Tag Archives: media

I.T. and the New Look Cavs

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I just read an article by Isaiah Thomas entitled “This Is For Boston”. It was the heartfelt outpouring of emotions from a little guy who has always fought against the odds, persevered by his will and skill, and thought he’d found a home with the Celtics. It broke his heart to find himself traded, again, and it broke mine reading his account of when it happened and what the experience was like for him.

Anyone who hasn’t read that article should. It gives a very human account for the disruption in one’s life brought about by sudden, unanticipated change. Most people aren’t in the N.B.A. But still most people know the trauma of the plant closing, or reducing staff, or being fired or laid off. There’s the stark realization, the uncertainty, the cognitive dissonance. And then, there’s the acceptance: then the objective analysis. I.T. walks us through those processes in his recognition that the Celtics had let him go. Whether or not one feels that the business decision to go with Kyrie Irving makes sense, one has to sympathize if not empathize with I.T. If you saw him compete for the Celtics, its much easier to do.

But business is business. I remember Ray Allen, part of the Big 3 with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and how he was treated when Rajon Rondo disrespected him, and Avery Bradley pushed him for his position on the team. I recall the constant trade talk involving him. I also recall the reaction when Ray left for Miami. There was much animus toward Ray Allen, especially because he left and joined the dreaded rivals, led by Lebron James. Pierce and Garnett treated him like the reincarnation of Benedict Arnold, traitor. But Ray made an assessment, and took the opportunity he felt best for he and his family. It worked out for Ray Allen. He won another championship in Miami, and was an integral part of that championship run. He walked into a back-up role, accepted it, and excelled in it. One of my favorite photos is of Paul Pierce walking behind Ray Allen, complaining about a foul call, as Ray strode confidently to his team’s huddle.

Business is business. The Celtics have sent I.T. packing, just as they did Amir Johnson, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk, and anyone else who didn’t fit the needs in their business plan. When that happens, you think about Lebron having left Cleveland. You think about D. Wade having left Miami. You think about Kevin Durant having left OKC, and for the dreaded Warriors no less! It is less offensive when you think about it. Its business.

I’m a Cleveland fan: a Lebron fan. I wasn’t pleased to see Kyrie leaving, and still don’t agree with his decision to do so. But I respect Kyrie’s business decision to seek the optimal business opportunity for his personal brand. I have also gained insight into the man for whom he was traded. I have mad respect for I.T. now, and look forward to the time when he is rehabilitated, and in the rotation for Cleveland.

What do I want to see? I want to see a trade, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and the Net pick from Boston all to the New Orleans Pelicans for Boogie Cousins. I want D. Wade to get a buy out from Chicago, and sign with the Cavs. And I want to see I.T. putting his heart and soul on the line for the Cavs just as he did for the Celtics. Think about that lineup. At the point Isaiah Thomas/D. Rose. At shooting guard D. Wade/J.R. Smith. At center Boogie Cousins/Tristan Thomas. At power forward Kevin Love/Jae Crowder. At small forward Lebron James/Kyle Korver. By the way, you still have Jeff Green, Cedi Osman, Jose Calderon, Richard Jefferson, Ante Zicic, and Kay Felder on the outside of that rotation, looking in. If the Golden State Warriors can handle that, they truly are a super team. Personally, I won’t bet against all that talent, nor against the will and skill of Isaiah Thomas.

TRUMP KNOWS THE POWER OF RACISM

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Donald Trump has taken presidential politics from the ridiculous, past the sublime, lapped the ridiculous, and is in hot pursuit of the rabidly insane. His statements confound most people, even those who doggedly cling on in support of him. He started with “build a wall” to keep out those Latinos he has labeled rapists, thieves, and murderers. He moved on to Muslims, all of whom he considers terrorists or complicit in terror, so “don’t let them in…” When challenged by the son of a fallen Muslim hero, Trump disparaged the wife and mother, “…maybe she wasn’t allowed to say anything…” In case Hillary Clinton might win against him, he encouraged the “…Second Amendment people…” to “..do something about it…” Locking up “Crooked Hillary” just wouldn’t be enough. That was the last straw for some folks, but Donald wasn’t out of straws. He labeled Barak Obama, sitting President of the United States, “..founder of ISIS”. Even worse, to drive home his assertion that international leaders don’t respect the President, Trump says Vladimir Putin of Russia has used the “N-word” in discussing President Obama, although Trump  is alone in his awareness of this. Now, he’s literally inviting voter intimidation under the guise of concern about fraud, urging Pennsylvanians to “..go into those areas and watch what’s going on, and make sure they don’t vote 5 or 15 times…” Does anyone doubt where “..those areas..” are, or who inhabits them?

What is sad is not the fact that Mr. Trump says these things. What’s sad is that the more of them he says, the more popular he becomes with roughly 40% of the American electorate. Bolstered by talk radio and Fox News, these folks are solidly, even violently behind the notion to “Make America Great Again”, essentially by getting rid of those who can be defined as “other”, or those who would defend them.

Decades ago, in an African nation called Rwanda, the media called out for the Hutu majority to do something about the Tutsi minority. It resulted in husbands hacking wives to death with machetes, and members of the same congregation murdering their fellows at church service, because after all, they were “other”, and you’d be better off without them. Trump hasn’t yet called black and brown people “cockroaches” as the Tutsi were labeled in Rwanda, but is the animus not as recognizable?

The hatred is contagious, extending far beyond the American borders. Italian Olympic gymnasts muse about needing black skin to win contests, as their coach asserts that blacks, not suited for management, aren’t buoyant enough to win at swimming. You see, people watch Fox News all over the world.

Common decency, if not common sense, should compel people to reject these notions and their champion, Mr. Trump, before we cross the threshold of lunacy that plunders the world into turmoil and millions to their grave.