"Why Me Lawd" Archive

I blogged about how embarrassing the whole media response to Rashard Mendenhall’s tweeting was over at Media Strut. To sum up that post, I think that Mendenhall was a victim of sports media TROLLs and search engine optimization:

The media’s, and subsequently the public’s, reaction to Mendenhall’s tweets is an embarrassing display of how “outrage-driven” today’s media is as well as how aggressively it seeks search engine optimization. Web content managers know that the NFL is in the midst of the a lockout, twitter is a popular social media network, and Osama Bin Laden was the most searched term of the week. NFL + Twitter + Osama Bin Laden = high search engine results for articles on Mendenhall’s tweets.

Plus a slow news day can produce any number of asinine stories that on a heavier day wouldn’t be a blip on the radar. And now that sports media has become just as 24/7 as the rest of the media, athletes are subject to much of the same “trolling” for comments by the journalists that other celebrities have long submitted to. Yes, sports reporters are TROLLS now, and although I’m sure some reporters love it, if sports journalism is reporting on Brett Favre’s penis and who tweeted what I’ll pass indefinitely.

One of the things I’m most proud of with this blog is that is not based on dicks and tweets. I hate to describe it so crudely but unfortunately that’s what sports media and blogging has come to. And if someone tweets their dick that’s pretty much like hitting a gold mind. This really ain’t that kind of blog though.

Obviously, there’s something to be said for catering to the public’s overwhelming interest in gossip, but must every site behave as sophomorically  as TMZ and Mediatakeout?

Moving on to Mendenhall specifically, his comments really were not that serious to put it bluntly. I’d bet he’s pretty shell-shocked by the public’s reaction. I’m sure going forward he will know that it’s probably much safer to tweet his penis than his opinions. And honestly, the public is probably more interested in his penis than his thoughts. I mean Wrangler didn’t have an issue with Brett Favre attaching a picture of his penis to all outgoing Jets emails. I kid! I kid!

You can read Champion’s statement on firing Mendenhall here. If you don’t want to click, here’s my translation: “We’re Champion. Our colors are red white and blue. America is perfect and you better be too!” That wasn’t going to rhyme initially but it fit. Champion basically appears to have fired Mendenhall for being involved in controversy NOT because he actually said something wrong. Or at least not something so wrong they could be specific about what was so wrong.

That’s another thing I address over at Media Strut-the inability to tell what will become a firestorm and what won’t anymore. No wonder PR was named one of the most stressful jobs. I think it’s fine to hold athletes accountable for what they say. But I also think it’s even better to take a look a the mirror and ask yourself if you’re really offended by what was said before you start bashing a person.

Darren Rovell over at CNBC surmises that Champion will still have to pay Mendenhall, and I hope that is the case. I think it would have been more advisable for Champion to say that they disagreed with Mendenhall’s comments (which ones?) but as an American company they respect the right for everyone to have a conversation about current events. In the current reactionary media environment, that kind of mature response by a company might have been refreshing.

On a final note, I hope this whole Osama Bin Laden is dead thing doesn’t return us to the time in this country post-9/11 when no one could say shit without their being a shitstorm. Honestly, things are too tough for too many people in this country to return to that level of fear and retaliation.

I’m proud to say I don’t own any Champion products, and I won’t be buying any. Even when they’re $3 at Ross. Well, maybe if they’re $3 at Ross.

Oh what a difference a couple years makes. Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo’s signing was to be the dawn of a new day for the Dallas and their success-starved fans. But 3 years later, things aren’t going so well. The Cowboys were already off to a terrible start this season, and now Romo is out at least 6 weeks with a broken collarbone.

As the Cowboys begin to consider whether it might be a good idea to sit Romo even after he’s cleared to return, the NFL releases Romo’s game audio from Dallas’ Week 7 loss to the New York Giants was released. I know that when players are mic’d up they act slightly different, but Romo seemed genuine. I have to say this audio just was NOT what I expected from Romo. I never thought him to have so much…personality!

Highlight: After Romo breaks his collarbone and is lying flat on the ground he says: “Did he catch the pass?” To which the attendants say “yes, it’s a first down.”

Romo then tries to get back in the game with his body leaning from injury. Yikes.