Free Stephen A. Smith! Free Stephen A. Smith!
At least that’s a reasonable price.
ESPN’s one-week suspension of Smith for stating vis-a-vis the NFL’s two-game docking of Ray Rice for allegedly cold-cocking his fiancée that women shouldn’t “provoke” such attacks, would have made for sensible justice had ESPN not been judge and jury.
ESPN’s verdict and sentence is like a carjacker stopping to scold a jaywalker.
Yes, Smith was guilty of rotten, even revolting on-the-spot spewing. Yet, how does ESPN escape its own planned, similarly rotten judgments?
ESPN recruits the worst acts in sports. Disgraced college coaches, infamously lawless ex-players and the sexually indiscreet — those unsure of exactly how many children they’ve fathered, and where — are more than welcomed as the multiple networks’ on-air talent.
Additionally, ESPN has enthusiastically selected the most vulgar, women-objectifying, women-trashing rappers to serve as special guests and honored cross-promoters, then ensures all are repeatedly alerted to ESPN’s embracement to these of icons of desensitizing, backward-pointed, no-upside popular American culture.
Snoop Dogg, also a pornographer, Eminem, Kid Rock and Drake are among those to have been trumpeted as ESPN’s headliners.
I challenge ESPN boss John Skipper to publicly recite the f-worded, N-worded, dumpster-derivative, women-denigrating sewage rapped/sung by Drake, proudly selected — then promoted — as host of ESPN’s annual ESPYs awards show, televised two weeks ago.
Could Skipper — would Skipper — after reciting Drake’s stock-in-trade lyrics, declare, “Yup, Drake’s the man for us!”?
ESPN’s Michelle Beadle likely played a strong and admirable role in Smith’s benching, tweeting her outrage at Smith’s they-sometimes-ask-for-it take on Rice’s brutalization of a woman.
Good! Beadle stood up and, from the inside to out, encouraged accountability from Smith and, by extension, his and her employers.
But where was she on all these rappers ESPN has long embraced, those whose enterprise is in large part predicated on the public denigration of women as subhuman quick-sex discards, as whores, bitches and expletive-deleted worse?
After Smith’s recorded and, of course, windy and convoluted on-air apology — he seemed to say that while he didn’t do it, he won’t do it again — Skipper, in a memo to staff, wrote, “I believe his apology is sincere, and that he and we have learned from what we’ve collectively experienced.”
If that’s truly the case — if Smith taught everyone at ESPN, including Skipper, an applicable lesson in civility, accountability and public responsibility — then Smith’s mitigated assessment of the Ray Rice disgrace will hold great value. Better very late than never for what was born a sports enterprise. But we’ll see.
Jeter’s farewell rakin’ it in
Poor Derek Jeter who, Michael Kay claimed, hates all this added attention. This farewell tour must be wearing Jeter to a frazzle.
Yet, on Sept. 22, before a night game against the Orioles, Jeter is to host a “Meet and Greet Farewell Luncheon” in a Manhattan ballroom/theater. His most devoted fans have been invited to attend — provided they pay tribute in the most sincere form: Pay, and plenty.
In conjunction with Steiner Collectibles — Jeter’s and the Yankees’ contracted autograph and consignment shop — those who pay $4,500 actually will be able to swap a few words with “The Captain” in a side room, from where they’ll be allowed a one-photo opportunity with Jeter as well as one “limited edition Jeter-signed item.”
The secondary package — lunch, photo-op, autograph, no talking — goes for $2,500.
As lunches go, this one could cause some to lose theirs. Imagine if Jeter loved all this attention!
It gets worse: Remember how all those tickets to Jeter’s recently and suddenly announced Sept. 7 “Farewell Game” became the instant property of TicketMaster, the Yankees’ official ticket-scalper, which then multiplied the face values?
Remember how the Yankees claimed to have had absolutely nothing to do with that, although the team’s website instantly served as TicketMaster’s sales HQ?
Well, somehow, someway, Steiner Collectibles, a Yankees’ business partner, has so many tickets to that game it’s selling them within packages that include “as many as 10 seats together in some sections.” As Mel Allen would drawl, “How ‘bout that?”
While no price is listed for the “VIP Package” — it’s likely negotiable — “Package B” — two mid-Stadium tickets — costs $2,000.
I hate to be a Farewell Party party pooper, but this one, perhaps inevitably given the sports bag we’re in, continues to stink.
And as the Yankees, Jeter serving as the latest evidence, continue to promote the team as the classiest in history — Pinstripe Pride! — the facts, since just prior to the opening of new Yankee Stadium, continue to tell a contradictory story: Class dismissed.
Even at 86, Scully remains a summer classic
In just one, first-inning at-bat on Tuesday, 86-year-old Vin Scully reminded us why.
Calling the Braves-Dodgers after announcing his intent to next year call Dodgers games for a 66th season — he waved to the crowd as it reacted to the news with a standing ovation — Scully, heard here on SiriusXM, focused on the at-bat of LA’s Adrian Gonzalez.
After Scully reported Gonzalez hit a foul pop toward the third base stands, Scully, on behalf of listeners and in light of Braves headed that way, added, “Doubtful.” He paused, then, “It lands five rows deep.”
Next, Gonzalez swung, “A high fly ball to left — but that’s all it is.” The ball was caught, and Scully carried on. All we needed to know, spoken beautifully.
♦ But what if Joe Torre didn’t like George Steinbrenner? It’s not as if many among those Steinbrenner hired and/or fired didn’t grow to despise him.
♦ NBA commissioner emeritus David Stern, doing well after a hip replacement, was among those to lightly roast Marv Albert as the second recipient (the first was Bob Costas last year) of Syracuse’s Newhouse School/Sports Media Center’s Marty Glickman Award on Tuesday at HBO. Stern said he preferred Glickman’s “Swish!” to Albert’s “Yes!”
♦ Say, where are all those tapes of Mike Francesa’s expert claims that Brett Gardner is “not an every-day player” and Daniel Murphy has no business being in the majors?
♦ Michelle Beisner, a former Broncos cheerleader who recently married Fox’s Joe Buck, has been hired by ESPN as an NFL features reporter.
♦ Kay tries so hard he tries too hard. Monday, despite YES’ graphic showing the Rangers’ Yu Darvish had thrown 99 pitches, Kay said, “Ninety-nine pitches for Darvish; his next one will be number 100.” (Later confirmed by ESPN’s Chris Broussard.)