Marcus Smart Reminds Us Fans are Entitled

Saturday night, I watched the reaction to Marcus Smart pushing a Texas Tech fan. Naturally my first thought was what did the fan say? Obviously Smart will be suspended for perhaps the first major blemish on his college career but more important is what provoked it.

Smart was told "Go Back to Africa" by Jeff Orr. Where I come from, you say that to somebody it's hurtful. I was told "Go Back to Compton" as an adult at Newport Beach - a lillywhite area in SoCal - and even though it was silly, I was hurt that it came at a beach. Orr knew what he was doing reaching for a racial insult and deserved what he got.

Also naturally, folks were quick to say "But he shouldn't have done it" or whatever excuse they needed to justify being thrown a racially coded insult. In 2014, why are we still doing this? Have we not evolved to think deeper? Is it all knee-jerk reaction without any analysis?

Let's call it what it is. Media and other sports fans are quick to judge athletes when they don't judge fans for their behavior that's gotten worse and worse over time. Don't believe me, consider the recent evidence.

#APU: The Latest Movement vs. the NCAA

If you missed this, several football players at Georgia, Georgia Tech and Northwestern wrote APU on their gear. Not to be confused with Azusa Pacific University out here in California, it stands for All Players United – a sign of solidarity for athletes fighting against what they consider unfair treatment by the NCAA.

I’m glad this was a slow week for college football games because this is the real story of the weekend. For one of the first times, we’ve seen current, active athletes step up and make a statement against the NCAA on the field of play.

All thanks to the NCPA, who organized this idea and laid out their vision for this movement over the weekend.

It’s a pretty huge deal because it’s a sign that the NCAA’s fake empire is under more attack from within. The life-blood of the NCAA is the athletes and if they start to speak up while currently students, then the dominoes are falling hard.

Oklahoma State Scandal - Why Should I Care?

Why should I care indeed? This story could be written about any school in the country. Just so happened Oklahoma State caught the glare for some reason.

In the post-Penn State era, these scandals seem almost ho-hum and very low on my radar. Paying players vs. a school covering up pedophilia. Abusing drugs vs. administrators turning a blind eye to child abuse when told about it. What really matters in the grand scheme? Low-level incidents or true institutional failure and criminal behavior.

Nothing will compare to Penn State obviously but my point is that guys taking money and having folks pass their classes is nothing new. Where's the shock in that? Where's the newsworthiness in reporting something that happens seemingly every year? Are reporters playing Catch a Criminal or are we actually trying to change a system in the process. 

It's like police officers catching weed sellers and low-level guys while the bigger empire just replaces them with other folks. I’m not shocked by these things anymore. It's all a byproduct of a crooked empire where winning is always prevalent and more money is at stake, coaches, AD’s and boosters will do whatever it takes to win.