About Those Open Mikes ...
The Web site YouTube.com is a wonderful place.
Because of it, we now have a catchphrase for the front of T-shirts and for random insertion into various conversations: ‘‘Don’t Tase me, bro!’’
Because of YouTube, we now have a means of heading off a blistering tirade from a disappointed boss or angry spouse: ‘‘Don’t Gundy me, bro!’’
If you haven’t checked out the nearly four-minute wig-out Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy staged during his post-game press conference last Saturday, please do so now at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VytIZZzee0&mode=related&search=
Take your time. I’ll give you a minute.
Anyway, Gundy went bonkers on Daily Oklahoman sports writer Jenni Carlson for a column written about the Cowboys’ quarterback change (you can find it, along with exhaustive post-Gundy-screed coverage at newsok.com). In the column, Carlson questioned whether Gundy benched starter Bobby Reid because of a less than desirable attitude and insinuated Reid lacks toughness.
Gundy’s 50-megaton tirade had a humorous quality, almost like Nick Nolte’s pivotal scene in ‘‘Blue Chips.’’
The crux of Gundy’s argument was that Reid shouldn’t be criticized because he’s a ‘‘kid’’ and an amateur athlete. Sorry, but Reid is a 21-year-old senior. He’s old enough to vote, old enough to die in Iraq. He’s no more a kid than he is an amateur. College athletes on scholarship at major programs receive advantages and perks the average student doesn’t. Plus, there’s the promise that Mr. FatCat Booster will provide a job at his car dealership if the NFL isn’t a viable career path.
‘‘Come after me!,’’ Gundy demanded. ‘‘I’m a man. I’m 40.’’
Hopefully he feels like more of a man now. At the very least, his outburst successfully distracted Oklahoma State fans from more important matters, including the Cowboys’ 2-2 start, the beatdowns it suffered at Georgia and Troy, and the 700-plus yards of total offense surrendered in a win over Texas Tech. Given the chance Monday to address the inaccuracies he perceived to exist in Carlson’s column, Gundy was surprisingly meek.
Too many fans fail to understand the role of a sports columnist when it comes to coverage of a college program. We’re not supposed to be rah-rah bandwagon drivers. We’re charged with providing commentary (opinion and analysis of the news). The goal is to inform, but also to entertain and inspire debate.
Carlson obviously succeeded in doing the latter.
There’s nothing wrong with Gundy defending a player or criticizing a newspaper columnist, but there are more constructive ways to accomplish both objectives.
I’ve been the target of many a rant from pro and college coaches and athletes in my career. Most will air their grievances in private and move on. That would have been a wiser course of action for Gundy.
Instead, he displayed a level of immaturity befitting someone far younger than 40 before leaving his press conference with one parting shot:
‘‘Makes me want to puke,’’ he said.
Well, we can at least agree on that.
On to other subjects:
* Welcome to the party, Gerald Poindexter.
The Surry County Commonwealth attorney got off the sidelines and successfully pursued an indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three co-defendants on state charges relating to the dogfighting operation operated in Virginia.
Early on, it seemed as if Poindexter and Co. were more likely to ask for an autograph from Vick than to attempt to investigate possible criminal activity.
Vick, who pleaded guilty in federal court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge, could face as many as 40 years in prison if convicted of the state charges.
While the guilty plea in federal court seemed to leave open the possibility of a return to the NFL at some point, his problems are just beginning.
Royal Bank of Canada has also accused Vick of defaulting on a $2.5 million loan and has filed suit.
* Atlanta Falcons coach Bobby Petrino says any discipline of cornerback DeAngelo Hall will be handled in-house.
No matter what sort of fine or other internal sanction Hall faces, it’s a little late.
Petrino should have benched hall for at least a series -- and possibly for the remainder of the game -- in Sunday’s 27-20 Atlanta loss to Carolina. After being penalized three times for 67 yards on one drive and giving Carolina ample opportunity to score a tying third-quarter touchdown, Hall had the gall to scream at Petrino and an Atlanta assistant coach on his way off the field.
Eventually, a couple teammates had to stand between Hall and the coaches to restore some semblance of calm.
