tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67119729150790223072024-02-07T01:18:07.422-05:00 jersey/slantAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-41534783322549820462015-08-04T13:05:00.000-04:002015-08-04T14:40:58.426-04:00The new normal in sports media coverage<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/4947514597/in/photolist-8xciHP-5yUXki-8xwGkj-8xdr39-7dnAU3-6Y4TTa-9Hfuga-a9WgfE-6epr3i-5Cien1-6vhjj1-s7m13U-4nUV8v-6YpeiV-qiS2qg-7oXzpE-8i1JNC-5e6222-8i1JXY-t7v9Us-o7LDJm-6fR2Je-bzH4bj-f82JrS-4P6zTS-58ns8r-kJGLzT-eaVM6M-nGqTKg-abdD7i-pEGfPQ-vwnS7t-oX55qi-7QJE7L-6Nf2qa-bychd5-7Q7DFf-5WaKhm-efs8Cc-9BmzFo-5QSujd-dZYJtb-5BUGqm-5kLyEi-a7GFVK-9qXASa-4w75zg-6fR1uF-9D5eCP-agPuUa" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="2007 Media Day 005"><img alt="2007 Media Day 005" height="357" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4128/4947514597_1a14a48436.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pennstatenews via flickr</td></tr>
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I usually enjoyed chatting with John Fox when he was coach of the Carolina Panthers. He was always congenial in our conversations and occasionally thoughtful and articulate.<br />
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Fox was easy to like. But only when he was talking off the record.<br />
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On the record? Fox was one of the more difficult coaches to cover. He wasn't as belligerent as some. He wasn't a jerk like others. But Fox was deliberately and maddeningly vague, bland and unresponsive to even the most obvious questions one might ask a head coach of a major professional sports team. He said nothing. For years. He offered no insight to even the most banal questions. I think if I had asked Fox on the record what time it was, he would have said, "it is what it is."<br />
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So I can't say I'm particularly surprised by the restrictive <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-bears-media-sherman-spt-0731-20150730-column.html" target="_blank">new rules for media covering the Chicago Bears</a> during training camp with Fox now in his first year there after stints with Carolina and Denver. According to reports out of the Bears camp, all interviews with players must be requested 24 hours in advance. And reporters aren't allowed to write about what they see in training camp -- even though fans are allowed to tweet whatever they want.<br />
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The excuse offered by the Bears is that this will somehow prevent scouts from learning about opponents. Hogwash. If coaches are motivated enough to learn another team's secrets, they don't need the media to help them. See Bill Belichick.<br />
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So this isn't about helping the team win. It's about controlling and limiting the media. And whether this was Fox's idea or not, I suspect he doesn't give a hoot if the media's job is suddenly a lot harder.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/sports/soccer/english-soccer-club-sets-up-tight-defense-but-this-one-repels-journalists.html?ref=sports" target="_blank">In Europe, it happens all the time</a>, as The New York Times reported today. One professional soccer team even banned the local media because the owner didn't like the coverage received.<br />
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The phase out of independent media coverage of sports teams isn't quite that extensive in the U.S. But it is happening here. Chicago shouldn't be viewed as an aberration, but more likely a trendsetter.<br />
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It didn't use to be this way. For years, sports teams and leagues had a symbiotic relationship with the media. Teams needed media coverage for marketing to build interest and sell tickets. Newspapers needed the coverage to help drive readership. It was a win-win no matter what the tone of the coverage. Back in the day, the New York Giants used to provide travel arrangements for some reporters. When I covered the Hartford Whalers years ago, I occasionally took the team's charter flight and the Whalers routinely booked a hotel room for me on the road (the flight and hotel were paid for by the newspaper).<br />
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Of course, the internet changed all of that. Teams now create their own content for marketing and can bypass the media to reach directly to the fans. And they are increasingly limiting independent media in favor of their marketing partners like ESPN, Fox Sports, etc., where coverage is more friendly and controlled.<br />
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The media still needs sports content to drive readership. But teams and leagues now seemingly view independent media as parasites. So there is a pressure on reporters to build strong relationships with teams through positive coverage. Those who don't adhere to the company line will be increasingly cut out of access to athletes and coaches.<br />
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It's even happening in sports like Nascar, which used to be media friendly but has drastically reduced access to drivers in the last year or two. These days, stories need layers of public relations approval before interviews are even scheduled. And it's not unusual for PR reps to ignore emails from media deemed unfavorable.<br />
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This is the new normal.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-68072696966294330692015-05-23T14:55:00.001-04:002015-05-24T19:01:00.764-04:00I did that to a Nascar driver?Jersey is not just a state of mind, it's a way of driving. When you are Jersey, you never know -- and maybe don't care -- who you wind up angering on the road.<br />
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Unless, of course, someone pulls up alongside of you on the highway with a grin on his face and you realize the guy in the pickup truck you just rudely tailgated is a Nascar driver.<br />
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Oops.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7545/15952998956_6b16ff5327_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7545/15952998956_6b16ff5327_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f2f2f2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.60000038146973px; line-height: 9.60000038146973px; text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mandj98/15952998956/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b31212; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">James Marvin Phelps</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b31212; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Foter</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b31212; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">CC BY-NC</a></b></td></tr>
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It was back in the fall and I had just finished attending a press conference at the Nascar Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte, where drivers in the Sprint Cup postseason playoff had met with the media to discuss the dynamics of the next round. I was headed home on I-77, a highway that is miserable to drive under the best conditions -- too much traffic, not enough lanes. And it's guaranteed to be a slow haul anytime it's close to rush hour, as it was that afternoon.<br />
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The only way to get through it was to be aggressive. Be Jersey.<br />
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So after entering the highway and quickly maneuvering into the left lane, I found myself behind an older Chevy pickup truck that was going a tad too slow for my liking. I edged to my left to see that the truck was not the problem; there was a slower car ahead. First chance we got, we both moved into the middle lane to pass the ass on the left.<br />
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I fully expected the truck to move back into the left lane right away, but it didn't. Instead, it stayed in the middle lane and I was boxed in just long enough for my eyes to narrow and the blood pressure to rise. Maybe two or three seconds.<br />
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Anyway, the truck finally pulled just far enough ahead to give me a tiny opening. And of course, I took it. I pulled my little Honda Fit up almost to the truck's bumper. If I was a bit too close, I rationalized that it was his fault because he should have moved back over to the left already.<br />
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So the moment I cleared the car on the left, I jerked the wheel and accelerated, zipping back into the left lane and speeding away. I left the slowpoke and the pickup truck far behind -- one small battle won.<br />
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Or so I thought. I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed the truck suddenly hauling to catch up to me. It quickly pulled up next to my car on the right. I glanced over and the driver was looking down at me and smiling.<br />
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I just did that to Ryan Newman?<br />
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I had no idea it was Newman in that pickup truck. The next time I saw him, I made sure to apologize.<br />
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He laughed. But really, what was he going to say? It's not like I came out of nowhere and put him into a wall or something.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-3759151567418733822015-04-02T08:39:00.002-04:002015-04-02T09:33:39.462-04:00The long and short of itWhen I was a sports reporter at the start of my career, I worked at a newspaper that held a Secret Santa gift-giving exchange one Christmas. Funny what you learn about your coworkers -- and what they think of you -- when anonymity offers a shield. Office Twitter before Twitter.<br />
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The gift I received that Christmas? A framed portrait of Herve Villechaize. For those who don't remember the name, he's the guy from "Fantasy Island" who would point up at the sky and shout, "The plane! The plane!" Villechaize was what people today would call a little person -- someone diagnosed with dwarfism.<br />
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I was amazed that anyone would go through that much trouble to publicly humiliate me just because I happen to be 4-foot-11. But it wasn't the first time my height was the subject of jokes, nor the last. Honestly, I've had to put up with short jokes all of my life. I've even told a few myself, if only to have people laugh with me instead of at me from time to time.<br />
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I've never really thought it was funny to insult people because of their physical appearance, though. Try mocking an African American because of his skin color and you will be called a racist. Make fun of short people and that's somehow OK?<br />
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<a href="http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/look-whos-getting-the-short-shrift/39659" target="_blank">As I wrote in an article for OZY.com</a> today, studies show short people are paid less and get fewer C-Suites. Russia just adopted a law banning short people from driving certain vehicles. If you saw "The Wolf of Wall Street," you'll probably remember the midget-throwing contest. I guess it was supposed to be funny.<br />
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You know what? It's not funny. It's offensive. It shows a lack of respect. And it hurts.<br />
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So please stop. I don't want to hear it anymore.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-66063926212339499612014-11-18T18:27:00.001-05:002014-11-18T18:33:56.401-05:00Moves Magazine: NFL players on notice<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemFbjHt2oz4q4GLEEqFhaYIWErFBSbaXUZh5nRtSmq6P7Y_EA_h0pAurITnCpLXQjYQ4yHe6yWTnyAHBAcLIGpcXl5LcrJPsw58SHe-g9h9qO0p0gt_dHG0aiDJPNuoqHMXjTLHTGNGA/s1600/Adrian+Peterson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemFbjHt2oz4q4GLEEqFhaYIWErFBSbaXUZh5nRtSmq6P7Y_EA_h0pAurITnCpLXQjYQ4yHe6yWTnyAHBAcLIGpcXl5LcrJPsw58SHe-g9h9qO0p0gt_dHG0aiDJPNuoqHMXjTLHTGNGA/s1600/Adrian+Peterson.jpg" height="200" width="137" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Morbeck/flickr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Leave it to LeBron James to deliver the slam of the month when he told ESPN.com a few weeks ago that he would not allow his sons to play football. Too dangerous, he said. Little LeBron Jr. and Bryce Maximus can play basketball, baseball or soccer instead.<br />
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James isn't the only one. Some NFL players have said the same thing about their kids. And it's an open topic across the country these days.<br />
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None of that is good for the NFL ... <a href="http://movesmagazine.com/peterson/" target="_blank">Read more at Moves Magazine</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-70435737950896606362014-08-27T16:00:00.001-04:002014-08-28T11:07:31.641-04:00Michael Sam, the media and that shower question<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A reporter I respect immensely called the ESPN story on Michael Sam’s shower habits as “nothing more serious than the death of journalism as we know it.”</div>
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I hope somebody can explain that to me, because I’m not sure I understand the kerfuffle that has erupted over <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/espn-josina-anderson-reports-michael-sam-showering-habits-article-1.1917641" target="_blank">Tuesday's report</a> from the St. Louis Rams training camp.</div>
