Joining the Sea of Voices

So I wasn't going to say anything.  Too many people have already commented, and there's nothing more to say on the issue.  I was just going to let it all be said by them and keep quiet.  Except then I couldn't anymore, and it was all because I had to write a new receipt letter for work today.  In my researching, I came across an article that caused my blood to start boiling and let me know that I can't keep quiet any longer.

In an article for the Mail Tribune, Michael Rubinkam, Marc Levy, and Ralph D. Russo outline the NCAA and Big Ten sanctions against Penn State University.  I can only hope that they didn't dream up the title, because it is so assinine given everything that has happened.  Surely no human being could be so crazy as to think it's a fair assessment . . . or perhaps they just saw the irony in this whole situation:

"Dark Days Ahead for Penn State."

Really?  That is wrong on so many levels.  For starters, the dark days have been going on for the past several years.  Sexual abuse thrives in darkness and silence, so I'd say that now that it has been exposed, the dark days are finally over.  And there's the "Penn State" bit.  While dark days may be ahead of Penn State because of the sanctions and what that will mean for them, the dark days have been ongoing for the dozens of young men who were violated by Sandusky and betrayed by Joe Paterno and the other men who could have helped them.  Sorry, but I don't give a damn about the "dark days ahead for Penn State," because I can't quit thinking about the young men who have daily faced dark days.

I get that the NCAA sanctions will hurt the football program.  I get that the people who perpetuated this horrific abuse are no longer at Penn State (and one of them is even dead).  I get that the student athletes still at Penn State are the ones punished by these sanctions. 

But, seriously, isn't it just football? 

And isn't this problem because the people in leadership at Penn State believed that football was more important than the abuse of children?  So, hell yes.  Sanction the football right out of Penn State. 

Penn State football, a longtime powerhouse that was once one of the cleanest, most admired programs in college sports, escaped the so-called death penalty from the NCAA on Monday but was dealt a heavy blow that will cripple it for years to come. (Rubinkam, et al)

A heavy blow that will cripple it for years to come.  Interesting.  I can bore you with stats on what is likely happening--and has happened--to the victims.  If there were only 10 of them, 5 of them were likely involved in some sort of juvenile delinquency.  SEVEN of them were likely treated for problems with substance abuse and suicidal thoughts/attempts.  Most of them probably have failed marriages and/or have declared bankruptcy or have trouble holding down a job.  This is the reality of sexual abuse.  So now let's talk about being crippled for years to come.

It's not all a loss, though.  There was one wise voice to speak out in the midst of all of this craziness and people supporting Penn State and Joe Paterno.  And he played for Paterno and was on the 1986 National Championship team as a wide receiver.  What he had to say is something that this headline writer, these three journalists, Penn State fans, and Penn State haters should all keep in mind.  Really, it's something that all of us as human beings should keep in mind:

"Our heritage, our legacy has been tainted and damaged," said Troy Cromwell, a wide receiver on the 1986 team that won the second of Paterno's two national championships. Cromwell said he felt bad for current and incoming players, "but at the end of the day, there were still those kids, those poor kids, and those victims, and we have to think about them first in everything that we do."

It's All About the Money

As I was reading the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, an item in the "Go Figure" section caught my eye.  I often skim or even skip that portion and head for the articles, but this time I had to stop.

$3.36
******
Amount--all that was in his piggy bank--that a six-year-old Giants fan mailed to 49ers RB Brandon Jacobs, after the boy had been told that the reason Jacobs left New York for San Francisco was because the Giants couldn't pay him enough.

Doesn't that jump out at you?  Sports has always been about the money in a big way.  The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim set records for their off-season spending to get CJ Wilson ($77.5 million over five years) and Albert Pujols ($240 million over 10 years).  I can't even imagine that kind of money.  It's in the NBA, MLB, NFL--it's in all sports.  In fact, we almost lost our 2012 NFL season over millionaires fighting billionaires for millions.

Now Josh Hamilton is in the final year of his contract with the Texas Rangers.  He's playing a lights-out season--fielding things others can't and hitting more home runs in a single week than Pujols has hit all season (hmm . . .).  What kind of money is he going to get?  The baseball gurus say that we'll never see another contract like the one Pujols got in this off season.  And, with his history of substance abuse and its effects on his body unknown and with his age, a team would be foolish to sign Hamilton to a 10-year deal, but he's still going to command numbers we haven't seen before.

Hamilton has already stated that he doesn't feel he owes the Rangers anything as far as taking less money to stay with them.  Let the bidding begin!  That's basically what he was saying at the time.  And, in last week's issue of Sports Illustrated, his wife did all but confirm that they will go to the highest bidder.  I did appreciate that she phrased it by saying that just because they are Christians doesn't mean they should be expected to take less money.  After all, Josh's talent came from God, his second (third?) chance at baseball came from God, so he should take all the money he can get and use it for God.  I get that.  I respect that.

Obviously Rangers fans are hot over Hamilton's statements.  Didn't the Rangers take a chance on Josh?  Haven't they given grace after two relapses?  Haven't they employed an accountability partner to keep Josh on the straight and narrow path of sobriety?  Doesn't he owe it to them to take what they'll give him to retire as a Texas Ranger?

No.

He really doesn't.  I mean, really, hasn't he paid them back?  Hasn't he stayed off of drugs, given them immediate apologies for his two momentary lapses with alcohol, and worked to stay clean?  He's been a key part in getting his team to the World Series in two seasons and is leading the world (and all of history) in home runs at this point in the season.  He's paid the Rangers back for the chance they took and the salary they offered.  Let the bidding begin indeed.

Yes.  Athletes are grossly overpaid.  But if they can claim it, aren't they entitled to it?  Sorry, dear little Giants fan.  I wish we lived in a world where $3.36 was enough to keep your favorite player on your team.  But these days, $3.36 million isn't even enough to do it.