Joe Valachi comes forward

Granite Sox · Oct 10, 2014

Ditka was on Waddle and Silvy in Chicago later on, and called Angelo "gutless", and said he should shut up and stop living in the past.

Atta boy, Iron Mike. (smh)

BornToRun · Oct 10, 2014

Dick Pole Upside said:
Ditka was on Waddle and Silvy in Chicago later on, and called Angelo "gutless", and said he should shut up and stop living in the past.

Atta boy, Iron Mike. (smh)

These are exactly the kind of comments I would imagine Mike Ditka saying on this matter.

DJnVa · Oct 10, 2014

Ditka owes his current employment with ESPN based 100% on the past.

Because if they based it on what comes out of his mouth now, he wouldn't be thought of as a football "expert", he'd barely be thought of as a functioning human being.

dcmissle · Oct 10, 2014

Mike is authentic. He was a hall of fame TE and a very good HC. So fuck the world. He is grandfathered. The crazy uncle in the attic. Millennials -- live with it.

Super Nomario · Oct 10, 2014

dcmissle said:
Mike is authentic. He was a hall of fame TE and a very good HC. So fuck the world. He is grandfathered. The crazy uncle in the attic. Millennials -- live with it.

He was a Hall of Fame TE. Was he a good head coach? I have a friend that's a Bears fan that insists that a decent coach would have won more than one championship with that defensive talent in Chicago (and the scheme was all Buddy Ryan), and he certainly didn't cover himself in glory in New Orleans.

Cellar-Door · Oct 10, 2014

dcmissle said:
Mike is authentic. He was a hall of fame TE and a very good HC. So fuck the world. He is grandfathered. The crazy uncle in the attic. Millennials -- live with it.

Ah the old Ty Cobb defense, he was a good player so it doesn't matter that he was a scumbag and continues to be one.

soxfan121 · Oct 10, 2014

Average Reds said:
Looks like the problem of domestic violence in the NFL was even worse than we might have suspected. As was the league's response to the issue.

Now, no one should be surprised here. Indeed, we've been saying for a while that the NFL's involvement in/punishment of off-field activities almost guarantees that the NFL will get stuck in the mud, because they are fundamentally unqualified to take on that role.

However, what Angelo is talking about is a bit much even for a cynic like me. The willful coverup of "hundreds and hundreds" of cases of domestic violence boggles the mind. As does the response of the Chicago Bears:

The guy was only the GM of your organization for 11 years and in the league for 30 years. Somehow I get the feeling that "we have no idea what he is talking about" isn't the play for the NFL.

This doesn't surprise me in the least. Until recently, domestic violence has been a "don't ask, don't tell" issue. And it is important to note there's no way the NFL covers up hundreds of incidents without the help of law enforcement.

That's the silver lining - there will be no further coverups. Or, if there are and they are subsequently unearthed, it will be a shitstorm of epic proportions. Abuse victims now have avenues that didn't exist ten years ago; a spotlight is on the NFL and its players in a way it never has been before. And the light is bright enough to illuminate the larger - and more relevant - problem in American society. #whyIstayed/#whyIleft is but one of the many things that have gained positive yardage through the NFL's highly-publicized case of the stupids.

BornToRun · Oct 10, 2014

Cellar-Door said:
Ah the old Ty Cobb defense, he was a good player so it doesn't matter that he was a scumbag and continues to be one.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Well put.

Devizier · Oct 10, 2014

dcmissle said:
a very good HC.

please consult

kenneycb · Oct 11, 2014

dcmissle said:
Mike is authentic. He was a hall of fame TE and a very good HC. So fuck the world. He is grandfathered. The crazy uncle in the attic. Millennials -- live with it.

Or he's just remains popular because of one of the greatest SNL skits ever.

Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt · Oct 11, 2014

For the record - I'm forty-five and therefore not a millennial, and somehow I manage to think just chalking it up to Ditka being the crazy uncle is maybe diminishing the issue at hand a bit. I certainly get the point, but maybe it doesn't help move the ball down the field, Domestic Violence-wise, to tolerate his sort of attitude. Maybe that's a part - a small one, perhaps, but significant - of why this damaging aspect of our culture persists. No?

Edit: leaving words out because, ya know, I'm forty-five.

dcmissle · Oct 11, 2014

Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt said:
For the record - I'm forty-five and therefore not a millennial, and somehow I manage to think just chalking it up to Ditka being the crazy uncle is maybe diminishing the issue at hand a bit. I certainly get the point, but maybe it doesn't help move the ball down the field, Domestic Violence-wise, to tolerate his sort of attitude. Maybe that's a part - a small one, perhaps, but significant - of why this damaging aspect of our culture persists. No?

Edit: leaving words out because, ya know, I'm forty-five.

Nobody really needs to be defended; this is sports not V and N. Mike Ditka is not an opinion maker. Indeed, the last person of any political influence in sports was probably Muhammed Ali, about 45 years ago. Maybe Arthur Ashe, but that would be stretching a bit. Sports is a big part of my life, but they are really not that significant in the large scheme. Sports fans, like NFL owners, are a pretentious lot.

Reverend · Oct 11, 2014

dcmissle said:
Nobody really needs to be defended; this is sports not V and N. Mike Ditka is not an opinion maker. Indeed, the last person of any political influence in sports was probably Muhammed Ali, about 45 years ago. Maybe Arthur Ashe, but that would be stretching a bit. Sports is a big part of my life, but they are really not that significant in the large scheme. Sports fans, like NFL owners, are a pretentious lot.

What about G38? :kitty:

dcmissle · Oct 11, 2014

Another point. I suspect Angelo is accurate on this. But that is like saying car manufacturers and regulators were completely irresponsible in letting toddlers rattle around in cars as late as the 1960s without seat belts much less car seats. It's quite true but the criticism is ahistorical.

This was covered in other threads. If you are 25 years old, you probably were not even in school before NFL first imposed discipline for behavior that did not have the potential to impact game results. One of the ironies here is that were it not for Goodell, who is justly criticized for the consistency of discipline, this would not be the big issue it is. Under Tagliabue, such conduct was not policed and it remains largely unpoliced in MLB, NBA and NHL today. But from the discussion one might think the world was created over 6 days in 1992.

Search

Search

Joe Valachi comes forward

Average Reds

Member

Granite Sox

Member

BornToRun

Member

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg

dcmissle

Deflatigator

Super Nomario

Member

Cellar-Door

Member

soxfan121

JAG

BornToRun

Member

Devizier

Member

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play

Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt

New Member

dcmissle

Deflatigator

Reverend

for king and country

dcmissle

Deflatigator