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Here’s what I know: For years, the fear of a gay athlete in the locker room and shower has been at the center of arguments against acceptance of a gay teammate. It is such an important issue that out former football player and executive director of the You Can Play Project Wade Davis <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11169006/nfl-showers-hostile-environment-michael-sam-espn-magazine" target="_blank">addresses it</a> directly when he meets with teams.</div>
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And it’s enough of a question that the noted gay sports website Outsports.com ran a <a href="http://www.outsports.com/2014/2/12/5403620/gay-football-player-reveals-what-showering-with-teammates-is-really" target="_blank">full column from a gay former football player</a> explaining why straight athletes need not be concerned about gay teammates in the shower. That ran in February.</div>
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So now we finally have the arrival of <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2014/02/daring-nfl-to-discriminate.html" target="_blank">Michael Sam</a>, who is hoping to make the St. Louis Rams roster this season and become the first openly gay player in the NFL. The team has been in training camp for about a month, long enough for both Sam and his straight teammates to get comfortable around each other.</div>
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Isn’t it appropriate for a reporter to ask how it’s going? Isn’t it worth reporting that the fear surrounding the shower issue for so many years turned out to be completely unfounded? Isn’t it a good idea to let people know it’s a non-issue in the Rams training camp as several players indicated in that ESPN report?<br />
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Are we suddenly so evolved on this issue that has roiled sports for so long that it is now verboten to even ask about it? </div>
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If the reporter hadn’t asked the question, then Rams teammate Chris Long never would have tweeted this:</div>
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And from now on, that single tweet is going to be referenced every time the issue of professionalism in the locker room comes up.<br />
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Here’s why I think that’s important: There are no doubt other gay football players who are watching and waiting to see how Sam is treated by his teammates, organization, fans and the league. If teammates come out in support of Sam, that sends a powerful message to those closeted athletes that they might be supported, too. And perhaps it is a step forward for those who would like to come out as well.</div>
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Shouting down the reporter for asking the question inhibits conversation rather than fosters it. And we need to keep talking about these issues. Because this isn’t over. Sam’s arrival is a beginning, not an ending. The more Chris Long’s who come forward to tell their teammates it’s not an issue, the more welcoming the locker room will be for gay athletes. And the sooner we will be done with this as an issue once and for all.<br />
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But we're not there yet. We're not even close.</div>
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When ESPN reporter Josina Anderson asked the question, she got the answer that every gay or straight person who cares about acceptance should have been thrilled to finally hear: The shower is not an issue.</div>
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So thanks for asking …</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-83302831850258200572014-07-24T09:18:00.000-04:002015-07-21T13:47:37.438-04:00Nate Ryan's love-hate-love story<i>USA Today</i> motorsports writer Nate Ryan is getting married in August. Have you heard the tale? It's your classic love story -- all except the part about Nate's fiancee once hating his guts. Oh, and that 16-year stretch when they didn't even talk to each other.<br />
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But maybe you have to love someone to hate them
that much, don't you think? So that’s where we’ll start and end this little story that deserves to be told about two well known sportswriters who fell in, then out, then back in love again. We’ll get to all that messy stuff in a minute.</div>
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Nate met Jodie Valade of <i>The Plain Dealer</i> in Cleveland back when they were both journalism students at Northwestern University in the mid 1990s. Nate was a senior, Jodie a
sophomore. He was her editor at <i>The Daily Northwestern</i> student newspaper and they had a class together as well. </div>
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"I remember purposely missing class so I would have to
call him to find out what happened that day,'' said Jodie, who mustered the courage to overcome her own shyness and asked Nate to her sorority spring formal in 1995.</div>
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That was the same spring Nate bought a brand new red Toyota Tercel, graduated from college and drove to California to take a job covering sports for the <i>San Bernardino Sun</i>. They dated for nearly two years while Jodie was still at Northwestern.</div>
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The distance was tough; their youth made it tougher. Couple the ambition to follow their own career paths with the realization that Jodie was on a fast track to a major metro while Nate was going to take longer to get there, and that
was one too many obstacles to overcome.</div>
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Nate ended the relationship in 1997. Jodie couldn’t forgive
him for the longest time.</div>
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"It broke my heart,'' she said. "I guess I thought he was my true love. Turns out, I was right."</div>
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But it would take years to get there.<br />
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They went their separate ways and both became successful, high profile sportswriters. Nate moved from San Bernardino to the <i>Richmond Times-Dispatch</i> and on to <i>USA
Today</i>. Jodie interned at her hometown paper, the <i>Detroit Free Press</i>, before going to the <i>Kansas City Star</i>, <i>Dallas Morning News</i> and finally to Cleveland where she writes features and has assisted in coverage of the Cavs and Browns.</div>
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In the meantime, Nate got married in 2004 while he was living in Virginia. It lasted 20 months but was over by 2006. Two years later, after yet another relationship ended -- this time Nate was left with the broken heart -- he decided he needed to figure out why he kept failing at love.</div>
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So Nate did something really kind of strange.</div>
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Have you ever seen the movie "High Fidelity" with John Cusack? His character tries to understand why every relationship flops by going back and talking to many of the women he dated in the past (see Jack Nicholson in "Something's Gotta Give" for the senior version of the same story).<br />
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Apparently, Nate thought that was a grand idea. So in 2008, he reached out to his ex-girlfriends -- even his former wife -- and talked to everyone he could. All except Jodie. Nate sent a friend request on Facebook. She accepted. Then she defriended him two days later.<br />
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Yep, still hated his guts.</div>
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It might have been over for good at that point, but Jodie was having relationship issues of her own. She couldn't find a way to make them last, either. A year later, after a breakup, she sent an apology and Facebook friend request to Nate hoping to learn from her past failures, too. They began sending occasional notes back and forth in 2009. But that was all.<br />
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Nate had moved to Charlotte around that time to pursue another relationship. Apparently, there were a few more dramas yet to play out. They were sometimes painful, sometimes ugly and -- if he had to be brutally honest about it -- sometimes Nate's fault.</div>
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After some soul-searching following another nasty break-up in 2012 (no, we didn't ask for a running count) Nate paused just long enough to write the <i>mea culpa</i> to Jodie he had been planning to pen since 1997.</div>
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"A mere 15 years later, I finally sent it,'' he said. "I said 'Hey, it was all my fault, here's all that happened in the interim, here's what I learned from it.' "</div>
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Turns out it was the ending they needed to begin again.</div>
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"I think he had a chance to finally say he was the one at
fault in our breakup,'' Jodie said, "which I had been waiting all my life to hear."</div>
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In March, 2013 -- 16 years after that last phone call in January, 1997, when Nate ended the relationship -- they finally talked again. Two months later, Nate invited Jodie to visit him in Indianapolis, where he was covering the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. It was the first time they had seen each other in all those years.<br />
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By July, Nate had picked out a ring. In August, he gave it to Jodie on bended knee.</div>
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It all happened pretty quickly. Or not, if you count the other 18 years it took to get to this point.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, I wish it would have happened a little bit faster,'' Nate said. "but I don't think I would have changed anything about it if it would have meant this couldn't happen."<br />
<br />
Now all they have to figure out is how to find time to be together with Nate perpetually on the road chatting up Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., et. al., while Jodie keeps up with LeBron James, Johnny Manziel and the rest. No small task in an industry that can be hard on relationships.<br />
<br />
But somehow, that seems like the easier hurdle after all they've been through.<br />
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"I still sometimes wake up and think, is this real?'' Jodie said. "Is this really Nate Ryan here?"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Nate Ryan</td></tr>
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All she has to do is look in the driveway. Nineteen years later, Nate still has that little red Tercel he drove when he took Jodie out on dates back at Northwestern. Only it's not red anymore. It's a worn-out, faded, blotchy reddish pink -- and truth be told, Nate, it's the ugliest car in all of Nascar.</div>
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But you have to appreciate its endurance, if not Nate's extraordinary frugality. From Chicago to San Bernardino, Richmond, Charlotte and finally Cleveland, where they now live, that Tercel has held up long enough to take Nate full circle in his life and all the way back to Jodie.<br />
<br />
They're actually thinking of driving off from the wedding in that thing. Seriously.<br />
<br />
Hey, is there anybody in Nascar who knows how to paint a car?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-3267552929954619802014-06-03T09:55:00.000-04:002014-06-03T10:00:16.640-04:00Why Jimmie Johnson's surgery is news<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhT0Yqhtx9FYcv8spPqeDCXfnD5djBo3AqwDGuw3bfiWth1CyoE8e2Y5z4xk20QnFWyywJfmd-oFKtKOjqcgqHVhKZBcbWNmTzy66x5QqFN3HHBIm5dCn61RvJkYbkZ7KSFE9tm1iEcg/s1600/9144764909_c1c104b0a3_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhT0Yqhtx9FYcv8spPqeDCXfnD5djBo3AqwDGuw3bfiWth1CyoE8e2Y5z4xk20QnFWyywJfmd-oFKtKOjqcgqHVhKZBcbWNmTzy66x5QqFN3HHBIm5dCn61RvJkYbkZ7KSFE9tm1iEcg/s1600/9144764909_c1c104b0a3_m.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amy K. Marbach/Flickr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Six-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson revealed on Sunday that he underwent offseason surgery to repair three non-sports related hernias, a procedure that he acknowledged affected his preparation for the 2014 season.<br />
<br />
New information on a popular public figure? By any measure -- in just about any newsroom in the country -- that would qualify as news. And yet, on Monday there was some dispute among fans, Johnson and even a few members of the media as to whether it should have been viewed that way.<br />
<br />
Here's what Johnson told the media after he won the Sprint Cup race at Dover on Sunday: "I didn't realize it was one, a secret, or two, public information. Have you had any surgeries lately? Is there any procedures -- when did you have your teeth cleaned?"<br />
<br />
