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Editorial Page
In the wake of today’s T.O. Suicide debacle, I find myself wondering more about the sanity of the media than about a certain ex-Niner, ex-Eagle, now-Cowboy receiver.
Bear in mind, I detest the asshole. It ranks among the saddest days of my life when I first saw him in the colors of my beloved Cowboys, a team that I’ve had the joy of watching and supporting since the Johnson administration. I think he’s a Hot Dog – one of the strongest pejoratives I can summon up from my playing days – a person who showboats to show up his competitors and set himself above his teammates. I hate Hot Dogs with a passion.
But, the man can’t take a dump without the media reporting on the color and consistency of the output, whether or not Bill Parcells will approve, and how his teammates might respond to the latest controversy. Under that sort of scrutiny, who among us would be considered rational?
The media made T.O. Yes, he is a man of superb talent in an occupation where extraordinary talent is not only required, but is on display on a weekly basis. For all of his skills as a pass-catcher, his greater acclaim has come because he is a “character”. Characters Wanted, as the promo says.
Who cares about Marvin Harrison, who merely does a similar job in a similar superb fashion (albeit a bit more consistently than Mr. Owens), but has a quiet, understated personality? No, no. We have to have flamboyance! Bring on the Sharpies and the Cel Phones. Bring on the goofy dances in the endzone. Say something outrageous! More, more, more!
T.O. was tailor-made for the Talking Heads in the media. He craves attention – and he’ll do something bad to get it, if doing something good isn’t enough. He’ll say something outrageous, something destructive, something tactless – because that’s his way. And the media will lap up every drop. He’ll do something to showboat – as if simply doing his job better than all but a handful of other people on the planet isn’t enough – just to point himself out to the world. Me, me, me! Never mind those other 52 folks that did their jobs so that I could dance spasmodically in the endzone. Me, me, me. He’ll whine and pout and demand that the team feature him or pay him more money, and the media will breathlessly report every step in the saga.
And, instead of condemning that sort of activity, or at least ignoring it like they do with another frowned-on event in football games – fights – the media feeds on it. More, more, more. Let’s stick a mic in front of T.O. and see what outrageous thing he says next! Let’s camp out in his front yard; maybe he’ll bless us with an appearance and something we can use on SportsCenter!
Just look at the great Hamstring Controversy of this preseason. T.O., Steve Smith, and Hines Ward all sat out most of the preseason with bad hammies. But who got all the media attention? Hint: it wasn’t anyone from the Panthers or Steelers. Well, I take that back – another Steeler got some media attention, but it wasn’t for his philanthropy. I’m talking about the guy who was goofy enough to ride a jet-fueled motorcycle without a helmet. But, you got my point.
I don’t know if T.O. tried to commit suicide. I tend to think not. By all accounts, he has been happy and settled in Dallas, and has been behaving himself. He made a quick rebuttal appearance today before the media to explain the overdose issue, and vehemently denied any attempt to off himself. Even now, as I look at espn.com, kffl.com, si.com, profootballtalk.com, the evening local news… the attitude is “here we go again”. The assumption is that the man is pulling some kind of outrageous stunt.
If they do it at all, they are doing it grudgingly – admitting that the whole overdose thing was an accident. Accidents, after all aren’t newsworthy.
In the immortal words of Don Henley: “We all know that crap is king / Give us Dirty Laundry…”
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