(As a side example, the Hollywoodgossip.com photo has a nasty note on it they installed. The photo shows Paris Hilton with Owens and other black men. So, the Hollywoodgossip.com blog feels compelled to call her names because she's with black men. Had they been white men, that message would not have been there. Instead, we would have got some article about who her next boyfriend was. Racist? Yes.)
Terrell Owens with Chad Ochocinco should bring conversations about how the Bengals can scheme to get the most out of each receiver. One really interesting pattern combination is to have both in a slot formation, with Owens to the post from the outside, while Ochocinco takes the corner. Another effective combination is the hitch - corner system popularized by Joe Tiller at Purdue, where we have Owens run the hitch, and Ochocinco the corner route.
Instead of scheme talk, we have talk about the two "entertainers" getting together. Or ESPN's John Clayton wondering if they can share the spotlight.
And the ESPN stupidity continued when Chad was interviewed by ESPN after the news that Owens would join the Bengals. The ESPN anchor asked Chad a question that made this blogger wonder why ESPN hired him: "How well do you know him?"
Any follower of sports knows that Chad and T.O. are friends and have been for a long time, but this ESPN guy had to push the idea that they diddn't know each other, even as Chad explained they were friends for 10 years.
It's the insistence on playing up the "circus" and Chad and T.O. as (without saying it) outspoken and flamboyant black men that really makes me pound my first on the desk. Code words like "entertainer" or "reality show" or "circus" or "trouble" or "flamboyant" pepper ESPN blog posts and television coverage.
It's to the point, where I'm sick of ESPN's low-brow, racist approach. ESPN and the media don't refer to outspoken white players that way. Take the Minnesota Vikings Defensive End Jared Allen. He of the crowd-pleasing sacks who loves the mic as much as Owens and Ochocinco. But you never see the same code words applied to him.
The subtle message all week long is if you're a black guy who's outspoken and walks a different path, you're a threat. It happened when Dallas Cowboys Rookie Dez Bryant said he wasn't going to carry Roy Williams pads. Who did the media compare him too? Terrell Owens. And now, just a day or so later, the silly, racist crap continues in the media. Some of it, delivered by black male sports writers, who should know better.
Just because it's coming from them doesn't make it OK. Word to the media: if you don't know about football strategy, don't write about football. If you can't draw a play and describe it to an audience. If you don't know what a team's doing as it unfolds, don't write about it or talk about it.
The reason is the lack of football strategy understanding is replaced by some commentary peppered with the sports writers prejudices. Frankly, I'm tired of it all.
I'm really sick of the garbage that's coming out of a number of media outlets regarding Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Please stop.
Good post! I was thinking about writing something about this. There has been a lot of coverage, and it's interesting considering they are both VH1 reality tv stars.
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