So Much For Marvin Harrison

It's funny, I just finished writing a piece on the modern athlete last week and praised Marvin Harrison as one of those quiet hard-working guys who is all business. I wasn't aware of a previous incident when he supposedly choked a young fan asking for an autograph (then again I've heard horror stories from fans regarding everyone from Dan Marino to Alonzo Mourning). All it took was a couple of days for Marvin to make me look pretty dumb.

The ongoing investigation into a shooting involving the Colts' receiver has now turned up shell casings from a gun that belongs to Harrison. Oops. I'm not entirely sure what a guy like Marvin is doing with such a powerful gun (armor piercing? Jesus), but I'm going to refrain from making any judgment on that until we get a little more information. Regardless, this is quite the PR nightmare for him.

I thought it was an interesting situation because the timing of my article was perfect to illustrate how we can't idolize these guys too much. We hear about how great Zach Thomas is, how he studies film so diligently, buys a hyperbolic chamber in the offseason to improve his performance, and how he takes football incredibly seriously. You see him at charity events and raising a family. But do you really know him? It's tough, because we often look up to these guys growing up as kids not knowing anything about their personal lives.

The fact is football players and other athletes are human beings. They make mistakes and nothing is ever black and white, good and evil. Everyone hates on T.O for being a prima donna, but how many fans know he was raised by a cruel grandmother who wouldn't let him go out, or how he fell in love with the girl down the street before the girl's father showed up one day and said Terrell couldn't date her because she was his sister. That's bound to screw you up.

I think we have to be careful and try hard to distance ourselves from athletes as heroes. For all I know, Zach eats baby kittens for breakfast. I'll still always love the guy for what he's done for the fans and for the city of Miami, but I know from experience that my kids' role model will be someone he knows and understands, not some guy on TV that could end up disappointing you when he doesn't turn out to be the ideal person you thought he was.

LeBatard's Blunder

Interesting note I picked up from PFT today, especially considering it was regarding NCAA/NBA basketball and not the NFL. It was regarding comments made between ESPN's Jay Bilas and Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald on the subject of race in the NBA Draft.

If you read the papers frequently, you probably know Dan is one of the more opinionated writers in the country. He often takes the side of the athlete, imploring the readers to understand the athlete's point of view when faced with issues of celebrity misconduct and contract negotiations. I appreciate his style because it is refreshing; most sportswriters are quick to jump the gun and bemoan professional athletes from their pulpits. I despise that kind of journalism.

However, Dan's opinions are often very controversial. The race card is played frequently, despite the increasing lack of respect for that argument in America today. The comments in question were regarding Tyler Hansborough and his draft status. Le Batard argued that because he is white, and America typically doesn't produce elite white basketball players, Tyler will slip on draft board. Bilas was taken aback and disagreed vehemently enough that he flat out called it "stupid".

It's not often you see that kind of argument between guests on a radio show and their hosts. But it doesn't surprise me that this sort of issue provoked such a reaction. We are living in a PC world, yes, but Le Batard often stretches the boundaries of political correctness when he feels he speaks the truth. In this case, he is right in that American white players aren't exactly lighting it up in the NBA, so his argument is somewhat valid. It doesn't necessarily have to apply to Tyler, but it remains pretty accurate.

Of course, there are plenty of white players from other nations who are successful, so an argument singling out a race as being inferior at basketball might not hold water. The key here is that Dan said "American". Regardless, it's a slippery slope. It's too hard to pigeonhole guys just because of their race. Then again, if a trend shows one thing, then making the argument based on that trend is usually considered a valid process of reasoning. In this case, you'd need more evidence than "lack of good white players" to go out on a limb and say GMs will stay away from Tyler. Then it becomes more of an assumption that Dan isn't quite qualified to make.

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting issue and thought I might bring it up to see what you guys think. I know Le Batard isn't liked (or even respected) by most sports fans, but I do respect his opinions.