I understand the media has a job, and to do their job they must ask uncomfortable questions. There’s also a fine line between uncomfortable questions and foolishness.
That line was crossed twice this week, and both instances annoyed me enough that I’m going to complain here.
Let’s start with Todd Bowles getting grilled for having Chris Godwin in the game with under a minute to go in the 4th quarter while trailing by two scores and zero timeouts remaining. If you’re unaware, Godwin suffered a gruesome ankle injury in that final minute and will likely miss the remainder of the season as a result.
Bowles was first asked why Godwin was even in the game. He was then pressed further about protecting his players. Come on. These are professional athletes. They are paid to compete. Would I have had my best available receiver still in the game at that point? Probably not, but down 10 with about a minute to go isn’t that outrageous. Tampa Bay had already recovered an onside kick. Winning is the name of the game. Bowles’ job is to try and win and he did that. He didn’t send Godwin or Baker Mayfield out on the field against their will. They wanted to be out there.
Too often us citizens fail to comprehend the extreme competitiveness of professional athletes. To reach where they’ve gotten requires a level of dedication, sacrifice and effort we probably can’t imagine. They can’t just turn that off because they’re down 10 with only minutes remaining. For a media member to arrogantly question any player or coach as if they have any idea what that commitment entails is laughably ignorant.
Godwin was in the game because he wanted to compete. Bowles had Godwin in the game because he wanted to win. Sorry, but whether or not overweight journalist Jo Schmo thinks it was an appropriate decision wasn’t considered. Jo Schmo doesn’t actually care about Godwin. He wants controversy which leads to clicks, and ultimately, he just wants to be right.
The second instance of the media overstepping occurred in State College when Penn State Head Coach James Franklin was questioned about two former players who were charged with raping a young girl over the summer. A little backstory: The players were immediately suspended from the team when Franklin was first notified of the incident. Upon further investigation, the players were kicked off the team soon after.
Here we are months later and the media expects Franklin to answer a plethora of questions about an event he was not, is not and will not be involved with? Sure, the two individuals were on his team at the time of the crime, and he is the head of that team, but he acted swiftly and justly. What more does the media want from him? He’s not a lawyer. He can’t discuss a pending trial. He’s not an investigator. He can’t detail what happened or why. He’s a football coach. He handled what pertained to his specialty. He didn’t keep the players around. He even removed them before they were charged, and both were promising young talents not some scrubs. He didn’t make excuses for their abhorrent actions. He’s not protecting them. Again, HE REMOVED THEM FROM THE TEAM MONTHS AGO. What exactly is he supposed to be held accountable for in this situation?
The media wanted a story. They wanted to drub up controversy for clicks. Franklin’s refusal to discuss the situation was the 2nd headline on ESPN.com! What garbage. If the media actually cared about the incident, they would be covering the investigation and pending trial, not harassing an individual that had nothing to do with the crime. Had Franklin kept the players around, then sure, question him all you want. He did not, though. He did what was right, and the media wants him to suffer for the sins of two stupid teenagers anyway because it’ll get clicks. Cover the actual story, don’t create a false one.
*****
Thursday Night Pick; Rams +3 … I want to take the Vikings but the Dan Campbell hangover is a real thing against the spread.