Lew, you hit the nail on the head in a number of ways, but one point I’d like to emphasize is that James Harrison is known by his teammates to be “an individualist.” He said, and I quote, “I don’t feel the need to go, actually. I don’t feel like it’s that big a deal…” Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Not only is Harrison an individualist who apparently thinks for himself, he’s consistent as well, making the same decision for President Barack as he did for President Bush.Harrison has decided that the okey-doke just doesn’t interest him, no matter which president is shoveling it. Given that the okey-doke of sports is routinely mistaken for something of real importance, I can understand how this might shock a few people. What is upsetting for me is the amount of ire Harrison is drawing from black commentators. In the wake of people like Ali and Jim Brown thumbing their nose at the establishment almost as a hobby, it strikes me as damned depressing that people who should know better evidently do not.
Instead, they spend a portion of every segment ostensibly informing Harrison that he should “respect the office” of the President. I know this will come as a shock to readers of this blog, so please, let’s keep this on the down low: I don’t respect the office either! I’m just glad someone enjoying the (mostly undeserved) exposure a professional athlete gets had the guts to say it, more or less on my behalf. Word, James!
6:56 pm on May 18, 2009
