This is kind of a sticky little issue. You’ve got Etan Thomas on one side, and Jerry Colangelo on the other… how attractive could it possibly be?
Here’s the short version of what happened. Coach K (former West Point coach) and Jerry Colangelo (right-wing religious holy roller, evidently) wanted to strengthen the ties between Team USA and the country as a whole. So they wanted to establish a strong tie with the military, and as a part of that, they brought in some soldiers who were wounded in battle, including a guy who’s now blind, and a guy who lost part of his hand, to talk to and motivate the team.
Iiieeegh. That’s the sound I make. There’s just something extremely off-putting about that. Here are some quotes from the article, an excellent one, by the way, from Dave Zirin at The Nation:
There are other quotes in the article that make reference to the fact that they wanted guys to know that this is more than just another basketball game, and that it means a lot to wear the “USA” on your jersey… and to be honest with you, I don’t know why either of those things would be true.
It is just a basketball game, and it has no parallels, none whatsoever, to what’s happening in Iraq. I’m with Etan Thomas, who said he just wouldn’t have been motivated by that. I could see being moved to tears, I could see feeling terrible for the guy… but it motivating me to dunk on a French guy, I don’t think so. Whatever I’d be doing on the basketball court would not help America, it would not help humanity, it would not help anyone except those who care about this basketball tournament.
Which, it should be pointed out, isn’t a whole hell of a lot of people. These games are on at 6:30 a.m. I’m not even sensing any passionate following of this thing among basketball bloggers, and if it was going to exist anywhere, it would exist there. I just don’t see it. The number of people in America who care passionately about this basketball tournament is probably not even in the triple digits.
Not that that is relevant at all, but I just don’t see what any of this has to do with the war. I don’t think it’s relevant if you support the war, or if you don’t (and in the interests of full discloser, I reeeeally don’t) and I also don’t think it’s relevant that Etan Thomas is a “left-wing” guy, and Jerry Colangelo is a “right-wing” guy… to me, the only relevant thing is that it’s sleazy as hell to use a guy’s disability to motivate a basketball team. That’s it. That’s the end of it.
The “hey, this guy gave his eyesight, so you can certainly work to get through a screen” line of thinking is simplistic, juvenile, and, I don’t like using this word, but stupid. That guy gave up his eyesight fighting something that he presumably, for better or worse, believed in. Our motivation in this basketball tournament is to reclaim American’s position at the top of the international basketball world. One has nothing to do with the other, and again, bringing those guys in feels exploitative and sleazy.
And, while we’re here, let’s talk about Jerry Colangelo for a second. I knew some of this, but not all of it… the guy, evidently, is absolutely fucking crazy. And again, I don’t think this is particularly relevant to the issue, other than to say, “Well, yeah, he sounds like the kind of guy who would do that sort of thing.” In summary, Jerry Colangelo hates, with a burning passion, the seperation of church and state. Here are some Colangelo facts from the article…
Colangelo has been pouring his money into efforts to strengthen ties between Republican politics and the religious right. He was a deputy chair of the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign in Arizona, and Colangelo’s deep pockets contributed to what is called the Presidential Prayer Team, a private evangelical group that claims to have signed up more than 1 million people to drop to their knees and pray daily for Bush. During the election summer of 2004, as Max Blumenthal has reported, Colangelo bought ads on 1,200 radio stations urging listeners to pray for the President.
Colangelo has never been shy about using sports to project his politics. On April 5, 2003, he designated the Phoenix Suns’ contest against Minnesota Arizona Right-to-Life Day.
The former Diamondbacks CEO also helped launched a group along with other baseball executives and ex-players called Battin’ 1,000, a national campaign that uses baseball memorabilia to raise funds for Campus for Life, the largest antichoice student network in the country. Battin’ 1,000 stands against all abortions, even in the case of incest or rape. Its motto: “Pro-life–without exception, without compromise, without apology.”
Fucking YIKES. Pray for President Bush… my goodness. You know what… here’s David Cross on that very issue.
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Edward
Very well said, MJD.
August 22, 2006 at 2:22 am
M.D.