To which I would answer ... <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Who cares? It isn't newsworthy if a reporter has hernia surgery or teeth cleaned because nobody gives a hoot about what happens to us. We're not public figures. At least, most of us aren't. It's news if Robin Roberts has surgery. It's not news if USA Today's Jeff Gluck does.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-negative-writers-of-Nascar-Danica-Patrick-Ricky-Stenhouse-Jr..html#more" target="_blank">Danica Patrick's relationship</a> with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-media-and-danicky.html" target="_blank">news when it was first revealed</a>, and Jeff Gordon's bad back at Charlotte in May was news. Winning championships is news. Running half-marathons is news. Falling off the roof of a golf cart and breaking your wrist is news. Having offseason surgery is news. Negative or positive, embarrassing or enriching, it's news if you are a public figure.<br />
<br />
And in retrospect, even Johnson seemed to agree:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkrc1n7l0CeGSuRn8KGxCgGWkLG-Oq4-NcjFDXLcAdfyJ9TOu7T5Zus8va3-ci1Ilagkd_6O8p3epv4ruIa0PaMDMXMavXBBgpB4VKQ8fl61qJjRyT6Q0E2b7b4oaUgshpSiMSXJCVJw/s1600/jimmie+twitter+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkrc1n7l0CeGSuRn8KGxCgGWkLG-Oq4-NcjFDXLcAdfyJ9TOu7T5Zus8va3-ci1Ilagkd_6O8p3epv4ruIa0PaMDMXMavXBBgpB4VKQ8fl61qJjRyT6Q0E2b7b4oaUgshpSiMSXJCVJw/s1600/jimmie+twitter+3.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
If Johnson had been forced to undergo surgery during the Chase last season, it would have generated far more significant news coverage and headlines. Because the surgery was after the season and ultimately did not cost Johnson a playoff spot for 2014, the surgery wasn't major news. But Johnson was the one who said it impacted his preparation for 2014. So from a journalist's perspective, asking Johnson about the surgery and writing it was a no-brainer.<br />
<br />
The only question is why reporting this story was ever even a question at all. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-38511184846013663292014-03-03T10:27:00.001-05:002014-03-03T10:27:06.783-05:00The wrath of Tony Stewart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgor4GWNbqVa27PdgFwAUy-TEEEqz4aKcK8UsD7dQHVOVL-Lov7aiKqdE9SWoPh3TBb915ckRLRWa1le4p_CWjek_V6Nw3ikFBpXj1W5smmInz8cFP81ZrpiIgyqwC2-RASUGOVXitiOiY/s1600/tony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgor4GWNbqVa27PdgFwAUy-TEEEqz4aKcK8UsD7dQHVOVL-Lov7aiKqdE9SWoPh3TBb915ckRLRWa1le4p_CWjek_V6Nw3ikFBpXj1W5smmInz8cFP81ZrpiIgyqwC2-RASUGOVXitiOiY/s1600/tony.jpg" height="370" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony Stewart via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyofbadgroove/6988360855/sizes/l/" target="_blank">flickr</a>/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyofbadgroove/" target="_blank">AmyKay1974</a></td></tr>
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Back when I was a hockey writer in Hartford, Conn., I once inspired an entire arena to laugh at me.<br />
<br />
I was covering a minor-league championship on a night when I didn't have time to wait for players to get to the locker room for interviews following the game. As they lingered after the celebration was mostly over and my deadline quickly approached, I decided to go out onto the ice to talk to them.<br />
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You can probably imagine what happened next. I slipped and fell on my backside and the fans roared. <br />
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Fortunately, a very kind player named Joe Day skated over and helped me back on my feet. I tracked Joe down recently to thank him once again and he actually thanked me back for treating him well during his professional career.<br />
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For some reason, his email made me smile and think of Tony Stewart.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
At every stop in my career, from Hartford to Detroit, Charlotte and other places along the way, at least one athlete or coach has challenged me as a reporter.<br />
<br />
In Hartford, it was former Whalers assistant coach Pierre McGuire, who shot pucks at my head as I stood behind the glass at the Civic Center. This after I dared to write a story in the Hartford Courant about then-head coach Paul Holmgren driving with a suspended license following a drunk-driving conviction. <br />
<br />
During my days with the Detroit Free Press, legendary Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman erupted in a post-game locker room tirade after I asked a question of Steve Yzerman that Bowman didn't like. The episode was captured on radio and fed the news cycle for a day. Funny, Yzerman didn't mind the question -- he later smiled and slapped me on the back of my hand as if I had been a naughty girl.<br />
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As for Charlotte, no other athlete has been as openly combative as Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.<br />
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And when it comes to Nascar, there is no one quite like Tony Stewart.<br />
<br />
Few drivers are as volatile as Stewart, who has battled other competitors, Nascar and the media throughout his career. I have not been immune to that, as you may be aware. At least one confrontation between us a few years ago -- an exchange during a press conference at Daytona International Speedway -- was even reported (inaccurately) by some bloggers. Cup champion and broadcaster Dale Jarrett had declared that Nascar was too safe and fans were turning away from the sport as a result. I asked Stewart his thoughts on Jarrett's comment and he attacked me for suggesting the possibility even though I never indicated I shared Jarrett's opinion.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111224204734/icehockey/images/c/c1/Joeday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111224204734/icehockey/images/c/c1/Joeday.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Day via <a href="http://icehockey.wikia.com/wiki/Joe_Day" target="_blank">icehockey/wikia.com</a></td></tr>
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That was one of many odd, sometimes humorous, sometimes ugly confrontations I've had with Stewart over the years at tracks from Daytona to Darlington and Talladega to Charlotte.<br />
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A few of the highlights: Stewart once scolded me for focusing on news at a news conference instead of asking questions about a charity he was promoting. One day he barged into a private room and interrupted a one-on-one interview I had with Kyle Busch, winking at me as he warned Busch in what was mostly a harmless, playful exchange.<br />
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Stewart once told me in a rage that he hated me from the first day he met me.<br />
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Our latest confrontation came in January at the annual media tour in Charlotte because Stewart was unhappy with a story I had written back in June. This time, it was anything but playful.<br />
<br />
It should be noted that my experience is hardly unusual. Stewart has taken on a lot of media members over the years including some of the most respected reporters in the business. It's almost a badge of honor to have had at least one go-around with Stewart. (Note to fans: If you ever wonder why reporters sometimes smile when told how much you would love to have our jobs, this is why.)<br />
<br />
Through it all, I can't help but wonder if part of the challenge with Stewart is a media contingent that is unique to Nascar. Independent media having largely abandoned daily coverage and most mainstream national columnists around the country rarely, if ever focus on the sport.<br />
<br />
In their place are a large number of stakeholder content providers mostly from television and radio networks and their websites. They are there to essentially assist Nascar's broadcast partners in marketing the sport. That affects the tone of coverage. Along with that is an overwhelming public relations presence, from Nascar to the various manufacturers, teams, drivers and sponsors, all singularly focused on managing the media and controlling the message.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/07/nascar-kyle-petty-and-future-of-sports.html" target="_blank">As I've written before</a>, it isn't like that in many other sports where the majority of media still are independent and there are a handful of public relations staffers for an entire team. Coverage is not nearly as orchestrated on a daily and weekly basis. Reporting in other sports tends to be more balanced. In Nascar, a story that is not on message will stand out and potentially anger drivers like Stewart.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8608087154_f53b615c9a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8608087154_f53b615c9a.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordie Howe via Trish Thornton/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pigdump/8608087154/sizes/m/" target="_blank">flickr</a></td></tr>
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Honestly, I don't imagine Stewart has time to spend thinking about the different roles and mandates of the various media covering Nascar. Perhaps to him, we're all the same. In our most recent confrontation, he made a point of asking Steve Post of the Motor Racing Network his opinion of a story I wrote as if Post was another journalist. Motor Racing Network is owned by Nascar's sister company, International Speedway Corporation. It's just one more wing of the public relations machine and Post's job is to support that.<br />
<br />
Journalists are not paid to cover the sport in the same way as Post, or in the manner Nascar and its drivers would probably prefer. And it can lead to outbursts. As always, the best approach is not to take it personally or allow it to affect you professionally. You really can't.<br />
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Despite the various battles over the years, I count myself among the very fortunate in this industry. I've met a whole lot more Joe Day's in my career than Pierre McGuire's. Gordie Howe and Billie Jean King, Pat Verbeek and Kris Draper, Mike Minter, Jake Delhomme, Eric Davis and so many more are among the nicest people you would ever want to know.<br />
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Some encounters you enjoy. Some you endure. It's all part of it.<br />
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Of course, it does leave me wondering what might happen the next time I slip and fall. Will someone be there to help me up? Or run me over?<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-34273178886405841472014-02-27T21:24:00.000-05:002014-02-27T22:00:59.469-05:00Nascar joins the national conversation<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.012011528015137px; line-height: 17.994556427001953px; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duaneschoon/3275943997/sizes/m/" target="_blank">flickr</a>/</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duaneschoon/" style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #0063dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.012011528015137px; line-height: 17.994556427001953px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">duane.schoon</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Nothing I have written on jersey/slant has generated more page views, discussion, misunderstanding and utter vitriol than a post entitled, "</span><a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/04/nascars-silence-on-jason-collins-says.html" style="font-size: 11pt;" target="_blank">Nascar's silence on Jason Collins says it all</a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">."</span></div>
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It was written last April, the day after N.B.A. veteran Jason Collins became the first professional athlete in one of the four major team sports to come out as gay. I wrote about the reaction to the news, including a phone call from President Barack Obama and tweet from First Lady Michelle Obama. But more specifically, I noted the sports world reaction, which included support from athletes in the N.B.A., N.F.L., Major League Baseball as well as other sports.<br />
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As I pointed out in the column, there was no public statement from Nascar or any of its drivers (although a Nascar official did respond to a request for comment). I wrote that it was a missed opportunity for the sport to join the national conversation and sent the wrong message to those within Nascar who are gay. For that, <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-three-things-i-did-not-write-about.html" target="_blank">I was vilified</a>.<br />
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Of course, gay rights remain a contentious, ever-evolving issue in this country. There continue to be opportunities to take a stand. And so it was on Wednesday when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000329523/article/governor-jan-brewer-vetoes-controversial-arizona-bill" target="_blank">announced she vetoed Senate Bill 1062</a>, which would have allowed businesses to legally discriminate against gays in the state.<br />
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Brewer came under significant pressure from politicians on both sides of the aisle and business groups who were against the bill. There were also indications the N.F.L. would have considered moving the Super Bowl, slated to be played in Arizona in 2015, to another state if it became law.<br />
<br />
When Brewer announced she had vetoed the bill, there were <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/celebs-politicians-react-veto-controversial-arizona-bill/story?id=22693346" target="_blank">many who went public with their approval</a> of the decision. Among them: Nascar. With the Sprint Cup series about to shift to Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, spokesman David Higdon released this statement on Wednesday night:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">"We are pleased with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s veto of SB1062. Nascar actively strives to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the motorsports industry. Nascar has a zero tolerance policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, race, gender, national origin, age, color, disability, religion, or other factors which deny the essential humanity of all people."</span></blockquote>
