The American Spectator : Speaking of Sports

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Speaking of Sports

By Lisa Fabrizio on 5.12.10 @ 6:06AM

What has happened to Howard Cosell's toy department?

The late Howard Cosell is reported to once have opined that "Sports is the toy department of life"; meaning that watching sports was a way to slip into a simpler world, untouched by the evils of the real one. Now this was pretty rich stuff coming from a man who did all he could to ensure that the reverse was true. He, like many of his colleagues in "real" journalism, decided during the 1960s that simply reporting events wasn't half so enjoyable or rewarding as creating them. Later on in his career he decided that "Sports is human life in microcosm," a much more accurate description.

But in some ways, it really was the toy department, in that those who were fortunate enough to earn a living there were blessed; no nine-to-five job for them, no monetary worries; only a few hours of the day spent playing the games of childhood. And for those whose talents were insufficient for year-round financial stability, a few months spent at actual labor in the off season was not a bad price to pay for fame and admiration.

But, as in the rest of America, times changed. And, as was the case with nearly everything else they touched, the revolutionary waves of the 1960s, which claimed to promote freedom for nearly everyone, brought only servitude. In other words, we were freed from any objective moral compass only to become slaves of egotism, relativism, and subjectivism. These moral maladies -- brought to us courtesy of '60s liberals whose idea of perfect citizenship is a nation of perpetual adolescents forever glorying in sex, drugs and rock and roll -- have now pervaded nearly all facets of our society.

And so now even the sports world offers no shortage of examples. Much ado was recently raised when a teenager ran afoul of security at Citizens Bank Park, by scurrying across the outfield and eventually being taken down by Taser. Now, taken in itself, the occasion of a wacky teenager wanting to "express" himself by treading the turf trodden by his heroes wouldn't be a big deal. But exacerbating the situation was the fact that the youth actually phoned his daddy to solicit some fatherly guidance in regards to breaking the law.

Now I don't know about all of you, but were I stupid enough to do the same, I can't envision my dad giving me anything but an iron-clad order to desist followed by a stern edict to get the rocks out of my head. But, true to the modern parenting handbook, Pops responded with this chummy piece of advice: "I don't think you should." And fearing, as should all of today's fathers who call their sons "buddy," that their offspring will totally ignore them, he then called a friend who was at the game, asking him to try and stop his son's mad dash. This of course failed miserably, but justice was eventually served when the spoiled child was not spared the rod, electric though it might have been.

The desire of the boy to gain his 15 minutes of fame, though deplorable, is easy enough to understand. What do you expect from the "look-at-me" generation who are raised to think that their mere existence is worthy of media coverage; who must text, Tweet and Facebook in advance of their next visit to the bathroom? No, the truly disturbing behavior was on the part of the father. Once again we see that even parenthood has been engulfed in a fog of non-judgmental immaturity, as even in this era of terrorist threats, the lad's dad concluded the incident by saying that he wasn't angry with his son because it was simply a case of "teenagers having fun."

Similarly indicative of where we are now, was the report that former NFL bad-boy Lawrence Taylor was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. Now sadly, this kind of story is no longer noteworthy in the world of sports. What is surprising is the reaction of sportswriters and talk-show hosts, trying to figure out what the "mentality" of NFL players might be that causes them to rape and/or mistreat women.

Some would blame the situation on the violent nature of the sport, while others who are more brave make the connection between the backgrounds of some of the players from poorer neighborhoods and these thuggish actions. But none of this rings entirely true, since these conditions have been a part of professional football since its inception.

Incredibly, these sports pundits, many of whom work right here in New York City, home of Madison Avenue, fail to see the forest for the trees. Were all of these folks at the buffet table during the Super Bowl ads? As I wrote at the time, "[W]e were treated to commercials that featured: old people brutalized, smarmy sexual comments placed on the lips of babies, screaming chickens, endless promos for movies featuring things demonic, countless folks being punched and slapped around and even an ad where a child cracks one of his mother's boyfriends across the face."

Yet, as I listened to one New York sports jock muse that LT should have made age inquiries before he "ordered up a prostitute," I was shocked at just how far the objectification of women had gotten in this country; though why, I don't know, since all of the major sports organizations are complicit in this assault on our culture. They can order as many pink ribbons as they like on their players' uniforms and produce any number of touchy-feely United Way spots, but until they decide to police the way their product is marketed, they will never solve their problem, or ours.

One thing is for certain, the toy department is closed.

About the Author

Lisa Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut (mailbox@lisafab.com).

Letter to the Editor View all comments (11) | Leave a comment

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 5.12.10 @ 7:39AM

Is it simply sports, or the result of 60 years of being informed that judgments about others behavior are bad? You see the types of behaviors you're referring to everywhere.