Given the less than stellar recent history successful college coaches have had in transitioning to the NFL (Steve Spurrier anyone?), Petrino needed to act with a heavy hand.
6 comments:
Hi, Troy---you could probably predict how I felt about Coach Gundy's tirade. I thought it was mean-spirited and way over the top. His concerns should have been addressed calmly and in private. There are several questions that bothered me, though. After reading the column, I have to admit I thought it was very mean-spirited as well! I thought Jenni Carlson crossed the line and went way past provoking thoughtful debate as do other columnists. I realize that the player in question is no kid, but questioning his manhood was, in my opinion, inappropriate. Above my concern for the QB, coach and team is that for all female writers who happen to love sports. Hope that doesn't send them (uh, us) back to the dark ages where we were not considered qualified to write if we "haven't played the game". Keep up the good work, buddy!
T-Roy! What's up, man? Great blog ... however, just come out and say it, "Jenni Carlson's article sucked!" Sure, there are much better ways to handle the situation from Gundy's end, but would you ever write that (not to mention, the racial undertones with her chicken comment--any editor worth his weight would've nixed that. Of course, any editor worth his weight wouldn't be working at the Oklahoman either).
I doubt that any criticism you've received has been justified though!
Thanks for joining the discussion.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to question the argument laid out in Jenni Carlson’s column. No experienced columnist writes with the expectation that his or her work won’t be dissected and critiqued. You have to develop a layer of elephant hide to last in such a job.
I think her piece would have been stronger had she not laid out some of it with a ‘‘rumor has it’’ kind of tone.
I don’t know Jenni, but have met her. She’s won some national awards and seems to have a reputation in the business for being a person of integrity. But I’d wager that the column in question was not an example of her best work.
However, by going on his wild and wide-eyed postgame rant, Gundy gave that column a much wider audience than it ever would have received. Because of his tantrum making the internet and airwaves, folks from Kalamazoo to Calcutta have read that his quarterback is soft.
I don’t have a problem with a coach challenging a writer or defending a player. That will always earn him points in his own locker room and serve as a rallying point for a team. Unfortunately, he failed to take Carlson up on her invitation to point out inaccuracies in her column. If you’re going to call anybody out in such an angry public spectacle, you need to come correct on stuff like that. Go ahead and itemize what’s problematic for you instead of talking in generalities.
I do wonder if Gundy would have behaved differently toward a male sports columnist. One of the unfortunate by-products of a coach vs. writer feud is that the coach often falls back on the ‘‘but you never played the game’’ argument.
I played the game, but not well.
Even so, it’s an argument built on a faulty premise.
The coach has never been a columnist, so how can he criticize writing?
Or, if he orders a steak at a restaurant, finds it overcooked and complains, he would go ballistic if the maitre d’ responded with: ‘‘I’m sorry, sir, but you’re not qualified to criticize since you’ve never been a chef. Enjoy your $50 charcoal briquette.’’
T-Roy, I know you would've punked Gundy right there if he talked to you like that! :) ... I thought he did point out at least one inaccuracy--the threat to transfer. But as a writer, I would prefer a more constructive critique than a pasting that's now national news. Those marked up papers in red ink by Ms. Pilkington don't look so bad now.
I have my doubts as to whether he would've reacted the same if a man would've written the piece. But I know what it's like to be embarrassed like that ... the ole Ball Coach did it to me in '95 in Athens when he was upset over something somebody wrote at the Banner-Herald (it wasn't me). He asked me to leave the room--but I snuck back in and hid behind a bulk camera man. At least there was no You Tube back then.
I think the best response for the writer in the case of such a rant is to stand there and take it, without breaking eye-contact with the ranter.
Then, at the end, say ''Are you finished yet?''
Just kidding. But if you know what you've written is accurate, you do have to stand your ground. If it turns out there were inaccuracies in the piece, you owe the offended parties an apology. Simple as that.
The problem for Gundy is that if he went ballistic over a column that seemed pretty tame compared to what's written about athletes in places like L.A. or New York City, can you trust him to keep an even keel against Oklahoma?
By the way, what was the Head Ball Coach hacked off about? Couldn't have been something I'd written.
I think it was something I believe our beat writer wrote ;)
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