Tony Dungy is right.
Rex Ryan needs to curb his cursing on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series where the New York Jets coach dropped more f-bombs than American planes dropped H-bombs. Dungy was so disgusted that the former NFL coach urged not only commissioner Roger Goodell to intervene, but also Ryan’s mom.
Language, as our aunts chastised over cursing.
I’ll admit cursing too much. But I also know the difference between public and private, which is why you won’t see a four-letter word in this column or me saying one on the airwaves. Reality TV has caught Ryan forgetting the public-private line.
Football is a gladiator sport no matter how much some people want to turn it into a mental chess game, fantasy league or video game. It’s about knocking people out of the way to accomplish a very physical goal. No one is purposely hurt, but it’s a blood sport and cursing is part of it.
But coaches and athletes must remember they’re also role models. When they curse, kids hear it. Even worse, they repeat it.
Many coaches curse privately when the TV cameras are off. Norv Turner could burn your ears in private, but only once cursed before cameras in seven years as the Redskins coach and it was minor and calculated. Turner is a father of three who understands the impact of cursing.
Ever hear Maryland coach Gary Williams curse in press conferences? Lip reading during games doesn’t count. College basketball coaches are the worst cursers I’ve ever heard, but Williams knows the line. When Terrapin fans, perhaps the foulest mouths in the ACC, chanted a vulgarity at Duke guard J.J. Reddick in 2005 that was clearly heard nationwide via ESPN, Williams lectured students before the next game to tone it down.
We’re talking about young men in emotionally charged situations. If microphones weren’t so close like the old days, then they could get away with cursing. But the explosion of media has halted privacy. The days of telling someone to blank-off are past.
Many adults no longer take their children to games because of drunks cursing in the stands. When your child says their first expletive, chances are they heard it during a game. Chances are they heard it from you.
When Dick Cheney once threw out the opening pitch at a Nationals game, some fans booed and cursed the vice president. If your children see you openly disrespecting the vice president, don’t be surprised when they do it to you.
So language, Rex, language. You never know who’s listening.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
