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Shut Up and Play! Jeremy Shockey Fumbles Yet Again
By
Jason Page I’m fed up. I will no longer remain silent. It’s been a while since I had anything to write about. I was taking a break and focusing on some new endeavors I am pursuing at Sirius Satellite Radio. I planned on taking a few more weeks off, until another one of pro sports most narrow-minded gave me some motivation to sit down at my laptop. Jeremy Shockey has unlimited physical talent and a chance to be one of the game’s greatest at his position. However, he lacks maturity, verbal discipline and an understanding of the world that surrounds him. We live in a country where only a few words can sink even the seemingly strongest, to their knees. For President Clinton, it was nine. For John Rocker it was slightly more. For Jeremy Shockey, two words have him now playing on both sides of the ball. He’s proven he can be a success on offense, but it seems he’s failing on defense. Last year’s NFL stats indicate that Jeremy Shockey’s first fumble occurred on Nov. 17. This couldn’t be further from accurate. Shockey’s first fumble really occurred on Sept. 10 when the long-haired phenom made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show. When questioned on the topic of gays in pro sports, “Big Blue’s” most talented proved he was also their most ignorant. He showed his lack of tolerance for gays when he made the following statements about his playing days at the University of Miami: “… if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn’t, you know, stand for it.” “You know, I think, you know, there going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don’t think that’s gonna work.” Shockey made the obligatory apology afterwards and just eight weeks later, was fired from his weekly radio gig with WFAN Radio in New York. It was the second time in two months that he had failed to make his scheduled appearance. It seems the 15 minutes of softball tosses from Mike Francesa and Chris Russo were too much for him. Those 15 minutes earned the 22 year-old $1,000. I’m not much of a mathematician. In fact, I failed Mr. Alfone’s sixth-grade math course, but even I know that was a poor financial decision and it also showed a lack of responsibility. I could relay more examples of Shockey Stupidity but, I think by now, you’ve gotten the point. In an interview being published on Monday with New York Magazine, Shockey went on another tirade. This time, his victims were Dallas Cowboy head coach Bill Parcells and for the second time, the gay community. Shockey lambasted “The Tuna” by saying the future Hall of Fame coach and two-time Super Bowl champion should “Do Something! Stay in commentary or stay in football or get the hell out of everybody’s life.” Shockey said he made the comments out of anger towards Parcells for comments he made about him during his rookie campaign as an analyst for ESPN. Shockey ended his monologue by saying that Parcells “would pay” for the comments when the Giants and Cowboys meet this season. He finished that statement by referring to Parcells as “The homo.” Now, its highly unlikely that Shockey (who denies making the remarks though the reporter says he has them on tape) was suggesting that Bill Parcells was gay. Frankly, that’s a thought I never want to run through my head again. What Shockey did was use the word “homo” in a negative connotation. This is something we see far too often. From the playgrounds of our schools, to the fields that house the worlds best athletes, “Fag,” “homo” and “queer” are thrown around with far too much ease. I have gone on speaking engagements around schools in Connecticut to discuss this with high school students. The reasoning I get from them is likely to be the same, shameful excuse I get from a pro athlete. “It’s just a way to kid around with each other” or “I don’t mean it that way.” The children in high school and the athletes on the field fail to realize that their words may impact more than the ones they direct them towards. What they also fail to realize is that they severely impact the closeted-gay high-school athlete who dare not speak his name out of fear for his physical and mental well-being. Can somebody in the National Football League’s front offices or the Giants front offices please say something? What makes me blow a gasket is the constant defense of these defenseless words. Statements such as “The remarks by ‘Player A’ don’t reflect the views of this organization” or, “We’re sorry to see ‘Player A’s’ words were taken out of context.” Give me a break! If the player represents your team on the field, he also represents your team off it. Those comments do reflect the sentiments of the organization, because often times, the organization doesn’t publicly reprimand the athlete. I’ve called both Major League Baseball and the National Football League to speak with their representatives on this troubling trend. They either refuse interviews, or give a blanket statement claiming that there isn’t a problem regarding sexuality within their league. The first step in addressing the problem is the admission that one exists. What are these major sports leagues afraid of? Most leagues offer orientation for their young players on how to manage their money. I’ve heard of none that offer such training for tolerance with sexual orientation. The Esera Tuaolo’s of the world are out there. The Billy Bean’s and the late Glenn Burkes of the world weren’t aberrations. They are in your clubhouses and your locker rooms. They shower with you and probably sit next to you on the long flights. They go to your wedding and probably play with your kids. Stop disrespecting them as human beings. Give them their dignity and with that, you’ll score the most impressive touchdown of all.
Jason Page is currently an on-air personality on
Sirius Satelite Radio's GLBT Radio Stream, OutQ. It is the nation's
first talk-radio station entirely dedicated to the Gay Community. Page
works as an Associate Producer and personality on both the Wayne Besen
Show (7-10 a.m. Monday-Friday) and the Michaelangelo Signorile Show
(1-4 p.m. Monday-Friday). Page has also worked as a play-by-play work
in minor-league baseball. Aug. 9, 2003 |