The world of sports unifies American culture. Asian, black, hispanic, and white. Boys, women, girls, and men. Five-year-olds and eighty-three-year-olds. It doesn't matter. Athletics is societal glue. Unfortunately, Liberalism dominates the world of sports commentary more than it does the Six O'clock news.St. Louis Cardinals manager, Tony LaRussa, was accosted by a local newsperson a couple of days ago to comment on the anticipated appearance of Tea Party advocates at a game between his Cardinals and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Specifically, the reporter wanted LaRussa's opinion on the pending Arizona illegal alien legislation. Mr. LaRussa voiced his support for the measure as reported by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi:
"I'm actually a supporter of what Arizona is doing," La Russa said Tuesday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "If the national government doesn't fix your problem, you've got a problem. You've got to fix it yourself. That's just part of the American way."
Morosi took exception to this position, and turned to a woefully misinformed baseball star for support:
Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez, one of the most prominent Mexican-American players in the game, told the San Diego Union Tribune: "It's immoral. They're violating human rights. ... This is discrimination. Are they going to pass out a picture saying ‘You should look like this and you're fine, but if you don't, do people have the right to question you?' That's profiling."
So, we see a MSM writer's slant on the news. Nothing new there, right. But, wait! There's also a veiled "call to action!" Morosi states that LaRussa's comments will impair his team's ability to improve itself via free agency acquisitions:
But what about free agents - players who don't know La Russa as well? Their opinion of La Russa is based on what they hear from others in the game, along with what they read or see through the media.
All it takes is one teammate-to-teammate remark - "You know, La Russa supports that Arizona law" - and a player's perception of La Russa becomes something very different from what the Cardinals want it to be.
Mr. Morosi's commentary typifies sports journalists' world-view. While they profess to foster the cultural unity achieved through sports, they divide athletes-and fans-when it suits their ill-informed prejudices.
John Peeples
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