Several updates, more than a few of them disturbing... (7/31/18)

• We have effective confirmation that the dual Twitter-detective incidents on Sunday were fan-related.  Deadspin reported yesterday, as a part of a larger "The Value of Public Shaming" article, that the Sean Newcomb bigoted tweets were discovered by a Washington Nationals fan, to wit the Braves fans (and Deadspin points out this is ridiculously easy!) began to search Nationals players for similar tweets and found Trea Turner's!

(By the way, the article confirms that Newcomb was a high-school senior when he sent his.)

Two thoughts on this:

First, this is exactly what I feared was going to happen after the Hader incident -- and now I think you have a new avenue that's going to make it very difficult for this not to take over as a new form of harassment.

Why?  Because this kind of bigotry is part and parcel of the American sports experience, especially among White players.  As one of my readers passionately put it to me yesterday:  Sports has a bigotry problem -- and a huge one.

So does teenage America.  And this is nothing new.  When I was in high school in Wisconsin, not only was there the occasional gay slur pointed at anyone not popular in the school, but even the occasional semi-homophobic statement from the old Economics/Typing teacher: 

"Deer hunting?" (In response to a student giving an excused absence slip.)

"Two legged or four legged kind?"  (And, once the student chuckled and said no...)

"Or is it... G-A-Y..."

Specifically to sports:  Baseball has been noting a marked decrease in the number of African-American players, with a US News and World Report article from last year stating that, from 1981's number that almost 1 in 5 players in Major League Baseball was African American, the number in 2017 is about 1 in 15!!  (18.7% then to 7.7% in 2017)

What people like me are correctly being cautioned about is the probability that there may be an intrinsic attempt to re-segregate what American sports can be segregated.  (Baseball is probably a group of prominent White superstars wanting it away from being attempted.  Hockey is pretty close to begin with, and the African-American players are noting significant racist pushback.  Adam Silver will not permit it in a league the report notes is 3/4 Black.  And, sorry #NFLBoycott racist pigs.  The NFL is about 2/3 Black.)

(It's probably that last part that is about the only reason MAGA Hats like Tom Brady aren't trying to bleach the league.)

• The first two blowbacks of the new helmet-contact rule have hit the National Football League and it's training camps.

First, it has resulted in the holdout of at least one first-round draft choice.  Chicago's Roquan Smith, the eighth pick in the NFL Draft this year, is holding out because the Bears have placed wording in his contract which allows them to take back guaranteed money if Smith is suspended (or even otherwise disciplined) under the new rule.

Well, this brings up a large question to me:  Is that standardized language?  If it is, then Smith's argument really has to be against the rule.

The other part of this, though, is true even in that case, but is more true if it's not standard language.  Is Roquan Smith admitting he is no longer of the caliber of the 8th overall pick without using his helmet in illegal manners? 

This, by no way, would be unusual.  Jadeveon Clowney of the Texans got into the NFL largely because of a massive illegal targeting hit in his sophomore season's bowl game.

Is Roquan Smith admitting he's a headhunter?  If so, the Bears may be having significant buyer's remorse.

The second blowback comes from Philadelphia. When the league came to Philadelphia for a presentation on the new rule, a significant amount of questions were left from Eagles players.

This should also be no surprise.  A borderline hit in the first week of the pre-season by a Philadelphia player set the tone for "Hit 'em.  Hurt 'em.  Put 'em out.  Win."  Philadelphia was fined significantly the first several weeks of the season.  Their team did a large part in setting the tone in that manner.

One article said much of the defense was left with the question of how they were supposed to tackle in the first place!

That's one of the reasons I would not be stunned at all (and in fact am predicting) about a 7-10 point increase per game in scoring (which would put the average somewhere 50-53) this year -- because, with 30 years of ESPN glorifying the helmet-as-missile hit which is about to end football, these brutes have no idea of how to play defense whatsoever.

• In a move that is not only contradictory to their White Right segment of their audience, but probably may alter my Super Bowl prediction, the NFL has ordered Jerry Jones to STFU about the National Anthem policy.