Jets football team acquires a violent thug who threw a glass in a woman’s face—because the price was right

(April 14: comments have been posted in this entry.)

The New York Times has two voices. When it talks about conservatives and traditional Christians, it (at best) oozes contempt and condescension with every sentence. When it talks about violent criminals, malefactors, fathers of multiple illegitimate children, and enemies of society generally, it adopts a “straight,” respectful tone, in which even the rare critical remark sounds somehow deferential. But because the people it’s talking about are indeed malefactors, thugs, etc., the respectful tone becomes unintentionally funny.

As evidence, check out the Times’ story about the Jets’ two new players, Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie (no joke):

April 12, 2010
Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Holmes
By LYNN ZINSER

Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said Monday he understood the risks of making receiver Santonio Holmes part of the off-season makeover, one that already added a player of questionable character, cornerback Antonio Cromartie. But when he discovered Holmes could be had from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick, Tannenbaum said the upside of adding a dynamic, potentially game-changing 26-year-old receiver made those risks palatable.

“With Santonio, we know there’s been bumps in the road to this point,” Tannenbaum said. “We hope he has learned from them. But it’s up to us to make it work.”

The N.F.L. announced Monday that Holmes would be suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. In 2008, Holmes apologized after being cited for marijuana possession. He is also facing a civil lawsuit by a woman who accused him of throwing a glass at her face at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

The issues were too much for the Steelers and they were reportedly ready to cut Holmes when the Jets made their offer.

“Obviously without any of the problems, a player of his caliber who is 26 would not be available,” Tannenbaum said. “We understand the risks, but the price was right for us.”

Tannenbaum said he was confident that a core of what he called the Jets’ character players—a group he said included Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis—would maintain a cohesive atmosphere in the locker room. He also said he thought Coach Rex Ryan was skilled at dealing with potentially troublesome players.

Cromartie acknowledged he has seven children with six women in five states and faces several paternity suits. Last year, the Jets acquired receiver Braylon Edwards, who could face discipline for his role in a Cleveland bar fight.

Holmes was the most valuable player from the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory in 2009, the player who made the unforgettable toe-tapping, game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds remaining. Holmes said he considered his arrival in New York a fresh start, despite its being delayed four games by his N.F.L. suspension.

“I know I have to be accountable for my actions,” Holmes said. “I’m willing to do that and to move forward.”

Holmes said he was ready to turn a page, specifically with drug use.

“Given a second opportunity, I understand to go back and do the same things, to make the same mistakes will not be accepted here,” he said.

He did not say what led to the drug suspension. He said that he was at a loss to explain his string of disciplinary issues, but added that he felt as if he had let people down, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had lauded him after the Super Bowl victory for apparently righting his career.

“I do feel like I let him down,” Holmes said. “Guys are young. We make mistakes. We always will. It’s hard to pinpoint the mistakes and the reasons why for the fans. It’s just being young.”

The Jets are clearly making a run at a Super Bowl, a goal they fell a game short of last season when they lost in the A.F.C. championship game. In addition to adding Cromartie and Holmes via trade, they signed running back LaDainian Tomlinson. And they did all this in an off-season also marked by the end of the salary cap, which was supposed to hamstring teams seeking this kind of makeover.

Tannenbaum, though, said he did not see it that way.

“We knew what the restrictions were going to be in February,” Tannenbaum said. “We knew we could take a look at the restricted market as well as look at some trades. I look at it as what we could do and not what we couldn’t do. I look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. We don’t sit around and lament what we can’t do.”

Now the Jets have to work on what to do with what they gained.

[end of Times article]

Roland D., who sent the article, writes:

It’s all about risks and payoffs—morals don’t enter into it. Note that largely due to demographic changes in the NFL, the kind of thuggery associated with the NBA has now become the norm for professional American football, as well:

- end of initial entry -

April 14

Jim C. writes:

Guess what? Management computes the cost of putting thugs on the roster, knowing full well that many whites are turned off by them. Never support the Jets

Dan T. writes:

“We make mistakes.” Please. I realize this isn’t the point of the article, but it riles me. A mistake is when you grab the wrong keys on the way out the door. A mistake is when you undeliberately (it’s a word) misjudge distance and cause a traffic accident. I hear calls to forgive Tiger Woods because of his “mistakes.” If he got out of bed with two women at a time and said “Oops, sorry, I thought you were my wives” then, well, sorry, my mistake. We all make them.

Kristor writes:

Lots of the NCAA thinks it’s wrong to id athletes at risk of death on account of their sickle cell anemia, because most such people descend from sub-saharan Africans, and screening might prevent some of them—the ones at risk of death—from competing. eight athletes have died this way in the last 10 years. So it’s not OK to recognize reality in order to save lives, but it is not OK to ignore reality and allow your athletes to endanger themselves—if you do, just get out your checkbook.

It’s just like the gnostics wanting to keep the Grand Canyon pristine and make it wheelchair accessible, too.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 13, 2010 07:15 AM | Send