Welcome to the conversation.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-9282495406678984772014-02-10T10:25:00.002-05:002014-02-12T20:51:52.512-05:00Daring the NFL to discriminate<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152647869315283&set=a.10152602930895283.1073741866.300173130282&type=3&theater" target="_blank">University of Missouri</a></td></tr>
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The NFL has too many immature, homophobic or religiously conservative players who can't handle a gay teammate in their locker room. The NFL has too many owners, general managers or coaches who don't want to deal with the media onslaught that will come from drafting someone who is gay.<br />
<br />
The NFL just isn't ready for an out gay player. <br />
<br />
That's not my assessment, mind you. That's the <a href="http://m.si.com/3861060/8-nfl-officials-reactions-to-sam-announcement/" target="_blank">opinion of NFL general managers and others</a> interviewed by <i>Sports Illustrated</i> following the decision by Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, projected to be taken as high as the third round by some, to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0" target="_blank">come out as gay</a> before the NFL draft. According to the article, many believe Sam made a mistake by coming out. They think he will plummet in the draft and will lose six or seven figures in salary as a result.<br />
<br />
For those wondering why he would do this, why he would make this an issue -- why any person, for that matter, wants to come out and potentially make so many around them uncomfortable:<br />
<a name='more'></a>The answer for a lot of people is it's to prevent discrimination rather than foster it.<br />
<br />
The truth is, Sam was probably already in deep trouble. He had come out to his team last August and his sexual orientation reportedly was known by many in the NFL. Chances are, he was going to drop in the draft whether he came out or not.<br />
<br />
So Sam faced a decision every gay, closeted employee or job applicant who is rumored to be gay comes up against that heterosexuals never experience. You can stay in the closet and hope it won't be held against you, knowing the decision to hide empowers an employer to discriminate without retribution.<br />
<br />
Or you can come out and dare your employer to discriminate openly. He is daring the NFL, which already largely knew about his orientation and -- my guess -- was likely to discriminate against him because of it, to do it for all to see.<br />
<br />
And it's hard to believe, after reading that <i>Sports Illustrated</i> article, that Sam won't be discriminated against by teams. Recent history merely confirms it. Remember Kerry Rhodes? He was one of the better safeties in the game. But he was outed last year when he was a free agent and even though Rhodes denied being gay, he was never signed. Not a single team in the NFL was forced to face criticism for being homophobic because Rhodes never came out as gay.<br />
<br />
NFL.com recently put together a <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000288658/article/2014-nfl-draft-order-top-three-needs-for-all-32-teams" target="_blank">handy chart of the top three needs of every team</a> in the league going into the 2014 draft. Of the 32 teams in
the NFL, the website listed Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Minnesota,
Tennessee and Dallas as the teams needing a defensive end.<br />
<br />
Will Sam, the SEC Defensive Player of
the Year, be drafted by any of those teams? Keep in mind that five are from the south, where there are no states that allow gay marriage. And Minnesota, the only northern team, is already embroiled in a
controversy over an accusation by former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe that
an assistant coach made anti-gay comments and was hostile to Kluwe's
efforts to support gay rights.<br />
<br />
Still, despite all that, it is because he came out that Sam will play in the NFL next season. The league simply can't afford to come off as openly homophobic if a player as talented as he is doesn't have a job. There will be no excuses, as there were with Jason Collins in the NBA when age and declining skills were enough to keep teams from being accused of discriminating against its first openly gay player. Collins has not played since coming out.<br />
<br />
Here's betting there will be a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions with teams to assure that Sam will land in the right place, wherever that may be.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, it's interesting to note that Sam came out during the Olympics in Sochi, just as Russia's anti-gay propaganda law has led to protests and boycotts of the Games. <br />
<br />
As openly gay tennis legend <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/02/09/4679280/analysis-michael-sam-star-defensive.html#.Uvhf7IWISSo" target="_blank">Billie Jean King recently told CBS</a>, "We need to shift to where it's a non-issue. When it's a non-issue it will mean we've arrived. It won't happen in my lifetime, but it definitely is a civil rights issue of the 21st century."<br />
<br />
Gay athletes have not arrived yet, not as long as the door to the NFL remains closed. Finally, there is a player willing to push it open. But this isn't the end of discrimination. Hardly.<br />
<br />
In 2014, Sam is forcing the NFL to finally reach a beginning.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-78945116263002631822014-02-03T11:05:00.001-05:002014-02-03T11:14:30.139-05:00This boycott is for you NBC, GE, Coca-Cola, etc.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3126/2697858398_1ed9ed9294_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3126/2697858398_1ed9ed9294_b.jpg" height="360" width="505" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomar/" style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #0063dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">zoomar</a>/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoomar/2697858398/sizes/l/" target="_blank">flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some people love the Summer Olympics. For me, it was always the Winter Games. Phil Mahre. Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. Torville and Dean. Mike Eruzione. The best game I have watched in any sport in the last decade had to be the 2010 Olympic hockey final between the U.S. and Canada in Vancouver.<br />
<br />
There is something about snow and ice that just warms me.<br />
<br />
So it's going to be that much harder not to turn on the television and watch the Sochi Olympics, which begin on Feb. 6. But I can't watch. I won't. Not one second -- unless there is the kind of news many of us fear and none of us wants to see happen.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4044/4377908403_3976dc3dc2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4044/4377908403_3976dc3dc2_b.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetone/" style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #0063dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Sweet One</a>/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetone/4377908403/sizes/l/" target="_blank">flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Barring that, I will not view, listen, tweet, post or otherwise support these Games in any way that can benefit NBC or sponsors such as General Electric, McDonald's, Coca-Cola or VISA. It's my little protest of all these companies that have turned their collective back on the human rights violations of Russia to make a buck by sponsoring these Olympic Games.<br />
<br />
Why hit on them? After all, they didn't choose Sochi. That was the IOC's unfathomable decision. I don't know how Russia won the bid to host the 2014 Games, although it's hard not to wonder. But regardless, it's clear the IOC had its own agenda in placing these Games so close to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/sochi-2014-ioc-jeopardized-safety-of-athletes-and-fans-in-awarding-games-to-putins-russia/2014/01/22/3c5427a8-83aa-11e3-8099-9181471f7aaf_story.html" target="_blank">a war zone</a>. An actual war zone, for God's sake.<br />
<br />
So we can't do anything about the IOC by ourselves. But we can send a message to the companies that support it. If enough of us boycott their telecasts and products and stain them all for buying into Sochi -- and believe me, <a href="http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2014/01/activists-target-sochi-with-social-media-boycotts-to-protest-russia-anti-gay-law/" target="_blank">I am not alone</a> -- maybe they will in turn send a message to the IOC that will actually be heard. Maybe they can be the ones to make a difference.<br />
<br />
And maybe this will be the last time the IOC chooses a host that <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/12/gay-rights-and-putins-olympics.html" target="_blank">threatens the lives of its own citizens</a>, places so many needlessly in harm's way and even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sochi-poisons-stray-dogs-2014-2" target="_blank">poisons stray dogs</a>.<br />
<br />
Maybe not. But I couldn't live with myself if I supported the Sochi Olympics in any way. Can you?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.principle6.org/" target="_blank">#Principle6</a> <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/09/Russia-olympic-boycott-support-gay-rights-Jagger-Springsteen-Jay-Z-Beyonce-Lady-Gaga-McCartney-Elton-John-Madonna.html" target="_blank">#StonewallSochi.</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-85614255719074763562014-01-21T20:10:00.001-05:002019-01-27T15:26:11.835-05:00ESPN, suicide and a story I've never told beforeI was once assigned to write a feature story on a high profile, nationally known professional athlete who kept getting into trouble. What was wrong with this guy? I talked to former coaches and anyone in his hometown who knew him back when the athlete was in high school.<br />
<br />
Through that reporting, I learned a shocking family secret.<br />
<br />
The athlete's mother had attempted suicide back around the time he was becoming a local star with a big future. Not only that, but it was the athlete who had actually found his mother following the attempt.<br />
<br />
The information may have shed some light on why this athlete had been so troubled. It also turned what was going to be a good feature into a great story.<br />
<br />
But before I published it I wanted to find out something about this woman who was not a public figure and was about to have her personal agony exposed. That was a problem because I was not able to interview her. The athlete was refusing all media requests at the time, too.<br />
<br />
So I tracked down the brother of the athlete and I asked him the one question I needed an answer to before writing this story: <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Would revealing his mother's secret cause so much anguish that she might consider suicide again?<br />
<br />
Maybe, he said. And he implored me not to write it. <br />
<br />
I thought about what greater public good would come from revealing the truth. Would it help others? Would it prevent a crime? Would it save lives? Was there any redeeming Fourth Estate journalistic purpose at all? We're not talking Pentagon Papers here.<br />
<br />
No. It would only make me look good for scooping the competition and drawing readers. And it would have been a hell of an ego boost.<br />
<br />
I never wrote it. I have kept that secret to this day -- without any thanks from the athlete, by the way. In my dealings with him following the publication of the article he continued to be the same standoffish jerk to me that he always was.<br />
<br />
I have never second-guessed that decision. But I've always thought a little less of myself as a reporter because of it. Until now. <br />
<br />
I thought about that athlete's mother again when I read the Grantland.com story on <a href="http://grantland.com/features/a-mysterious-physicist-golf-club-dr-v/" target="_blank">Essay Anne Vanderbilt</a>. She had invented a so-called magic putter that even professional golfers were touting. In the process of reporting the story, the writer discovered the inventor was a transgender woman. Although Dr. Vanderbilt made clear she did not want her personal life explored and the writer claims he never threatened to reveal it, he nevertheless outed her to an investor in the putter. Who knows, that could have led her to believe he would publish her secret as well.<br />
<br />
The inventor committed suicide before the story ran.<br />
<br />
That turned out to be a wonderful break for the writer. Now that she was dead, he no longer had to keep his word, right? So he didn't. He outed her against her wishes because, hey, it's not like she could protest anymore. <br />
<br />
Boy, it sure made for great copy. <br />
<br />
So now the editor of Grantland.com, Bill Simmons, is <a href="http://grantland.com/features/the-dr-v-story-a-letter-from-the-editor/" target="_blank">apologizing</a> for the lack of judgment displayed not only by the writer, but by every high level editor at ESPN who approved of the story before it ran including himself. And apparently, that approval went right up to the top of the chain of command. No one at any level even thought to consider asking an expert on transgender issues before running the story.<br />
<br />