The other day I was waiting in the check out line at a grocery store and a 9 year old boy head butted my leg. His parents looked on with glowing adoration. I looked at them with the proper amount of indignation and stated, "DO YOU MIND?"

The look of astonishment on their faces told me all I needed to know. They couldn't understand why I couldn't relate to their child's out of control behavior.

In another store I observed several children from the same family knocking items off of shelves while their parents went about their business as if they didn't care.

This is all related to the collectivist mind set that we must be equal and therefore no behaviors should be judged. There is an explanation and disease called up for every egregious act explaining bad behavior away as hyperactivity or ADD.

What many people need is a swift kick in their posteriors followed by a good clubbing. That's prohibited these days and all you will see is more behavior that is culturally acceptable and destructive.

No one will stop it.

LaneyB| 5.12.10 @ 8:07AM

Love your sobriquet.

Bob K.| 5.12.10 @ 9:11AM

Good post Bill.
But, despite the collectivist mind set, we all are not equal.

That is why we have "Diversity."

LaneyB| 5.12.10 @ 8:05AM

Ms. Frabrizio, you have captured my thinking exactly. Perhaps it is inevitable that player behavior that never made it past the cop on the beat in the era before 24/7 media is now exposed and trumpeted in screaming headlines and discourse. But the entitlement attitude that spawned the outrageous egos of billion dollar athletes is merely a reflection of the larger society's belief that everyone has the right to "express" himself and capture the spotlight regardless of appropriateness. That parents, captivated by the same egocentric thinking, have produced another generation of adults displaying behavior not tolerated in a two year-old is the crux of the sorry state of what passes for adulthood in the twenty-first century. Growing up means taking responsibility for one's thoughts and actions, and in a society that condones everything, what's the reward in making the lap from childishness to adult? None.

Dan Hirsch| 5.12.10 @ 9:29AM

Many sophists and relativists try to warn off others making judgements about others' behavior. They like to hearken back to the Biblical "Judge not, lest ye be judged." They miss the point entirely, as do many, many of us.

The point is do not judge the person; judge the action.

Behavior must be judged - otherwise, how in the world would anyone ever know, learn, or teach others what behaviors are acceptable and what are not.

Judge early, judge often, but judge actions, behaviors, decisions, NOT whole persons.

That truly is above our pay grade...

Just wanted to put that out there...

astorian| 5.12.10 @ 10:47AM

Tasering may seem excessive for someone who was PROBABLY just a stupid kid pulling a prank.

But Monica Seles would probably tell us, "Go ahead and Taser him, just to be sure."

Seek| 5.12.10 @ 12:33PM

Another boring, irritating manifesto from Lisa Fabrizio denouncing "the Sixties" and the vast moral detritus it allegedly hath wrought upon the Western world. By the way, "subjectivism," something apparently she does not approve of, is the engine of a free economy. That observation is on the authority of Ludwig von Mises.

WilliamInWien| 5.12.10 @ 3:39PM

Given the ticket price I pay to usually watch my team lose, I am not interested in seeing some "kid" run around the field. The taser is a reminder to other creative individuals who might seek to imitate such acts. Also, they are "blacked out" at the game so the 15 minutes (or less) of fame does not get on the electronic screen in most parks. Mr. Cosell, who fashioned himself as a New York Senate wannabe covered boxing before he gave it up because it was too brutal. Leotis Martin knocked out Sonny Liston in a "box-off". Sonny, woozy but back on his feet, had Cosell by his side saying "Sonny Liston, Sonny Liston, Howard Cosell!" "What happened in there, Sonny?" Sonny replies: "If I'd knowed that Howard, I would not have been knocked out." Cosell "Well there you have it folks!" Sports journalism at its best!

Brian| 5.12.10 @ 4:31PM

I generally agree with the column, but I would ask Ms. Fabrizio, who writes that "the truly disturbing behavior was on the part of the father" (who told his son not to do it and tried to call a friend who was at the game to try to stop his son), what would you have done differently? Should the father have threatened his son with an ass whipping? Threatened to kick him out of the house? What? If my son called me, the only thing I might have added was to not expect me to bail him out and that he could just spend a little time in jail. Maybe Ms. Fabrizio raised perfect children, but most of us did not.

Petronius| 5.12.10 @ 9:08PM

Of all the social pathology that is linked to sports this misdemeanor committed by a wannabe showoff should barely register. Our NFL team did nothing significant when a certain linebacker committed vehicular manslaughter under the influence.
Watch maniacal parents berating their uncoordinated 6 year old who can't hit a tee ball.
Mark on steroids: Pete Rose and his bookies: And today the expose' of a man of 22 passing himself off as 16 to play high school hoops. Where does it stop and where should it? How about the expectations of the fans who buy the tickets? How about the corporate sponsors who buy adds on the jumbotrons? The answer is found in the way most people define basic morality. What do they call a man who values his reputation in traditional terms and plays by "the rules"? LOSER!