What is with these old, white, christian f**king men???? I can’t imagine if their little girls got raped, and they wouldn’t let them get abortions!! These people are repulsive!!! They are backwards ass mother f***ers, trailer trash men….Do they forget that we live in the 21st century, and that women have brains and can speak for themselves???? Shame on the USA basketball committee for allowing their players to come in contact with such filthy, dirty people…Religion with Politics, Religion with Sports…What’s next??? Religion in school…We all know how that turned out….Damn pedophile priests!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 22, 2006 at 2:31 am
Trent
Creepy wankers.
August 22, 2006 at 7:42 am
Bouj
Touchy subject. And I agree with you and Etan, MJD.
This seems to belittle the sacrifices of the vets. How exactly does this motivate anyone? Basketball is just a game. No one is going to die if Team USA doesn’t win the tournament. What if they had wheeled out Christopher Reeve? Well, bad example, considering he’s a corpse, but still. It seems more exploitive than anything. Or maybe I am just America-hating scum for disagreeing with this. Yes, I hate freedom, America, apple pie, Mom, blah, blah, blah.
If they wanted to motivate the team, why not have some of the Dream Teamers speak? I don’t know, maybe it might be more relevant to have MJ or Magic or Larry Bird address the team and tell them the importance of representing American athletics. Or even Lance Armstrong or one of the US golfers from the ’99 Ryder Cup team.
August 22, 2006 at 11:17 am
Mr Furious
Look at those three smug jackasses. John Gibbons needs to climb upthread and kick all their asses.
August 22, 2006 at 11:48 am
Mark
“The ‘hey, this guy gave his eyesight, so you can certainly work to get through a screen’ line of thinking is simplistic, juvenile, and, I don’t like using this word, but stupid… bringing those guys in feels exploitative and sleazy.”
Perfectly said, MJD.
My opinion: exploitation and sleaze are hallmarks of our “leaders” lately, so I can’t say I’m surprised either.
August 22, 2006 at 12:28 pm
father figure
I hypothesize that these things take place in an effort to pay homage to the mammoth egos of Coack K and Colangelo. This is about them; they enjoy feeling like they are involved in the war effort, and linking real life soldiers with basketball players under their control does that. Coach K is a solder for a day, fighting the GWOT by calling a full court press; Colangelo is a general in the GWOT, sending his “soldiers” out for “US glory.” This is about them, not about the team, and not about the soldiers.
August 22, 2006 at 12:32 pm
drrew
Ok, full disclosure first, an acquaintance of mine was married to Jerry Colangelo’s daughter (now divorced) and I did have dinner at the Colangelo home on one occasion but Jerry wasn’t there. I didn’t find a copy of the New Testament next to my fork and I could care less about what political party he chooses to support but the extreme anti-abortion stuff is off putting.
Back to the soldier, Etan Thomas should be happy that he sucks so bad he’ll never be put in this horrible moral dilemna…douche bag. If the soldier feels exploited, than I think you’ve got a case on this being sleazy, if he went and had a good time hanging out with and speaking with the team for a few days what’s the issue?
I think the war is a disaster but I think I’d probably benefit from talking to an injured veteran for a few hours so I don’t understand why Lebron, Melo, and DWade wouldn’t.
August 22, 2006 at 12:34 pm
New York Sports Page
This is the same way the debate went after Bowden made FSU’s motto “Let’s Roll” after 9/11. People pointed out that it was classless, which it was.
But, having pointed that out, there’s no much else to do. There’s really no way you can explain the inherent disrespect of it to someone who sees it (or claims to see it) as patriotic.
August 22, 2006 at 1:04 pm
Rob
This article starts with a false non sequitur regarding the guy leading all the polls for the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut and ends with a two-year-old quote from someone who has nothing to do with the event on which this article is supposed to be based. The middle contains a cut and paste from the Chicago Tribune and comments that, as mjd notes, are not “particularly relevant to the issue.”
It’d have been nice if the writer had bothered to speak to the vets themselves. Did they have any interest in meeting NBA/college superstars, or were they forced against their will to creep the guys out? Cause, you know, it’s not always about the athletes.
The link to the Tribune article from which Zirin stole is really long, but look it up. It’s dated August 1. Interesting note:
The players also heard from Col. Robert Brown, who played for Krzyzewski at West Point. Brown didn’t discourage comparisons in sports because he said the military, like a basketball team, requires a unified, unselfish approach.
So how can a player complain about not getting shots after seeing a blind soldier who asked to return to his unit in Iraq? Can one complain about playing time after listening to Christian Steele, who told players about losing a finger in a suicide-bomb attack and returning to Iraq to finish his tour of duty?
