Thirty years ago, my classmates at Shikellamy High School voted Jeff Persing and me the "class jocks". I still think of myself as a jock, although I have become increasingly disenfranchised with professional (and some major college) sports over the past ten to fifteen years. I know there are some decent guys playing in the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball, but too often we hear about athletes being arrested for domestic violence, using performance enchancing drugs, and engaging in other forms of lawless and thug-like behavior.
The NFL recently faced a scandal involving players who were paid a bounty to make dangerous hits on their opponents. More and more evidence is showing the seriousness of concussions and the long-term consequences that can result from repeated blows to the head. Major League Baseball teams scouting for talent in the Dominican Republic have been accused of exploiting youth and running sweatshops in this and other nations.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/baseball-dominican-system-yewri-guillen
Why do we continue to turn on our televisions and support this crap? I'm finding it difficult to not become jaded and cynical when it comes to our sporting culture.
If you ask me, the toughest athlete in America today - and one who deserves our sincere respect and admiration - is a 64 year old woman. Diana Nyad is attempting to become the first person to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage, wetsuit or flippers. Yes, this is her fifth try, but she's doing it because it's her dream. She's doing it because she would like to improve relations between Cuba and the United States. She's doing it because she knows what Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote in 1976 is true - "well behaved women seldom make history". Diana Nyad, keep on strokin'.
Follow Diana's progress at her web site, www.diananyad.com.
The NFL recently faced a scandal involving players who were paid a bounty to make dangerous hits on their opponents. More and more evidence is showing the seriousness of concussions and the long-term consequences that can result from repeated blows to the head. Major League Baseball teams scouting for talent in the Dominican Republic have been accused of exploiting youth and running sweatshops in this and other nations.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/baseball-dominican-system-yewri-guillen
Why do we continue to turn on our televisions and support this crap? I'm finding it difficult to not become jaded and cynical when it comes to our sporting culture.
If you ask me, the toughest athlete in America today - and one who deserves our sincere respect and admiration - is a 64 year old woman. Diana Nyad is attempting to become the first person to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage, wetsuit or flippers. Yes, this is her fifth try, but she's doing it because it's her dream. She's doing it because she would like to improve relations between Cuba and the United States. She's doing it because she knows what Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote in 1976 is true - "well behaved women seldom make history". Diana Nyad, keep on strokin'.
Follow Diana's progress at her web site, www.diananyad.com.
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