April 6, 2013 6:44 AM

Better to be thought a fool than to be Eric Bolling and...oh, fuhgeddaboudit....

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

(apologies to Keith Olbermann)

Eric Bolling

“We’re in the midst of political correctness crushing our ability to teach kinds, to discipline kids, to disagree with people or one another or kids,” [Fox News host Eric] Bolling complained. “Our culture is in decline, but this is an example of our culture in free fall and I’m saying this because he got fired, not because of what he did.”

Unless you’ve spent the past week on vacation in Waziristan, you’ve undoubtedly seen the video clips of now former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice abusing his players. If you’ve seen the clips, you know that we’re talking about abuse- both verbal and physical…and it’s clear from the video that, whatever the context may have been, Rice was over the line- WAY over the line. There’s simply no way to rationalize or justify throwing balls at players’ heads or using homophobic slurs as motivational tools. Period. End of discussion. No questions allowed.

Of course, it was just a matter of time before those aribiters of cultural reason at Fox and Friends weighed in, with the usual predictably silly and offensive comments following close behind. In this case, it was Eric Bolling, who took the opportunity to bemoan the “wussification of American men”. Evidently, to Bolling’s way of “thinking,” all Rice was doing was toughening up his players by subjecting to such vile verbal and physical abuse. I wonder how Bolling would feel if his son was one of the Rutgers players abused by Rice?

What Bolling didn’t do as he continued to embarrass himself was to define what sort of abuse he finds acceptable:

  1. Under what circumstances is it appropriate to shout homophobic slurs at a player?

  2. When is it acceptable to throw a basketball at a player’s head?

  3. When should a coach be allowed to physically and verbally abuse a player?

  4. Should a player be allowed to complain about such abuse without having to worry about losing their scholarship?

  5. When does such behavior make the jump from being “anger management issues” to being assault and battery?

In my mind, those are only the beginning of the questions that Bolling should have to answer, but I’ll wait for him to respond to…not that I’m going to be holding my breath on that count. While Bolling did make a half-hearted attempt at saying that homophobic slurs aren’t acceptable, he basically endorsed the totality of Rice’s behavior.

Thousands of coaches are able to teach their charges without physically and/or verbally abusing them. They manage to teach without throwing basketballs at the heads of their players. They help the young people under their care improve as players and human beings without losing control. If recent history has shown us anything (especially those of my generation), it’s that a coach need not be the reincarnation of a tyrant like Bear Bryant in order to be successful. A coach doesn’t need to “break down” players in order to win.

Abusing players has never been the right thing to do; it’s just that in the Internet Age it’s far more difficult for a martinet like Mike Rice to operate behind closed doors. All Eric Bolling has done is demonstrate himself to be of the same mindset as Rice- an ignorant, rageaholic tyrant who denies the basic dignity and humanity of those under his care. Rice has no business coaching anyone anywhere…and Bolling would do well to recognize that condoning such abuse only makes him complicit in it.

Then again, it’s Eric Bolling we’re talking about. It’s not as if we should be expecting reasoned, consideration reflection and well thought out arguments. He’s a walking, talking exercise in self-parody…and he just proved it all over again.

Ready. Fire. Aim.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on April 6, 2013 6:44 AM.

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