Read Online You Herd Me!: I'll Say It If Nobody Else Will by Colin Cowherd - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Colin Cowherd
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one of these hypermacho groups might be attracted to other men—was so unsettling that it consumed the narrative.
How will this be viewed within the NBA community?
How do players feel about the possibility of playing with a gay man?
Will teammates feel funny showering with him?
Will teammates, fearing that people may question
their sexuality,
shun him?
By the way, it’s worth noting that players on six different teams over the course of twelve NBA seasons had already been showering next to this guy long before he made his historic announcement. So there’s that.
It’s also instructive to note that this problem—or perceived problem—was limited to groups of men. In other words, the guys who gather together and end up jumping out of a window or blowing up a firework in their hands.
Individually, men have handled this alleged issue just fine.
Greg Louganis, the Olympic diver, announced he was gay and nobody seemed to care much. Of course, he was in an individual sport, where men weren’t coming together in a big group to act like idiots. When it’s a team sport, where a collection of men engages in low-level
groupthink
, somebody better call security. We could have a problem here.
We all know that men, especially young men, commit most of the crime in any country. The likelihood of arrest for men rises sharply in the late teens and remains high through the early twenties before dropping off when marriage and families and a decrease in testosterone brings some sanity to the proceedings.
But consider the poor opinion that society has of young men. They can go to war, vote for the leader of the free world, but can’t rent a car before 25 or drink a beer legally until 21. Essentially, society feels it has to babysit you young fellas. We’ve installed layers of rules and laws to stop you from hurting yourself—and us.
Your parents must be proud.
That’s not to say that groups of men can’t be heroic or capableof great things. But it seems like those great things are always framed within an organization that prides itself on the leadership and guidance of older men. Think about military groups or sports teams; they’re supervised and motivated by older, wiser men who are less prone to the irrational antics of the childish and impulsive.
Left to their own devices, young men all too often fall into the sad and pathetic frat mentality.
Not even our smart and civilized neighbors to the north are immune from this dynamic. The conclusion of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins got ugly. The Bruins beat the Canucks and a riot erupted in the streets of Vancouver. An eyewitness reported hearing a group of young men (of course) chanting, “Let’s go riot!” In the end, more than 140 people were hurt, more than 100 were arrested, and the property damage estimate hit $4.2 million.
What’s hockey’s main demographic?
Young men.
Obviously.
You can picture the scene, can’t you?
Hey man, we just lost. I think the only thing that could make me feel better is to light a Chevy on fire
.
That’s the mentality that creates concern for Jason Collins’s future as an active athlete. In his profession, he can’t help but be surrounded by groups of young men who are so consumed with protecting and promoting their masculinity that they become incapable of common decency and tolerance.
Guys, it’s time to grow—and grow up.
Michael vs. LeBron: Swish or Swoosh?
Michael Jordan is the most popular and revered athlete in the world. He is absolutely glorified as a global icon, to the point where his fiftieth birthday in February of 2013 caused the sports media to reach for new ways to cover what is essentially a nonevent.
LeBron James, on the other hand, is one of the most polarizing athletes in the world. Any of his missteps, or perceived missteps, is exaggerated. His flaws, or perceived flaws, are dwelled on long after they’ve been either rectified or proven wrong.
The
How will this be viewed within the NBA community?
How do players feel about the possibility of playing with a gay man?
Will teammates feel funny showering with him?
Will teammates, fearing that people may question
their sexuality,
shun him?
By the way, it’s worth noting that players on six different teams over the course of twelve NBA seasons had already been showering next to this guy long before he made his historic announcement. So there’s that.
It’s also instructive to note that this problem—or perceived problem—was limited to groups of men. In other words, the guys who gather together and end up jumping out of a window or blowing up a firework in their hands.
Individually, men have handled this alleged issue just fine.
Greg Louganis, the Olympic diver, announced he was gay and nobody seemed to care much. Of course, he was in an individual sport, where men weren’t coming together in a big group to act like idiots. When it’s a team sport, where a collection of men engages in low-level
groupthink
, somebody better call security. We could have a problem here.
We all know that men, especially young men, commit most of the crime in any country. The likelihood of arrest for men rises sharply in the late teens and remains high through the early twenties before dropping off when marriage and families and a decrease in testosterone brings some sanity to the proceedings.
But consider the poor opinion that society has of young men. They can go to war, vote for the leader of the free world, but can’t rent a car before 25 or drink a beer legally until 21. Essentially, society feels it has to babysit you young fellas. We’ve installed layers of rules and laws to stop you from hurting yourself—and us.
Your parents must be proud.
That’s not to say that groups of men can’t be heroic or capableof great things. But it seems like those great things are always framed within an organization that prides itself on the leadership and guidance of older men. Think about military groups or sports teams; they’re supervised and motivated by older, wiser men who are less prone to the irrational antics of the childish and impulsive.
Left to their own devices, young men all too often fall into the sad and pathetic frat mentality.
Not even our smart and civilized neighbors to the north are immune from this dynamic. The conclusion of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins got ugly. The Bruins beat the Canucks and a riot erupted in the streets of Vancouver. An eyewitness reported hearing a group of young men (of course) chanting, “Let’s go riot!” In the end, more than 140 people were hurt, more than 100 were arrested, and the property damage estimate hit $4.2 million.
What’s hockey’s main demographic?
Young men.
Obviously.
You can picture the scene, can’t you?
Hey man, we just lost. I think the only thing that could make me feel better is to light a Chevy on fire
.
That’s the mentality that creates concern for Jason Collins’s future as an active athlete. In his profession, he can’t help but be surrounded by groups of young men who are so consumed with protecting and promoting their masculinity that they become incapable of common decency and tolerance.
Guys, it’s time to grow—and grow up.
Michael vs. LeBron: Swish or Swoosh?
Michael Jordan is the most popular and revered athlete in the world. He is absolutely glorified as a global icon, to the point where his fiftieth birthday in February of 2013 caused the sports media to reach for new ways to cover what is essentially a nonevent.
LeBron James, on the other hand, is one of the most polarizing athletes in the world. Any of his missteps, or perceived missteps, is exaggerated. His flaws, or perceived flaws, are dwelled on long after they’ve been either rectified or proven wrong.
The
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