In my imagination, I am conjuring up a conversation that could take place somewhere in the U.S. before the current high school basketball season ends in March.
A father is sending his son, we’ll call him Johnny, off to school. A junior, Johnny is a 6-foot-9 white shooting guard who is being coveted by every major college program, as well as the NBA training-school programs.
He will spend his senior year at one of those so-called “academies” that have sprung up around the nation. Their mission is twofold: Get academically-challenged superstars eligible for college scholarships, and provide the players the best competition possible.
Here’s how the conversation goes:
Johnny: “Dad, is it O.K. to try to kiss the cheerleaders and grab their crotches when I see them in the hallways?”
Dad: “Yes, son. You are entitled. That’s what our President does.”
Johnny: “I have to play against some kids I don’t like because they’re black or Hispanic. Anyhow, they don’t look like me: Is it O.K. to call them names?”
Dad: “Yes, son, that’s what the President does.”
Johnny: “Some new guy on my team is a Muslim. Is it O.K. to ask him if he’s a terrorist and question whether his family is here legally?”
Dad: “Yes, son, that’s what the President would want you to do.”
Johnny: “We also have a manager who has some kind of weird physical thing where he can’t use one of his arms and he shakes a lot. There’s no harm in making fun of him, is there?”
Dad: “No, son, that’s what the President does.”
Johnny: “We have a big game this week against our arch-rival, Redneck High. The coach says we should respect them. I say we should be rude to them and call them nasty names.”
Dad: “What kind of a weenie do you have for a coach? I always suspected he was part of that politically correct crowd. You go ahead and call them names, son. The nastier, the better. That’s what the President would do.”
Johnny: “I also have a teacher who’s driving me nuts. She refuses to give me passing grades on my papers because she says I make up stuff and ignore the facts.”
Dad: “How dare she! Doesn’t she know you’re the star of the team? Tell her to take her facts and shove them. That’s what the President would do.”
Johnny: “Thanks, dad. Hey, I may be home a little late because I’ve got to do an interview after practice.”
Dad: “An interview? With a member of the dishonest and crooked media? Be careful, son. They’ll put words in your mouth. You know how disgusting they are.”
Johnny: “Thanks, Dad. Love you.”
Dad: “Love you, too, son. And one more thing: You remember telling me about that kid who’s been challenging you in practice?”
Johnny: “Sure, dad. What about it?
Dad: “Well, feel free to hit him with a low blow during a scrimmage. Below the belt, if you get my drift. And if he cries foul on you, just use that silver tongue of yours to convince the coach that the other kid started it. That’s what the President would do.”
The sports cliches
The political pundits trotted out every sports cliché in the sports writer’s handbook to describe Donald Trump’s historic victory over Hillary Clinton in the President race, so I guess it’s O.K. for an old sports writer to talk a bit about what I saw from our President-to-be.
Mainly, I saw a grossly immature man who totally violated the codes of being a gentleman and a sportsman. Name your most admired hero – Stan Musial? Muhammad Ali? Peyton Manning? – and Trump was the antithesis of what they were.
A gentleman always is a sportsman, and a sportsman always is a gentleman. At least, that’s why I’ve always believed and still do. And the best of these gentlemen and sportsmen achieve hero status so exalted that statues of them are erected outside stadiums and arenas.
They share certain characteristics.
They are humble in victory, gracious in defeat.
They respect their opponents, the referees, and the media.
They take responsibility for their mistakes, apologize when necessary, and never blame their teammates or the officials.
They abhor prejudice in any form.
They are generous with their time and wealth, grateful for their special talents, and unafraid to stand up for what’s right and just.
In other words, they represent everything our President-elect does not.
Uphold real sportsmanship
I find it interesting that Trump is enamored with golf, the sport where honesty and fairness are so important – at the championship level, at least – that players are expected to call penalties on themselves.
I don’t know anything about what Trump’s like on the golf course. But I wonder if he cheats as much at golf as he has in business and politics. I’ll bet those who play against him check their scorecards closely, especially if money is involved.
I can’t see any self-respecting parent telling their son or daughter that they want them to be like their President. If Trump has any worthwhile or admirable character traits, they are impossible to see with the naked eye.
But the people have spoken and we now are stuck with him for the next four years.
We can only hope and pray that Trump undergoes a kind of epiphany that will cause him to morph into something entirely different than what we saw in the campaign.
Of course, if that happens, many of those who elected him will be angry and disappointed. They loved his groping, his name-calling, his lying, and his complete disdain for our government.
I can only do one thing, and it’s the same thing I’ve always tried to do. I will continue to praise the gentlemen and sportsmen, and I will continue to expose and pillory the cheaters and the hypocrites.
The least we can do for our children and grandchildren is point them in the direction of heroes, both men and women, who are worthy of being emulated.
Billy Reed is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the Transylvania University Hall of Fame. He has been named Kentucky Sports Writer of the Year eight times and has won the Eclipse Award twice. Reed has written about a multitude of sports events for over four decades, but he is perhaps one of media’s most knowledgeable writers on the Kentucky Derby