It says a lot about the ethics and lack of empathy and diversity that must exist on many levels at ESPN for no one to have flagged this along the way. But consider this odd, off-topic but telling comment offered by Simmons in the middle of his little mea culpa on ESPN's tragic mishandling of a sensitive LGBT issue: He actually boasted that he practices age discrimination when hiring writers for Grantland.com (it's illegal, you know). That should tell you something about the mindset that exists there.<br />
<br />
When I think about the decision I made years ago, it occurs to me that I'm probably not the kind of journalist who could ever work for ESPN.<br />
<br />
Maybe that's not such a bad thing, after all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-80001588043864482162014-01-03T08:05:00.003-05:002014-01-03T10:29:12.661-05:00An NFL coach wants me deadAnyone who has paid attention to the NFL this season should not be surprised by the <a href="http://deadspin.com/i-was-an-nfl-player-until-i-was-fired-by-two-cowards-an-1493208214" target="_blank">Chris Kluwe column posted on Deadspin.com</a> on Thursday. Kluwe described in detail a homophobic coach he claims ended his career as a punter with the Minnesota Vikings.<br />
<br />
Clearly, the NFL has taken a step back while the rest of the country moves forward on gay issues. Or maybe the NFL is exactly where it always has been -- to the right of the mainstream with a streak of anti-gay through the core. How else to explain the sudden disappearance from the NFL of gay supporters and at least one athlete in his prime who was rumored to be gay? Just coincidences? Maybe. Maybe not.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7462555332_9c05b9dda7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7462555332_9c05b9dda7.jpg" width="320" /></a>Kluwe, a straight ally who was an outspoken supporter of gay marriage in Minnesota, is out of the NFL. So is <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-ayanbadejo-of-nascar.html" target="_blank">Brendon Ayanbadejo</a>, another supporter. Both saw their careers abruptly end. Too old? Not good enough? Or too gay-friendly?<br />
<br />
What about those <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1831178-the-inside-story-of-how-the-nfls-plan-for-a-1st-openly-gay-player-fell-apart" target="_blank">football players who were supposedly going to come out</a> before this past season ... until they suddenly crept back into the closet? Or <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/07/could-gay-accusation-cost-kerry-rhodes-nfl-job.html" target="_blank">Kerry Rhodes</a>, one of the better defensive backs in the game, who is suddenly out of the NFL after he was rumored to be gay?<br />
<br />
And what to make of that <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/packers-qb-rodgers-denies-rumor-gay-article-1.1563000" target="_blank">bizarre Aaron Rodgers interview</a> recently where he felt obligated to declare "I really, really like women" amid gay rumors?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Yes, all are isolated events. But collectively, they send a powerful message: If you are gay -- if you so much as support gays -- you will be out of a job in the NFL. What has happened this year could send gay NFL players back into the closet for years.<br />
<br />
So it was not surprising that there could be an anti-gay sentiment within the Vikings that cost Kluwe his career.<br />
<br />
But as I read the Kluwe story, there was a line that stopped me cold. It was a quote that Kluwe attributed to the Vikings special teams coach, Mike Priefer: "We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows."<br />
<br />
So an NFL coach wants me dead? Yep. He wants to put me on an island
and drop a nuclear bomb on it. He wants me to disappear from the face of this earth. Family, friends, loved ones? All irrelevant to Mike Priefer.<br />
<br />
He wants me to glow in the dark.<br />
<br />
Yes, I know Priefer has <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/02/mike-priefer-i-vehemently-deny-chris-kluwes-allegations/" target="_blank">denied saying it</a>. Let's see if he sues Kluwe for
libel. Because it's such a damning quote that Priefer would want to sue
-- would have to sue -- if it wasn't true.<br />
<br />
If he doesn't? Then it's a matter of choosing which side to believe.<br />
<br />
And forever wondering if someday I might have to interview a coach who doesn't even know me, doesn't know anything about my life, but wants to see me dead.<br />
<br />
Photo via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marriageequality/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fefefe; color: #0063dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Freedom To Marry</a> / <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marriageequality/7462555332/sizes/z/" target="_blank">flickr</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-71912962176379682192013-10-29T08:54:00.004-04:002013-10-29T08:57:28.621-04:00A fitting postscript to 'The end of a career in journalism'I received a lot of responses and retweets from yesterday's column on <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-end-of-career-in-journalism.html#more" target="_blank">media companies that refuse to pay</a> writers for their work or expertise, and why it would eventually mean the end of my journalism career. It was almost all very supportive and for that, I am grateful.<br />
<br />
There was an <a href="http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/index.php/topic,97910.0.html" target="_blank">interesting discussion on sportsjournalists.com</a> -- a site populated by sports journalists, one presumes -- where many argued that the market had simply declared there was no value to our work. That is far too simple an explanation for the massive transformation within the industry, from the horrific decision years ago to give away the product for free to the inevitable decimation of independent media sports staffs that followed and the rise of journo-marketers at stakeholder sites from nfl.com to ESPN.com. There are a lot of reasons why the industry is where it is today and why it is forcing me out.<br />
<br />
But perhaps the most telling response to my column came via a personal message that showed up in my Facebook inbox. A radio host named Dennis Michelsen from RaceTalkRadio wrote that he enjoyed my column on media outlets that refuse to pay people for their expertise, but he really liked another one I had written about fewer independent voices in Nascar. He wanted to talk about that column on his radio show and asked me to email him to set up a time for an interview.<br />
<br />
I wrote back and asked what he would pay me to appear on his show. <br />
<br />
His response: "Guests appear for free on our radio show to publicize their work ..."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-17514999529734846772013-10-28T00:18:00.000-04:002013-10-28T00:57:59.053-04:00The end of a career in journalismShortly after I wrote a jersey/slant column last July titled, "<a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/07/nascar-kyle-petty-and-future-of-sports.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #d52a33;">Nascar, Kyle Petty and the future of sports coverage</span></a>," I received an email from an editor of a major metropolitan newspaper's editorial board. He wanted permission to reprint the column for the op-ed page. I responded, in part, with a request for information on the newspaper's compensation rate.<br />
<br />
He quickly wrote back that they had chosen a different column instead. I've always wondered if it was because I dared to ask for money.<br />
<br />
Not that I would be shocked if that was the reason. I've been asked too many times in my career to provide my work or expertise for free. And I'm hardly alone. Here's Tim Kreider's piece in <em>The New York Times</em> about the absurdity of this surprisingly commonplace practice. It's called "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/slaves-of-the-internet-unite.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">Slaves of the Internet, Unite</a>!"<br />
<br />
It would almost be funny if the truth wasn't killing my career.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Not long before the newspaper came calling, a motorsports website had made a similar request. An editor contacted me to ask if I would write regular columns. Pay? Nada. Would he at least consider just running a portion of a column and then linking to my blog so that I would get some hits as well and generate income from my ads? Sorry, no.<br />
<br />
I gave them one column that I had already published just to see what would happen. It received more hits than any other Nascar story posted at the time. A lot more. I thought that would make an impression. Silly me.<br />
<br />
The editor tried to convince me that being published by his site would help my exposure. Folks in Nascar would get to know my name. How nice. I said I didn't really need the added exposure because I already write for the Times (which does pay, thankfully). I needed to be paid for my efforts.<br />
<br />
I never heard back from him again.<br />
<br />
But hey, I've been stiffed by better than that over the years. A leader in sports that shall remain nameless once asked me to spend some time tracking a tennis match because there was the possibility of an upset. When it didn't play out and the site opted against a story, the editor refused to pay me for my time, which included research, writing in advance, the start of a running story and match notes. Why? I was told there was no money in the budget. This is a media company worth billions.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, the same company asked more than once for me to appear on one of its cable news shows to provide my expertise on a subject. When I asked for compensation, I was told they didn't pay for appearances. I was expected to offer my time for free -- for the exposure.<br />
<br />
That was a few years ago. The business of sports journalism has only gotten worse since then. Now there are content farms that pay pennies per article. You think that's a metaphor? It's reality. And too many people are willing to take nothing just to be published, which is why there is no incentive for media outlets to offer anything more.<br />
<br />
It's the reason my career as a freelance journalist is going to end -- sooner rather than later, I suspect.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-34645920317130559132013-09-11T22:39:00.001-04:002013-10-28T00:59:00.077-04:00#StonewallSochi #SingSochi<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Olympic_rings_with_transparent_rims.svg/320px-Olympic_rings_with_transparent_rims.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Olympic_rings_with_transparent_rims.svg/320px-Olympic_rings_with_transparent_rims.svg.png" width="320" /></a>An athlete boycott of the Sochi Olympics was never going to happen. Let's be clear about that. Yes, Harvey Fierstein's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/opinion/russias-anti-gay-crackdown.html">op-ed piece</a> in <em>The New York Times</em> comparing the anti-gay laws and ugly rhetoric in Russia to the anti-Semitic rants of the Nazi's before the 1936 Games was compelling.<br />
<br />
As if a compelling argument actually mattered.<br />
<br />
We all get what matters: Money. Obscene amounts of money have been made and will be made in these Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014. And that's why there won't be a national boycott. Money always trumps human dignity. But we already knew that, didn't we?<br />
<br />
And hey, the IOC says Russia has assured everyone that it won't arrest athletes or fans during the Games. The real horror, brutality and inhumanity will be saved only for its own citizens. So there's really no need for the world to care or even notice. Move along, people, nothing to see here ...<br />
<br />
So what are those of good conscience to do about these Games, which will be held in a frightening country where athletes will try to compete at their best while under the threat of jail or expulsion if they offer a statement of support to the oppressed? <a name='more'></a>For the athletes, gay or straight, it's a matter of survival: Play your games and win your medals, hold your tongue and get the hell out of there as fast as you can. (And if you want to make a statement, don't show up at the closing ceremonies).<br />
<br />
As for the rest of us? That's the <a href="http://www.advocate.com/print-issue/current-issue/2013/09/11/editors-letter-its-time-direct-action" target="_blank">question asked</a> by Matthew Breen, Editor-in-Chief of <em>The Advocate</em>. What can the world do?<br />
<br />
Stonewall Sochi. I don't mean violence, I mean protest. Hold a rally in cities all over the world. And do it on the night that would draw both the most attention to the horror and the most focus away from the false joy of these Games. Do it on Feb. 7, the same night as the opening ceremonies.<br />
<br />
Stonewall was a turning point. Sochi can be a turning point, too.<br />
<br />
And say, what do you think might happen if on the same night the opening ceremonies are held -- when TV ratings skyrocket and advertisers get their best exposure -- another event of equal magnitude took place? How about a once-in-a-lifetime concert to bring awareness of the victims of anti-gay violence not only in Russia, but worldwide?<br />
<br />
No, it can't be just any concert. It has to be a gathering of greatness that can rival the grandness of the opening ceremonies. Sir Paul and Mick. Sir Elton and Bruce. Jay-Z and Beyoncé. U2 and Lady Gaga. And Cher. <a href="http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/09/13/cher-turned-down-olympics-gig-because-russias-gay-hate#.UjNSePQMINA.facebook" target="_blank">Definitely Cher</a>. Maybe they can get Pepsi and Burger King to sponsor it.<br />
<br />