August 22, 2006 at 1:19 pm
telly
I absolutely can’t stand this shit.
Politics and sports should be as separate as church and state.
August 22, 2006 at 1:22 pm
father figure
“So how can a player complain about not getting shots after seeing a blind soldier who asked to return to his unit in Iraq?”
That’s so lazy that it makes my teeth hurt to read it. You assume 1) that the players on the USA basketball team don’t know that we are fighting a war in Iraq, and that said war creates numerous injuries/casualties; 2) that those players have never been exposed to people who have been in a bad situation; 3) that some of the most highly qualified, accomplished basketball players in the world, who have been playing team basketball for the majority of their lives, don’t understand that the game requires teamwork, and also don’t understand the deleterious effect of public complaining about shots; and 4) that the chemistry is so poor on the team that only by resorting to half-witting manipulation can Coach K keep control of his team. That’s a lot of assumptions. You must think that USA basketball players are quite dumb.
I’m with Etan Thomas; if some coach (or partner, manager, etc.)attempted this form of crappy manipulation, I would be offended and annoyed, possibly to the point where it would negatively affect my performance. This is about ego gratification for Colagenlo and Coach K.
August 22, 2006 at 1:28 pm
v-dub
Battin’ 1,000 stands against all abortions, even in the case of incest or rape. Its motto: “Pro-life–without exception, without compromise, without apology.”
i think i am gonna throw up on my keyboard now. i love how these old men have such strong opinions on the matter. they probably think birth control is a sin too!
August 22, 2006 at 3:40 pm
BoSox Siobhan
This whole exercise is so crass and exploitative that it makes my eyes burn a little.
August 22, 2006 at 5:48 pm
Spectacular Sam
Kudos MJD, that was well put.
August 22, 2006 at 6:24 pm
brad
check out Zirin’s website http://edgeofsports.com/ for more great articles
August 23, 2006 at 12:44 am
Edward
Actually, I think I’m going to use wounded soldiers to illustrate ALL my arguments from now on. “Honey, this man left his testicles in Mesopotamia. And you’re telling me you can’t invite your underage sister sister for a three-way? What is this, Soviet Russia?”
August 23, 2006 at 2:16 am
Henry Holland
Edward at #17, [wild applause].
As if another reason was needed, another reason to hate Duke: Coach K is a wingnut.
I’ll be rooting for the Suns to go 0-82 this year.
From the Zirin article:
One injured veteran Colangelo and Krzyzewski didn’t bring in was Army Specialist Danielle “D-Smooth” Green, who lost her hand in a grenade attack on a Baghdad police station. She would have been particularly appropriate as a motivator for USA Basketball because in college she was also the starting point guard for Notre Dame. But Green told reporters from her hospital bed in 2004, “They [the Iraqis] just don’t want us there…. I personally don’t think we should have gone into Iraq. Not the way things have turned out. A lot more people are going to get hurt, and for what?”
Yeah, you asshats Coach K and Colangelo, care to answer that question?
August 24, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Mark
Now Henry, you’re thinking of the “other way of thinking,” and there’s just no room for that in America. You must hate freedom, are Godless, and are also a closet terrorist. Shame on you! Shame on you and your free thoughts!
I don’t hate this country, but sometimes I hate the people in it…
August 24, 2006 at 10:25 pm
David
ESPN 2 showed footage of the blind soldier talking to Team USA. It seemed to motivate them and and inspire them to play the best for their country. Plus I highly doubt they forced any soldiers to talk to them. If the soldiers are glady agree-ing to speak, then what’s the problem?
August 24, 2006 at 10:27 pm
The Bird
Perhaps I am just simple-minded, juvenile and stupid, but I have o no problem with this at all. In fact, I think it is great. Politics and sports are mixed to a certain extent. National anthems, flyovers, posting of colors, armed services night, etc, etc. Personally, knowing the sacrifices that have been made in the service of our country makes me grateful I can just type of a keyboard and live my life. It seems that if the players were moved to tears, the meeting and it had some meaning for them. That’s good enough for me.
And what’s wrong with praying for President Bush? I have. On my knees even. Ooooh, look at me! I am foaming at the mouth and possessed by Christian zealotry!
August 25, 2006 at 11:09 am