There are some connections we’re not supposed to make, things we’re not supposed to notice. Or at least forget about.
The quality of mercy, for example, now seems to have a social market value. And fair play has become a matter of how the wind blows.
Last week, Broncos owners Pat Bowlen, 70 and afflicted by Alzheimer’s since his mid-60s, was, with great compassion, gently ushered aside.
Yet, the mere suggestion, based on scads of evidence, including the self-evident, that the Clippers’ demonized owner, Donald Sterling, 80, suffers from dementia, never made the cut or was dismissed quickly and harshly as both a lousy excuse and an inadmissible defense.
He’s a racist! A racist! End of story!
With Bowlen’s early onset dementia in mind, let’s not forget that with the NBA’s considerable help and a simplistic, compliant and pandering media in vigilante mode, Sterling was branded quickly and publicly as a full-capacity octogenarian bigot.
Matters that didn’t matter included:
The claims of associates and his wife of over 50 years that he has dementia, and continues to take on water.
The NBA’s prior knowledge that Sterling is poorly wired, with diminishing senses, at that. The NBA was eager to lose him under any circumstances.
His bigoted conversation was spoken into the ear of his 30-year-old “girlfriend” — a glamorous, dubious character who changed her name from Maria Vanessa Perez to V. Stiviano. She enjoyed taking walks with Sterling, particularly into expensive shops where he would buy her “things.”
Although, while merrily appearing on national TV shows, she expressed her great fondness for Sterling, she was eager to destroy him by covertly recording that private chat, then passing along the ruinous recording until it reached the scandal-thirsty TV show “TMZ.”
That Sterling confused his relationship with this young woman with — good grief! — romance, tells a tale of a delusional old man, if not one afflicted, at 80, by dementia.
But given the issue was immediately branded “racial,” there was nothing else to consider.
Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ coach, last week said he won’t coach the team if Sterling, via legal action, retains ownership of the team. How noble.
But would Rivers, any of his players, or any public figure spotlessly survive having his or her private conversations with intimates released to the public?
And why, if Sterling’s a full-blooded racist, would he own an NBA team, let alone hire a black coach? Why a Hispanic girlfriend — real or imagined?
Meanwhile, the same indignant ESPN folks who lined up to bash Sterling and cheer his removal from the NBA as a racist, this month busied themselves pushing ESPN’s ESPY Awards show, especially the inclusion of recording artist, Drake, as host.
None mentioned that Drake’s specialty is writing, rapping and recording — promoting, promulgating and profiting from — every negative, anti-social, backwards-pointed, this-is-what-we-are/don’t-expect-better condition and/or stereotype of black America.
No one on ESPN would dare speak Drake’s lyrics on the air or anywhere in the workplace, nor would they even suggest viewers check out Drake’s stock-in trade words: vulgar, N-worded, hate-filled, gutter-soaked, women-trashing spews — obligatory, no-upside rapper fare.
Yet, after demanding Sterling’s head after he made a bigoted comment in a private chat, ESPN chose then to proudly and publicly promoted Drake as the honored host of its own showcase show!
Same with the NBA. Before eviscerating Sterling for what he said in private, it was proudly, publicly announcing it had landed Drake as celebrity host of its 2016 All-Star Game!
Friday, ESPN TV and radio was front-loaded with outrage over the NFL’s decision to suspend Rutgers-to-Ravens star Ray Rice just two games for beating his fiancé unconscious.
Yep, Friday on ESPN, the abusive treatment of women was intolerable!
Yet Rice treated this woman with no greater regard than what ESPN’s special host of the ESPYs and other ESPN guest rapper favorites, from Kid Rock to Snoop Dogg, advocate in their music as the preferred regard for women.
The hypocrisy is so colossal that only in 2014 America could it exist on the silent watch of a pandering, frightened and highly selective media. Fair play now depends on who’s playing.
But as long as Drake is popular — can draw a TV audience from the young adult and increasingly desensitized demographic — who cares? So what if old man Sterling’s mentally impaired? It’s too late, anyway. Even if true, it doesn’t count.
Reminds me of the Duke lacrosse “rape” case. Convict and sentence first, take a good look later. Then don’t even bother to clean the knee-jerk mess you left. Just forget about it. What’s done is done.
Why say anything else when you can say ‘walk-off’?
The need to say “walk-off,” under any and all circumstances, has become comical.
Tuesday, with the Rangers-Yankees at 0-0 in the eighth, YES’ Michael Kay told us the last time a game in Yankee Stadium was scoreless this deep was in 2009 against the Red Sox, adding, “That game ended when A-Rod had a walk-off two-run homer in the 15th.”
That it was hit by a Yankee in Yankee Stadium, no score until then, and that it ended an extra-innings game, wasn’t enough. It was a walk-off, too!
The Mets have waived their tack-on ticket fees through July!
However, perhaps still stuck in Bernie Madoff Mode, the Mets framed it as “Mets Will Pick Up Ticket Fees!” — as if they will pay these tack-on inventions for you! Lipstick on a pig!
Meanwhile, perhaps it’s time to tell the kids in our lives that, believe it or not, there was a time when the price on the ticket was all one paid!
Flip Wilson is back
Things You Can’t Believe You’re Writing, continued: Giants RB David Wilson, who needlessly and dangerously performs end zone back flips — once before he realized his TD was called back — has returned after, of all things, neck surgery.
Interesting that Jim Brown would sue Lelands for trying to auction his Browns’ 1964 NFL championship ring that he claims was stolen. Lelands once tried to auction a John Davidson goalie mask — until Davidson identified it as having been stolen from him out of a locker room.
Last month NBC NHL analyst Ed Olczyk debuted as an NBCSN thoroughbred handicapper, going 2-for-2. He picked the long-shot winners — 14-1 and 10-1 — of both televised races. Today, hewill press his/our luck on NBCSN’s coverage, 5 p.m., of the Haskell from Monmouth.