It would take a show that big, broadcast worldwide, for it to be heard by Russia, the IOC, the USOC, NBC, Coca-Cola, General Electric, McDonald's and every other sponsor that -- inconceivably -- has agreed to look the other way to sheer brutality while peddling their products and playing their games.<br />
<br />
Here's the question: Would a collection of legends be willing to stand up for their gay friends and relatives, for gay athletes and for gay Russians -- for the oppressed, beaten, jailed and killed everywhere -- and make a statement of support while the whole world is watching?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
#StonewallSochi. #SingSochi.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And once that concert ends? Do the only thing left to do. Make a statement to all of the people who care more about money than people. Let's make it about money, too. Their money. Their <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2013/08/why-the-olympic-sponsors-should-take-action-on-gay-rights.html">do-nothing advertisers</a>. Their TV ratings.</div>
<br />
Hit 'em where it hurts. Boycott.<br />
<br />
I'm not just talking about McDonalds and Coca-Cola, although by all means please try to drink Pepsi and eat Burger King for two weeks.<br />
<br />
More importantly, don't watch the Games. You have 50 million channels and the interwebs to occupy your time instead. Find something else to do.<br />
<br />
Yes, I know, fan boycotts of sporting events never work. There's little organization or leadership and most fans are easily appeased. Entertain them and they'll shut up and watch.<br />
<br />
And that's the key to making an Olympic boycott actually work. Fans need to be given something else to watch. So let's entertain them on the night of the opening ceremonies and shine a light on what's going on in Russia. Let them know that by watching the Games, they are turning their backs on the oppressed and supporting that brutality. Send a message to the world.<br />
<br />
#StonewallSochi. #SingSochi.<br />
<br />
Pass it along.<br />
<br />
<em>(updated 9-14-2013)</em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-10313566007915602822013-09-01T11:09:00.000-04:002013-09-02T09:50:01.465-04:00Stakeholder journalism bias, Pete Prisco editionIs it just me, or did Pete Prisco's CBSSports.com column on the $765 million concussion<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/sports/football/judge-announces-settlement-in-nfl-concussion-suit.html?_r=0" target="_blank"> settlement</a> with players read like an old NFL talking-points memo? <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pete-prisco/23381962/nfl-can-afford-765m-settlement-but-players-didnt-deserve-it" target="_blank">Prisco wrote</a> that NFL players who sustained brain damage from the game shouldn't be compensated for their suffering because they knew what they were getting into when they agreed to play football. Of course, that doesn't mesh with the accusation that the league misled players about the danger of concussions. But that side of the lawsuit somehow wasn't mentioned in Prisco's column.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/cbss/ui5/authors/180x105/3708.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/cbss/ui5/authors/180x105/3708.png" /></a>Look, if Prisco wants to announce to every player in the NFL that they get what they deserve for playing the game and shouldn't receive a dime in disability compensation, that's his prerogative. It's hard to believe players are going to have an ounce of respect for him after that column. But that's his choice.<br />
<br />
Nor am I going to suggest Prisco might have brain damage, as Keith Olbermann did in his otherwise <a href="http://deadspin.com/keith-olbermann-annihilates-prisco-column-1231842169" target="_blank">expert takedown</a> of Prisco's relative indifference to the hardship and tragedy of former players like Junior Seau, who committed suicide like others who were found to really have brain damage.<br />
<br />
I prefer to focus on the most obvious reason why Prisco would write such a conveniently dismissive, pro-NFL column about potentially thousands of irreparably damaged human beings:<br />
<a name='more'></a>CBS Sports has a multi-billion dollar contract to broadcast the NFL. And his job is to help support those CBS broadcasts. That makes Prisco part of the public relations machine that exists to promote the game (and maybe get fans to forget about culpability and horrific consequences for players while they're at it).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Junior_Seau_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Junior_Seau_2.JPG" width="163" /></a>I've written more than once about the obvious <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/07/nascar-kyle-petty-and-future-of-sports.html" target="_blank">conflict of interest</a> that occurs when a journalist works for a company that has a financial stake in the success of a sport, and how that connection inevitably changes the tone of coverage. We've seen this again and again. It was just over a week ago that ESPN, which also has billions invested in NFL coverage, <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/08/espn-and-pretense-of-journalistic.html" target="_blank">backed out of a collaboration</a> with the much respected PBS show "Frontline" on a documentary about concussions.<br />
<br />
Can we at least be open and honest about that conflict once and for all? How about running a disclaimer after those NFL columns that read like they came straight from a public relations rep (see Gregg Doyel's coverage of Ray Lewis <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/21537799/with-20-years-of-evidence-i-choose-to-believe-lewis-is-no-murderer" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/21633564/love-him-or-hate-him-well-all-miss-ray-lewis" target="_blank">here</a>)?<br />
<br />
We can use Prisco's own words from the concussion column to pen it. Here's what he wrote: "Without the NFL, I wouldn't have a job." <br />
<br />
In the end, that's really all you need to know.<br />
<br />
Seau <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Junior_Seau_2.JPG">photo</a> via Wikimedia Commons.<br />
Prisco logo via CBSSports.com<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-12509614266209826562013-08-26T07:57:00.002-04:002013-08-26T20:08:32.165-04:00ESPN and the pretense of journalistic integrity<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/ESPN_wordmark.svg/500px-ESPN_wordmark.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/ESPN_wordmark.svg/500px-ESPN_wordmark.svg.png" width="320" /></a>Back in December, 2011, The New York Times ran a story about the <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/a-new-worry-for-soccer-parents-heading-the-ball/?src=me&ref=general">risk of brain damage</a> for soccer players who frequently head the ball. At the time, I was a contributing writer for espnW.com -- the female-focused ESPN Web site. So I pitched a story, suggesting we ask Abby Wambach and others about the danger.<br />
<br />
After all, there had been so much discussion of concussions among football players. Here was an important news story about brain trauma that could impact female athletes as well. Wasn't that exactly what this fledgling sports site would want? I was certain the story would be approved.<br />
<br />
But later that very same day, espnW.com featured <br />
<a name='more'></a>a <a href="http://cdn.espnwgalleries.espn.go.com/gallery/espnW_Close-Up%3A_Header/slideshow/2011_Women%27s_Soccer_College_Cup%3A_Semifinal/00Kg8ZTcjlft1">pictorial</a> glorifying the art of women heading the ball. Look at how athletic they were! And that was the message espnW wanted to project.<br />
<br />
My story pitch was declined.<br />
<br />
It was a telling moment about ESPN's commitment to critical analysis of the sports it both covers and broadcasts. There were other head-scratching events in my brief tenure at ESPN that ended in early 2012. Among them was a column critical of Nascar that somehow magically disappeared --not only off the page, but even from the archives.<br />
<br />
So I have to admit I was a bit surprised when ESPN's journalistic integrity was questioned last week after it pulled out of a collaboration with PBS's "Frontline" on a critical look at the NFL's handling of concussions. Why was there even a question? I thought most people understood that ESPN's financial connection to sports leagues and dual role of promotion inevitably affected coverage decisions by the network. I even had a conversation about that with an ESPN.com writer. We both agreed that writing for ESPN was not like writing for a newspaper. It was an unspoken truth.<br />
<br />
That's not meant as a criticism of the network, merely an observation. And it's one <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/07/nascar-kyle-petty-and-future-of-sports.html">I've made before</a> about all media outlets that have a financial connection to the sports leagues and athletes they cover. It's inevitable that the connection will alter the tone of coverage.<br />
<br />
Which is why I was also surprised by ESPN president John Skipper's<a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/96/was-espn-sloppy-naive-or-compromised"> comment </a>to ombudsman Robert Lipsyte, "I am the only one at ESPN who has to balance the conflict between journalism and programming." It was my sense in my time with ESPN that everyone there balances that conflict daily and that all editorial decisions were routinely made with an understanding of the business implications.<br />
<br />
Look, it was business that trumped journalism when it came to the "Frontline" documentary. And there should be no shame in that. After all, ESPN is a business and its success is inextricably tied to the NFL.<br />
<br />
The shame is in misleading the public by trying to maintain a pretense of unfettered journalistic integrity that simply cannot exist.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-79965901167716805942013-07-31T07:37:00.000-04:002013-07-31T08:43:51.111-04:00A little piece of advice for Caroline Wozniacki<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Wozniacki_winner.jpg/687px-Wozniacki_winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Wozniacki_winner.jpg/687px-Wozniacki_winner.jpg" width="200" /></a>Dear Ms. Wozniacki,<br />
<br />
We don't know each other, but as someone who has written about tennis, I feel I am perfectly within my rights to give you advice about your personal life. Even if it's none of my damn business.<br />
<br />
I think it's time to say what everyone has been thinking for the last two years. C'mon, we all know what has happened to your game, why you have gone from No. 1 in the rankings in 2011 to No. 10 and without a title this season when you should be at the top of the tennis world.<br />
<br />
It's the boyfriend. You spend too much time together. After every tennis tournament, you're off to some golf course to walk 18 holes instead of practicing. How selfish of Rory McIlroy to expect you to care about him and his career. As if he should matter.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Rory_McIlroy_Irish_Golfer.jpg/400px-Rory_McIlroy_Irish_Golfer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Rory_McIlroy_Irish_Golfer.jpg/400px-Rory_McIlroy_Irish_Golfer.jpg" width="213" /></a>You know what you need? An anonymous husband. Someone who is there for you instead of the other way around. Someone who is willing to sacrifice his career, his wants, his needs, to be at your side, carrying your tennis rackets for you and (preferably) walking one step behind at all times. He must remain in the shadows, so the spotlight can shine only on you. <br />
<br />
Because that's what's best. For your game, that is.<br />
<br />
Love? Please. If you want sloppy kisses, get a dog. (Good thing you two already have one.)<br />
<br />
Look, if Rory isn't going to stop playing golf and be a good little husband, there's only one solution to your problem. Ditch the guy (keep the dog) and find a man who will help you with your game.<br />
<br />
The game is everything, after all. <br />
<br />
Oh, and Ms. Wozniacki? If you insist on staying with Rory, can I offer one last piece of advice for you? The next time you happen to see Gary Player, tell him to take <a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/9521348/gary-player-offers-rory-mcilroy-relationship-advice">his advice</a> and piss off.<br />
<br />
Wozniacki photo by <a class="external text" href="http://www.flickr.com/people/15586134@N00" rel="nofollow">Charlie Cowins</a><br />
McIlroy photo by <a class="new" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Danielbennett98&action=edit&redlink=1" title="User:Danielbennett98 (page does not exist)">Danielbennett98</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-54095121237072758142013-07-27T10:35:00.001-04:002013-07-28T21:37:39.024-04:00Could gay accusation cost Kerry Rhodes NFL job?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlByDzEdbhyphenhyphen_A1Ek4GbzapsbxtZ9pfIB9e9hzCwDQF6N7SA8q6TzR5Hkue2xhxNUj8JOv-7JdjueNX3Kl-ialr2gB1vKqFuAiIbMfqrGRxKX9u-qunC7aIKb6_EhlAHXJcpfTNmIiXaA/s1600/new+nfl+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlByDzEdbhyphenhyphen_A1Ek4GbzapsbxtZ9pfIB9e9hzCwDQF6N7SA8q6TzR5Hkue2xhxNUj8JOv-7JdjueNX3Kl-ialr2gB1vKqFuAiIbMfqrGRxKX9u-qunC7aIKb6_EhlAHXJcpfTNmIiXaA/s200/new+nfl+logo.jpg" width="200" /></a>The last time NFL free agent safety Kerry Rhodes was asked about his future, he <a href="http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/07/bessemer_native_and_nfl_free_a.html">told AL.com earlier in July</a> that he was in the middle of negotiations and a decision on where he would play was coming soon.<br />
<br />
"It's in the works," he said. "I can't talk about it in depth but there's a good four teams that I'm looking at. There are ongoing discussions. I'm trying to see which one will be the best fit for me. You will see me, though."<br />
