Cheating has long been part of society, but it really seems to have gushed into the sports world
like a tsunami over the last decade. Armstrong, A-Rod, Braun, and 'Spygate'. Need I go on?
Heck, the friggin' Chines badminton team was tanking games in the Olympics in hopes of
getting a better seed in the tournament. Good, grief.
Now, there is more cheating, along with shamefully bad sportsmanship. Playing by the rules
and sportsmanship used to matter in sports and society, but they really seemed to go out of
the window just about the same time Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street"uttered the words,
"Greed, for a lack of a better word, is good." Since then, the world seems to have been in
a free-for-all.
On Wednesday night, Jason Kidd, the head coach of the New Jersey Nets did something that
was, for a lack of a better word, asinine. Out of time-outs and trailing the Lakers by two points
in the waning seconds, Kidd grabbed a soda with ice (what coach does that?) and then instructed
one of his players to "hit me". Kidd then executed the worst acting job in Hollywood since Mariah
Carey's crash-and-burn in that hit movie, "Glitter." Kidd spilled his cup all over the floor, causing
a delay that allowed Kidd's assistant coaches to draw up a play, which failed worse that Kidd's
acting job.
During his Hall of Fame career, Kidd, as a savvy point-guard, was known as a "coach on the floor",
now that he's a coach on the floor, he's turned into a total idiot. His assistant coaches make all
the calls on offense and defense and a talent-laden team is as functional as the Charlotte Bobcats.
The NBA made their call, fining Kidd a whopping $50,000 for his stupidness.
Kidd responded by saying that it was "all about trying to win." Right. Try to win the right way.
Not like some coach in a youth league who will do anything to win a championship to get
his name in the paper. This was a bigger embarrassment to Kidd than his DUI he was arrested
for two years ago in the Hamptons. Great example set by a near 40-year old man. And people
were crucifying 20-year old Johnny Manziel for what again?
Just one night later, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, a highly-respected man throughout
the NFL, appeared to disrupt a kick return by Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens. Jones
sprinted up the sideline on his way to a 101-yard TD, but out of nowhere, Tomlin, was on
the field and jumped back to the sideline, distracting Jones just enough to be tracked down.
Tomlin said he was watching the play on the jumbotron as he often does for "a better
persepective." How lame.
NBC cameras caught Tomlin with a big smirk after the play, which is sure to be wiped off
as soon as that envelope arrives from the NFL telling him to pay up a big six-figure fine.
Tomlin's move was flat-out stupid. The NFL's has it's hands-full with the Miami Dolphins
harassment case, bad officiating, concussions, and now they have to worry about some
coach trying to cheat and give his team an edge. Wow.
I"m sure Tomlin will play to the Steelers fans by saying that he'd doing anything to help
the team win. Ridiculous but those fans will fall for the act, which won't be quite as bad
as Jason Kidd's, but they'll buy into it hook, line, and sinker.
This type of behavior by Tomlin and Kidd is a huge eye sore for the league. It's also a
terrible example for coaches everywhere in the country. We see and read stories about
youth and high school coaches doing silly and really dumb things to motivate players
and get an edge to try to win.
Now, we have two coaches in the highest-level acting like this? Not good. What happened
to coaches who set an example with class, dignity, and honor?
Where have you gone John Wooden?
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