The epidemic of political correctness has now smacked Ohio State University where it hurts the most…its athletic director apologizing to Michigan for a snarky remark about football. And I ask…why?
By and large I ignore the crap that people post on social media about politics and political correctness. No one’s ever accused me of being “PC” myself, and when others do it I usually consider it as time spent inefficiently.
But I did take notice Wednesday to some emails and tweets sent from Columbus – up in arms over OSU athletic director Gene Smith “apologizing” to Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for his remarks earlier in the week about the Wolverine football program going to Florida to work out during spring break.
“I guess that’s what you have to do if you’re trying to jump-start your program,” or words to that effect, Smith said.
Of course, Harbaugh took the bait and fired back something about Smith and OSU being relevant again…after the “tattoo fiasco”. Simple trash talking…the essence of sports talk from the “hood” in this day.
But Wednesday Smith apparently thought worse of his words and started crawl-daddin’: “My comments at a soccer press conference yesterday were not meant to discredit our rival. I apologize to UM student-athletes & my good friend Warde Manuel. We at OSU look forward to continuing the greatest rivalry in collegiate football.”
What?
Why?
Why is everyone in the world apologizing for stuff that doesn’t matter? It’s football, and if you listen to the ones paying for it in the form of outrageous ticket prices, contributions to the universities, and paying just for the RIGHT to even buy a ticket…that’s how they want it. THEY WANT IT A LITTLE MEAN! And the athletic director is talking….SOFT?
And does this not follow the cultural direction of America? Is this not the capsule version of our president apologizing to the rest of the world for Americans being strong…and rich? WTH? We’ve paid the bills of all those countries for years…we’ve fed them…and now we’re apologizing to them for being the world’s policeman and the one and only stable economy?
We apologize now for everything under the sun, and as a people we’ve become so sensitive to remarks about color, gender, and culture that we’re growing apart as a country. No one knows anymore what’s said to be funny…or what’s said to be hurtful. It fun for the comics, but discrediting if a football coach says it. No one understands context now, so to be on the safe side we say we’re sorry for everything.
By the way, this is why people like Trump. He doesn’t apologize to anyone and there’s millions of Americans who remember us when we were strong, rich, and deservedly…a little arrogant about it. No one messed with us then. They just took our money, our food, our help, and said…”Thank you. Let us know when we can help you someday.” Now, they blow up buildings and subways.
And you know why? Because we’ve apologized so much that the world perceives that we’re weak?
Well, fast forward to next November, or the next few Novembers, and let Michigan come to Columbus and win about three or four in a row. That program isn’t in disarray now like it was…and it won’t be. It ain’t going to be good in “Buckeye Nation”, and if it happens it ain’t gonna’ good for Gene Smith. People have long memories.
Unfortunately for him, longer than Smith’s contract as athletic director. And no one’s going to apologize.