied to you and everyone else in a way to manipulate Tom Brady’s testimony and now his deceit has been brought to light.” Ben recommended that I not only retract my article, but that I consider co-authoring a book on “leadership” (pun fully intended) with Roger Goodell.

Courtesy: CBS Sports

I think Ben is spot on—at least in one way: there’s evidence that the NFL mishandled investigating the Brady case, including withholding evidence intentionally. If true, it’s another example of the NFL gone awry. But, at the very same time, there’s also evidence to suggest that the Pats—and Brady—were implicated in pushing the boundaries to gain competitive advantage.

I’ll stand by at least one thing I wrote last week: Goodell did something we see rarely in big-time sports: he refused to capitulate to Pats’ owner and NFL powerbroker, Robert Craft.

But was that issue worth lauding Goodell? Probably not. Why?

The NFL, as institution, is patently self-serving and bloated. Money and winning trump all, which is exactly opposite of what we teach our kids and try to follow in our own lives. It’s risky, then, picking one party over the other—Brady/the Pats or Goodell/NFL—in what’s really a mess. It’s risky to comment about what’s good, right, and proper in a system that seems wrong-headed in so many ways.

Thanks, Ben, for reminding me of that, albeit in an indirect, unintentional way.

My problem is that I’m addicted to sports. I’m also a person who writes social commentary. What I try to do–sometimes much better than at other times–is connect the two. That includes trying to accentuate the positive in sports–not about what’s happening on the field (that’s not the purpose of my sports commentary)–but the positive that happens off it.

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I think it would be much easier to write sports commentary if I weren’t so hooked on sports. I have the Lay’s Potato Chip Problem.

There was a commercial on TV years ago about Lay’s. “You can’t eat just one!” the commercial blared. And it was right, too: Food scientists made sure of that. They researched what addicts us to chips and, then, created The Potato Chip from Hell. They’re not any old chip, Lay’s “Classic” chips: they have just the right taste; just the right amount of salt; just the right crunch; and–the worst and best part of all–just the right feel in the mouth. I eat one, then another, and then the whole bag goes, “Poof!”

I can’t lay off Lay’s! I know I should. I know they’re not healthy for you. I know I overdo it. I keep buying. I keep eating. I keep regretting. For me, at least, American sports are a lot like Lay’s Potato Chips.

Courtesy: USA Today

I keep coming back even when I know better. I see issues and problems, but then I say “Well…” and then go on to provide some excuse for why it’s ok when I know it isn’t. So a guy like Alex Rodriguez cheats and lies and, then, I watch him play because he’s having a helluva year. Or, to assuage my guilt, I’ll write about a guy like Rodriguez—calling him out—and then watch him the next time the Yanks are on TV.

Or I’ll get on Facebook, which I did recently, to comment about the strange circumstances associated with the way Dave Dombrowski was let go (aka, fired) by the Detroit Tigers, my favorite MLB team. I read the press announcement issued by Mr. Illich, the team owner. (Understated.) I watched the press conference where Al Avila was announced as Dombrowski’s successor. (No ownership attended.) The only good thing about the firing scenario was the way Dombrowski handled it—with class. I was aghast that his successor, Al Avila, couldn’t seem to utter a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the guy who hired him, mentored him, and for whom he worked for nearly 25 years.

All of this really bothered me. But, come game time, I was right back in front of the TV watching the Tigers play.

Courtesy: Getty Images

My relationship with American sports is a lot like the way I feel about Donald Trump. I know Trump’s not worth all the time I give him. He’s a bloviating narcissist, who reminds me of crusty, foul-mouthed Jack down at the local bar. Everybody in town knows you can’t cross Jack. If you do, he’ll eviscerate you in public. I stay away from Jack. From Trump? Not a chance. I watch him. Read about him. And, yes, the only reason I tuned into the Republican Debate the other night was to see The Donald in action.

Yeah, I get mad about things in sports. Yeah, I speak out about them. Yeah, I write commentaries. Then I go right back for more sports. And, guess what? I get more pissed off. And the cycle begins anew. It makes it profoundly difficult to align my attitudes about sports with my behaviors about the games and teams.

Here’s a classic example of what I mean. I HATE what revenue college sports have become–unbecoming an institution that carries the title, “higher education.” And one of the things I hate the most about big-time sports is the focus on money–how money begets money, and how more money begets more money. College athletics needs more and more money because (we’re told) “We won’t be competitive otherwise.” All that does is fuel an arms race in college sports.

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So my football season ticket application came in the mail a few weeks ago. The seat license fee for my tickets (the right to buy tickets) was more than the cost of the actual tickets. That’s right: the right to buy the property cost more than the property itself. The total cost is double what I’d have to pay if I were to pay for tickets only.

For philosophic reasons I thought about dropping the season’s tickets we’ve had tickets continuously for nearly 40 years; otherwise I’d be supporting something I find distasteful. But I couldn’t stop Cold Turkey when it came time to make a decision. I changed my seat to another part of the stadium with a significantly lower seat license fee.

If you go to my Twitter, @fearonsports, you’ll see more of the many things I’m really pissed about in sports. Like …

… Gov. Walker (Wisc.) cutting the hell out of the state university budget, but then setting aside a quarter-of-billion dollars in public funds to help build a new NBA arena in Milwaukee.

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… The Pigula’s—who’ve made hundreds of millions in fracking, a business I find morally reprehensible and that’s illegal in New York State—owning both major-league pro teams in my birth region of Western New York.

…The problematic and increasingly strong relationship between the pro leagues and Fantasy sports (with the prospect of luring more and more fans into gambling).

…All the graft, corruption, and shenanigans associated with international sports—at the IOC and in FIFA, in particular.

What I should do (get less emotional about all of this), I won’t. Support all the sports and teams, I will. So, Ben, you’re right for calling me out. But acknowledging what I did, and why, reminded me of larger circumstance with which I struggle.

Wish I didn’t, too. Wish I could just cheer. Wish I would care only about who wins the Super Bowl; about WAR statistics of top-end MLB players; and about whether Michigan State gets into the College Playoffs. All of that would make my life so much easier. But I’ve tried. It just doesn’t work.

So, Ben, you may be right about Roger Goodell. There’s just a lot more to it for me. A lot more….