By Michael Diton-Edwards
So, I was just finishing up watching the Yankees get swept by the last-place Red Sox in a four game series and wanting to scream obscenities worse than a meth head in Evansville, IN after having consumed too many bath salts after the trailer in the South Village park got shutdown by the po po, but i swallowed my angst due to A) my beautiful, sweet wife that deals with me more lovingly than a volunteer cares for the pup in the Humane Society shelter that hasn’t had a visit in three weeks is sound asleep and will literally rip my face off if I wake her up prior to Monday morning, 2) I am exhausted after another day of dealing with 100+ degree heat index while working at an amusement park in a wooden box that has less amenities than a hostel in a Ukrainian warzone and I need to just sleep, and C) I had to clean up two different areas of puke from my old cat that suddenly went feral for no reason other than he has Kitty Cat Alzheimer’s so I had to focus on that lest I step in it on my way to the bathroom at 2:45 AM. Save for any of that, I would have reached the sweet heavens above when it came to a guttural exasperation of frustration and plain disdain for the way the Pinstriped bats have suddenly decided to act like they were in a clinical experiment for the blue pill’s placebo effect. Instead, I was turning off my TV and about to put my archaic laptop to sleep when I saw a single blurb … .just one that popped off in my facebook… and it involved Caitlin Clark…
I have SO MUCH AVOIDED the debate that has raged surrounding this topic. I admit that. I would much rather write about the World Cup and the worldwide effect it has + the intriguing stories of the rabid international fans that find a trip to Bucee’s more influential than the first time they scored beyond a tube sock and a handful of vaseline. This WNBA C Clark stuff is NOT the story and focus that I want to concentrate upon, but, after a senseless throat drop that made as much sense as MLB owners throwing out senseless proposals like they were generic Depends at a Fort Richey, FL retirement home. Seriously… the player that dropped the bomb on a defenseless player laying on the court (I don’t want to even type her name, I am so appalled that she did it – I don’t care about her upbringing, her motivation, or whatever excuse her PR team could possibly concoct), that was pathetic. Pure bull poooooooooooooo.
I love sports. I love the competition. I love that there is the challenge of 1 v 1 or 5 v 5 or 11 v 11 or whatever the way that the individual game is set up…I coached HS and MS football and basketball (never beyond; would have been cool to get that chance, but instead, my dream was to ultimately be an old fat man working at an amusement park in Eastern TN selling dinner show tickets, woo hoo!!!) , and I can confidently say, I encouraged passion…I taught pride in effort…and I inflamed passion for succeeding beyond the level that a player believed they could achieve.
But…
But…I NEVER…I NEVER, nor do I know any coach I was a part of a staff with, or even any coach I was on the opposite sideline of…I never encouraged thuggary…I never promoted hatred…and I NEVER would have stood for ANY PLAYER that acted as if they were superior to an opponent and had the right to bully, hurt, or intimidate in a physical manner beyond the sanctity of SPORT. Period.
I don’t know Caitlin Clark. I have watched her on television; she is a special talent. I have seen her get bounced around, get physical abuse within —- let me say that, AGAIN, within the rules. I am okay with that…but, alas…I have seen just as many examples of her getting a little bit of EXTRA physicality…until last week’s incident, I chalked it up to her having to deal with it due to her status…but after I saw the video of THAT PLAY…I am done. I cannot accept a player having to be abused. I cannot. Not in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, or pro…not at ANY level….and who is at fault? Individual offenders, yes…but also, the WNBA…they let this boil over worse than a sheet getting drenched by a 13 year old 8th grader and they should be ASHAMED….
I coached girls’ basketball…what is taking place in the WNBA is NOT something ANY coach would encourage or promote…no way…this is beyond ridiculous…
Whatever happens from this point forward, I hope the crap stops. I love the WNBA…I love the game, watching the beauty and grace…but if this is what is the norm and/or accepted, I would rather watch midget wrasslin’ in a barroom brawl in Lincoln, NE. You want to be legit? Be legit…you want to play games? In the words of my brother BA, you play those silly games, you get the prize.
Peace 🙂 michaeld.edwards@gmail.com is my email…I invite discussion and debate, but ALWAYS value your support and dialogue 🙂 Please continue to support my platform at South Florida Tribune, https://southfloridatribune.com/category/scott/michael-edwards/, and thank you in advance for sharing with others 🙂