<br />
So far, we haven't.<br />
<br />
Training camps opened throughout the NFL this week, with all signed veterans arriving by Saturday. Rhodes was not among them.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's a negotiating ploy. Maybe Rhodes thinks he can wait until teams evaluate their rosters and possibly get a better deal later. Maybe at 30 he is hoping to skip the rigors of training camp and sign later in preseason.<br />
<br />
Or is it possible an accusation that Rhodes is gay is costing him a chance to sign a lucrative contract, perhaps even preventing him from getting a job in the NFL?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
To be clear, Rhodes has not come out as gay. But a former business associate <a href="http://bossip.com/760006/bossip-exclusive-nfl-star-kerry-rhodes-gay-lover-exposes-secret-relationship-we-had-the-best-sex-and-life-photosvideo/">has claimed he was in a long-term physical relationship</a> with Rhodes and released pictures to try to prove it. Rhodes has <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2013/04/11/kerry-rhodes-nfl-star-not-gay-media-takeout-photos/">denied the allegation.</a> Perhaps to prove the point, he apparently <a href="http://deadspin.com/report-kerry-rhodes-is-claiming-to-be-the-father-of-ki-513865411">claimed he might be the father of Kim Kardashian's baby</a>.<br />
<br />
As of today, veteran NBA player Jason Collins remains the only professional athlete in a major team sport in the U.S. to come out while still active. Interestingly, right now Collins is a free agent as well. And so far, he has not been able to secure a contract for next season. Is that because he is gay or because he is a journeyman near or at the end of his career? That remains to be seen.<br />
<br />
Rhodes is not a journeyman. He's an eight-year veteran coming off a strong season for the Arizona Cardinals. He started 15 games, recorded four interceptions, two forced fumbles and a sack. As <a href="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000217415/article/kerry-rhodes-in-ongoing-discussions-with-four-teams">NFL.com pointed out</a>, Rhodes is ranked among the better safeties in the game.<br />
<br />
And yet, no team has signed him to date.<br />
<br />
Yes, Rhodes, an Associated Press All-Pro second-team pick with the New York Jets in 2006, isn't the only free agent still unsigned. He's one of a few. Maybe it's merely timing.<br />
<br />
But it's hard not to wonder. There have been mixed messages from the NFL about acceptance of gay players in its ranks recently. It was only a few months ago that rumors surfaced that as many as four NFL players planned to come out as gay amid the positive support that came from players such as Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ajanbadejo. That didn't happen, and the NFL faced criticism when it was revealed that some<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/03/18/roger-goodell-says-nfl-has-provided-training-against-teams-asking-prospects-about-sexual-orientation/"> teams were asking potential draft picks if they were gay</a>. <br />
<br />
If Rhodes does not play, or is forced to accept a minimal offer just to get into a training camp this summer possibly because of an accusation he has denied, that will be a setback for a movement toward acceptance in professional sports that has seen much progress in the past year. And it will say a lot about the NFL.<br />
<br />
It will also make a powerful statement to gay players currently in the league or hoping to make it there someday: If you want to play, you better stay in the closet.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-9328071815845435682013-07-23T12:13:00.001-04:002013-07-27T10:35:54.839-04:00The merry Jews of Nascar<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c1-11Cl_RFbaYgrbY7vGpqGaCLXBZdFmVgV5RsLQ8g_1LaIcMaeo6U_8mOkJdNWX-b1II6N4nrtMq5OYKbe9xNvSxsWwLPrDrL5P-81wm6VGTbnQcc1d1LjWRUmZiw60hawogWi7cVU/s1600/star5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1c1-11Cl_RFbaYgrbY7vGpqGaCLXBZdFmVgV5RsLQ8g_1LaIcMaeo6U_8mOkJdNWX-b1II6N4nrtMq5OYKbe9xNvSxsWwLPrDrL5P-81wm6VGTbnQcc1d1LjWRUmZiw60hawogWi7cVU/s320/star5.png" width="285" /></a>Somebody with a sharp wit and way too much time on his hands created <a href="http://jewswholikenascar.com/">JewsWhoLikeNascar.com</a>. Go ahead, click on it. You'll laugh.<br />
<br />
Yes, Nascar was born in the Bible Belt South. And racing and religion are inseparable. Each weekly driver's meeting ends with a prayer and every pre-race ceremony includes an invocation.<br />
<br />
Goyishe sport, right? Oy! Would you believe there are enough Jews in Nascar to fill an Adam Sandler song? And then some.<br />
<br />
No, they're not the ones driving the racecars, so you're not going to read about them. But here's the thing: You probably will read them. That's because we're all in the press box and media center. It's one of the oddities of Nascar:<a name='more'></a> Many of the people who cover the sport happen to be Jewish.<br />
<br />
Nascar fans have probably seen the byline of Jeff Gluck, one of the lead motorsports writers for <em><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nascar/">USA Today</a></em> and formerly with SBNation.com and the old <em>Nascar Scene</em>. The indefatigable Nascar reporter for <em>The Sporting News</em> is <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/author/bob-pockrass">Bob Pockrass</a>. The Associated Press national motorsports writer is <a href="http://racing.ap.org/topic/jenna-fryer">Jenna Fryer</a>. Lewis Franck writes for <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/search/?q=lewis%20franck">Autoweek </a>and has contributed to <em>ESPN The Magazine</em>, <em>Sports Illustrated's</em> SI.com and Reuters.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVijjz9hvUNo9pJMJfNxdI98qabjTgSR-Z_1Rml7zrInqibywb_0TYDsIY8k9kUkPKrBo6YMkf1p6gW7Oiy6yh8xE6PjxUjdmD91ok7cTlmltVLlaZ95N2w5UKOwJH3Q-WS8ATXnqFFE/s1600/levine+and+pockrass+with+cutline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVijjz9hvUNo9pJMJfNxdI98qabjTgSR-Z_1Rml7zrInqibywb_0TYDsIY8k9kUkPKrBo6YMkf1p6gW7Oiy6yh8xE6PjxUjdmD91ok7cTlmltVLlaZ95N2w5UKOwJH3Q-WS8ATXnqFFE/s1600/levine+and+pockrass+with+cutline.jpg" /></a>Yep, all Jewish.<br />
<br />
Do you get your Nascar fix from <a href="http://speed.com/">Speed.com</a> (soon to be merged with Foxsports.com)? The editor in chief is the veteran Tom Jensen. The <em>Kansas City Star</em> racing writer is <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/17/4350153/clint-bowyer-riding-high-as-sprint.html">Randy Covitz</a>. <a href="http://search.time.com/results.html?Ntt=steve+goldberg&N=0&Nty=1&p=0&cmd=tags&x=0&y=0">Steve Goldberg</a> is a motorsports contributor to<em> Time</em>. The <em><a href="http://nascarillustrated.scenedaily.com/issue/2013/08/august-2013">Nascar Illustrated</a></em> executive producer for new and social media is Steven M. Levine, who hosted the old Rowdy.com racing show. The Performance Racing Network pit reporter is <a href="http://www.goprn.com/team/steve_richards/">Steve Richards</a>, whose last name is Leibowitz. <a href="http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/MRN-Radio/Announcers.aspx">Eli Gold</a> does radio for Motor Racing Network. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Edelstein/e/B001HOVRP0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">Robert Edelstein</a> is the <em>TV Guide</em> contributing editor for Nascar and author of the books <em>Nascar Legends: Memorable Men, Moments and Machines in Racing History;</em> <em>Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of Nascar Legend Curtis Turner;</em> and <em>Nascar Generations</em>.<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah. If you happened to read about Nascar in <em>The New York Times</em>, there's a chance the story was written by<a href="http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/viv+bernstein+nascar/since1851/allresults/1/allauthors/newest/"> me</a>.<br />
<br />
Emeritus members include Mike Harris, the longtime AP national motorsports writer who retired, former <em>USA Today</em> writer Seth Livingstone, ex-Yahoo! contributor Bob Margolis and former<em> Miami Herald</em> motorsports writer Sarah Rothschild, now communications director for Congresswoman Lois Frankel, D-Fla.<br />
<br />
It was Harris, Franck and Goldberg who came up with the (mostly) facetious Jewish Motorsports Press Association years ago. They even printed up membership cards. <br />
<br />
"It featured a racecar with a Star of David on the side, a kosher symbol and was sponsored by Hebrew National,'' Goldberg wrote. "I think our motto was, 'Oy, such a fast car!' ''<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzINp6iqnzarVQae4Qmt0KT0zADpmePsEipA2wfvOxuvD_kRvwmHlQbU7hdekFvG2jOArzpSX2yenOkpiprW9P_he6XlCPwprJ1VbTFiPsPXOEmIe9GRWjDgnd5d0INQ8m-c2Z_jdUjo/s1600/steve+richards+with+aj+cutline4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzINp6iqnzarVQae4Qmt0KT0zADpmePsEipA2wfvOxuvD_kRvwmHlQbU7hdekFvG2jOArzpSX2yenOkpiprW9P_he6XlCPwprJ1VbTFiPsPXOEmIe9GRWjDgnd5d0INQ8m-c2Z_jdUjo/s320/steve+richards+with+aj+cutline4.jpg" width="320" /></a>From there, the handful became a pack. Or Tribe.<br />
<br />
"Years ago at a media tour -- this was 2005, the year I met Gluck -- I was riding up in the Hilton elevator one night with Gluck, Mike Harris and Lewis,'' Edelstein wrote of the annual gathering of media and Nascar race teams. "And Gluck looked at all of us and said, 'I feel like this must be the Nascar elevator minyan.' "<br />
<br />
There is no simple explanation for why so many Jewish writers and reporters gravitated to Nascar with its comparatively small media contingent. We all found our own paths at various times.<br />
<br />
"I like to tell people I'm just a simple Jewish kid from the Bronx, so of course Nascar is one of my favorite sports,'' said Edelstein, who lives in New Jersey. "Thank goodness I'm not so devout that I have to care whether the moonshine is kosher."<br />
<br />
Many of us are based around the Nascar hub of Charlotte, N.C., land of a thousand churches ... and two temples. But hey, at least Jensen was able to find a nice place to celebrate his son's upcoming Bar Mitzvah. <br />
<br />
It will be at the Nascar Hall of Fame. Where else?<br />
<br />
Aside from the occasional inside joke, our religion is largely a non-issue at the track. The media center is a little bit like the lunchroom in "Mean Girls," so we don't talk all that much in there, anyway.<br />
<br />
It's not an issue with Nascar, either. There are Jewish staff dotting the race teams and public relations machine as well. And they're like any other organization: If you write nice things about them, they'll like you. If not, be prepared for some major kvetching!<br />
<br />
I doubt folks in the sport even realize how many of us are in the media center these days. If they did, maybe they would think twice about serving pulled pork every weekend.<br />
<br />
So now that you know, would it be too much to ask for a little kosher spread to nosh on instead? Hey Charlotte Motor Speedway, how about a bialy and schmeer?<br />
<br />
<em>Robert Edelstein and Steve Goldberg contributed.</em><br />
<br />
Richards photo courtesy of Amy McGovern.<br />
<a href="http://free-bitsela.com/">FREE Jewish Clip Art from Bitsela</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-41864600530927659412013-07-17T16:45:00.002-04:002013-07-23T12:16:23.523-04:00The locker-room debate revisited. Again and again.I pushed the door open as if I belonged and tried to ignore the sudden discomfort the first time I ever walked into a locker room as a professional sportswriter. I felt empowered and nervous. I certainly wasn't the first woman ever to go into the New Jersey Devils locker room. And to their credit, they didn't seem to notice or care that I was in there.<br />
<br />
I still feel that discomfort every time I go into a locker room. But I'm forever grateful for the opportunity as one of the many reporters who benefited from <a href="http://articles.courant.com/2013-07-13/sports/hc-riley-column-0714-20130713_1_san-diego-padres-espn-documentary-claire-smith">the battles in the 1970s and '80s</a> to allow female sportswriters access to locker rooms. That story was retold in "Let Them Wear Towels," this week's installment of ESPN's excellent "Nine for IX" series on women and sports. Watch a replay if you can.<br />
<br />
Equality won all those years ago. And because of that, I've been fortunate to have a career as a sportswriter with very few locker-room incidents involving athletes or coaches. The overwhelming majority I've encountered over the years have been professional, and most of my issues have been about what I wrote, not who I am. Fair enough.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht43V3eTgywNlCGfGBIViT57cxzsjJFlk_ZP3MNH9lC7p2rx8MuDCJghKbVinUEX6KCAS8hGNVlIZiEOSW7GDsbrjZCzgAORz5HWtP7F1mqyi5n_qzfDakEiH4UeGFSqPQn67YAokigcg/s1600/screensavecherry+7-17-13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht43V3eTgywNlCGfGBIViT57cxzsjJFlk_ZP3MNH9lC7p2rx8MuDCJghKbVinUEX6KCAS8hGNVlIZiEOSW7GDsbrjZCzgAORz5HWtP7F1mqyi5n_qzfDakEiH4UeGFSqPQn67YAokigcg/s400/screensavecherry+7-17-13.png" width="400" /></a>But what strikes me about the issue of<br />
women in the locker room, a settled matter for decades now, is how unsettling it remains for some even today.<span style="background-color: #dddddd;"> </span>Just this past April, 30 years after the fight was essentially won, hockey broadcaster Don Cherry declared that women didn't belong in the locker room. To which I replied, <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/04/don-cherry-should-be-banned-from-locker.html">Cherry should be banned from the locker room</a> if he can't be as professional as the rest of us.<br />
<br />
After I wrote that, though, I once again was forced to defend my right to be treated no differently than male sportswriters. The comments and criticisms came via Twitter.<br />
<br />
Among those agreeing with Cherry was @Waterloo_Habs, who tried to turn the argument around but made the mistake that many outsiders do in assuming men are not allowed in women's locker rooms as well. Of course, men are allowed. Equality, remember? The difference is women make sure to cover up when the locker room is open, which is why there are never any issues with reporters.<br />
<br />
Still, that wasn't good enough for @Waterloo_Habs. In his mind, the problem could only be solved by banning women outright, even though that would essentially ban women from most sportswriting jobs. As if equality, so meaningful to women and so hard-fought, was somehow inconsequential.<br />
<br />
I wrote back, "Yes, barring all women from being beat writers would do the trick. Because it's too much to ask guys to wear a towel..."<br />
<br />
It's the same argument the first female sportswriters made 30 years ago. It's the same argument I've had to make countless times in my career. If we already won, why do we have to keep defending ourselves over and over again?<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-46158177377896134132013-07-09T15:06:00.001-04:002013-07-17T16:46:35.182-04:00The ugliness of judging beauty, Wimbledon editionAs Andy Murray held the Wimbledon trophy aloft, the first British man to win the singles title in 77 years, I can't imagine there was a single person in all of England who looked at him and said at that moment, "Good thing he can play tennis because, you know, he's not exactly a looker."<br />
<br />
Who would ever mar the greatest moment in a tennis player's career with a nonsensical, irrelevant comment like that? And on television, no less?<br />
<br />
And yet, it happened. <br />
<a name='more'></a>That's what BBC broadcaster<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jul/09/john-inverdale-marion-bartoli-bbc"> John Inverdale said about Marion Bartoli </a>moments after she realized a life's dream and won Wimbledon on Saturday.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I just wonder if her dad, because he has obviously been the most influential person in her life, did say to her when she was 12, 13, 14 maybe, 'listen, you are never going to be, you know, a looker. You are never going to be somebody like a Sharapova, you're never going to be 5-feet-11, you're never going to be somebody with long legs, so you have to compensate for that.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You are going to have to be the most dogged, detemined fighter that anyone has ever seen on the tennis court if you are going to make it,' and she kind of is." </blockquote>
So on the day Bartoli was lauded along with Murray, she actually had to respond to attacks on her personal appearance. Seriously. Here's what she said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I invite this journalist to come and see me this evening in ball gown and heels, and in my opinion he could change his mind. I am not blonde, yes. Have I dreamt about having a model contract? No. But have I dreamed about winning Wimbledon? Absolutely."</blockquote>
A few years ago, I wrote about<a href="http://trueslant.com/vivbernstein/2009/07/22/erin-andrews-and-the-ugliness-of-judging-beauty/"> the ugliness of judging beauty</a>, how some people believed broadcaster Erin Andrews deserved to be harassed because of her appearance and how beauty determined too much in life. I've even joked about my gorgeous golden retriever and how she revealed<a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/04/beauty-and-blonde.html"> the benefits of being beautiful</a> to me.<br />
<br />
As someone who has never had that advantage in life, I always chafed at those who put us down just for our appearance. But long before <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/01/08/espn-apologizes-for-brent-musburgers-comments-about-katherine-webb/">Brent Musburger revealed his creepiness</a> in ogling a woman young enough to be his granddaughter, I came to the realization that it doesn't matter how many times women complain about being judged solely on beauty.<br />
<br />
It's never, ever going to change. And the more we try to defend ourselves, the more ugliness is going to be heaped upon us.<br />
<br />
I wish Bartoli had said nothing. I wish she instead called the BBC and asked that Inverdale no longer participate in broadcasts of women's tennis. After all, if that's the best he has to offer when a woman wins Wimbledon, he clearly doesn't belong in the booth.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-3244434250312283532013-07-03T13:20:00.002-04:002013-07-09T15:08:01.946-04:00Nascar, Kyle Petty and the future of sports coverageBack in May, while covering the Nascar All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for The New York Times, I conducted a little independent study. I made a list of the reporters who asked questions of five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in a pair of press conferences held in the media center.<br />
<br />
Of the 16 questions asked over the two weeks, 15 came from reporters or broadcasters who work for media outlets that have a financial relationship with Nascar, from the Motor Racing Network to Nascar.com. Only one question came from a reporter who works for an independent television station.<br />
<br />
That's meant mostly as an observation and not a criticism of Nascar, which decides who gets to ask questions of drivers during press conferences. I think it's partly a function of who is in the media center these days. And why they are there.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
With many independent media outlets reducing coverage of Nascar, from Sports Illustrated to The Washington Post, those seats have increasingly been filled by stakeholders -- companies that have a financial stake in the success of the sport from radio and television networks to their affiliated web sites. These days it seems like Nascar, perhaps more than any other sport, is reported on and written about largely by those stakeholders.<br />
<br />
And although some very good journalists work for some of the media outlets that have financial connections to Nascar, they aren't necessarily being paid to be journalists anymore. They are there to provide content in support of the marketing of Nascar.<br />
<br />
That inevitably changes the tone of coverage.<br />
<br />
Because with fewer independent reporters in the media center week to week and fewer major newspapers devoting money and space to Nascar, there are fewer independent questions being asked. And likely fewer critical examinations of controversial issues within the sport.<br />
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<br />
Which brings me to broadcaster and former driver Kyle Petty, who had the apparent audacity to offer an unscripted opinion of Danica Patrick last week. Petty works for TNT, one of those media outlets with a stake in Nascar, but is an independent thinker who speaks his mind rather than the company line.<br />
<br />
Petty certainly didn't do Nascar any favors by pointing out that Patrick is more a "marketing machine" than competitive racecar driver. Patrick is one of the brightest stars of Nascar, able to draw new sponsors and fans to a sport that has seen ratings and attendance declines over the years. She helps the networks sell Nascar and that fact is reflected in the coverage of her by some.<br />
<br />
Never mind the absurd argument put forth that Petty doesn't have the resume to criticize Patrick. As longtime Nascar writer <a href="http://montedutton.com/blog/2013/07/01/collecting-my-highway-thoughts/">Monte Dutton points out</a> in his blog, it's hard to fathom that someone with 829 Cup starts, 30 years as a driver and a lifetime association with the sport somehow isn't viewed as credible.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/plstt/5021916680/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Danica Patrick by plstt, on Flickr"><img alt="Danica Patrick" height="213" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/5021916680_42d41abc70_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>But this isn't about Petty's qualifications. It's about the backlash that comes when somebody goes off-message. It's just so rare to hear a discordant voice in Nascar, which might be why Petty's commentary stood out even though he essentially repeated something<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/news/story?id=4811973"> he had said about Patrick three years ago</a> (h/t Nate Ryan). Or why a <a href="http://viv-bernstein.blogspot.com/2013/04/nascars-silence-on-jason-collins-says.html">column suggesting Nascar missed an opportunity</a> to join a national conversation when Jason Collins came out as gay created such an uproar a few months ago.<br />
<br />
Of course, every sport is heavily managed these days, with independent media kept increasingly leashed or at arms length. But given the economics of newspapers, web sites and the cost of coverage, I have to wonder if more sports will be like Nascar in the future with press boxes filled primarily with stakeholders and de facto marketers rather than reporters.<br />
<br />
That might be good news for sports leagues that work tirelessly to manage and control the message. I'm not so sure it is good for all those who benefit from a healthy skepticism and critical examination of sports.<br />
<br />
But do fans really care?<br />
<br />
<b>Danica Patrick photo credit: Paul K. Stout</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711972915079022307.post-88310360618693553082013-06-11T12:08:00.001-04:002013-07-03T13:23:47.596-04:00Time to start outing athletes? I don't think so, LZ In all the years I've been a sports reporter, I've rarely had a good reason to ask an athlete, coach or administrator this question:<br />
<br />
"Who are you shtupping?"<br />
<br />
Apparently, LZ Granderson thinks we should start asking those hard questions of sports figures who might be gay. Granderson, who writes for ESPN The Magazine and is one of the few out gay sportswriters in the business, believes it's<a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9315552/reporters-need-address-athlete-sexuality-avoid-homophobia-media-espn-magazine"> time reporters treat gay athletes the same as straight athletes </a>and write about their private lives:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The unintended byproduct of respecting a player's privacy is rendering him invisible, and that invisibility allows prejudice to fester,'' Granderson wrote of the media's hesitance to tackle the subject. "In the case of gay athletes, the unspoken truth provides cover for our latent homophobia in the mainstream media. While we don't mind chasing down and reporting every detail of presumed heterosexual athletes' lives, we work particularly hard to avoid rumors of homosexuality. What weighs heaviest on me about this code is that it inadvertently endorses shame. It grants permission for bigotry. And it perpetuates the assumption that gay male professional athletes are a rarity. The media -- more to the point, I -- haven't shown the courage to delve into whether or not that is true.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It's time the charade ends. It's time the media start covering gay athletes' off-field lives with the same intensity and integrity with which we cover straight athletes."</blockquote>
<br />
Here's the first mistake in that argument: We generally don't chase down and report every detail of presumed heterosexual athletes' lives. It's often only when a sports figure makes his personal life public fodder that reporters rightfully pursue the story.<br />
<br />
Nobody grilled Tiger Woods about his sexual conquests until he made himself a public spectacle with a car accident that devolved into revelations of serial adultery. Nobody asked New York Jets coach Rex Ryan about his quirky personal desires until his wife posted a video online that showed he had a foot fetish.<br />
<br />
Once it's out there it's fair game. And if there was a price to be paid for those revelations, they were the ones to bring that upon themselves.<br />
<br />
Here's the second mistake in Granderson's argument: Equating the behavior of people like Woods and Ryan with sports figures who are gay. Why should private lives be scrutinized to that level merely because someone is gay? Unless, of course, you view being gay as worthy of heightened scrutiny above those of the average heterosexual athlete.<br />
<br />
The third mistake? That's the most damning of all. Outing a sports figure puts that person at risk in ways that straight people never face. I'm sure Granderson is aware that it is perfectly <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/08/maddow-corrects-politifacts-half-truth-in-29-states-you-can-be-fired-for-being-lgbt/">legal in 29 states to fire someone for being gay</a>. And everyone knows the risk of physical assault that exists for anyone who is gay -- something heterosexual sports figures generally don't have to worry about no matter how outlandish their behavior may be.<br />
<br />
I suspect many sports reporters know coaches, athletes or administrators who are gay. I certainly do. It's respect and understanding and concern -- not homophobia, discomfort with the subject matter or lack of courage -- that keep many of us from outing those in the industry we know are gay.<br />
<br />
As long as the law does not treat gay people the same, I won't treat them the same. If the day comes when being gay is no longer a fireable offense in this country, when it no longer creates risk to those who are closeted, then those questions can be asked in casual interviews.<br />
<br />
But not a day before.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03007736004483791148noreply@blogger.com7