‘Cotton picking’ is a slip of a slur that can cost an announcer a job
Thunder suspends announcer for saying Westbrook ‘is out of his cotton-picking mind’
For so many decades ethnic slurs have slipped into the national vernacular, people uttering them without realizing how offensive they are to minority groups. Not so many years ago it was common to hear jokes about dumb “Pollacks” or hot Latin tempers or skinflints “jewing” people down. This week we have Brian Davis, play-by-play announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder, being suspended for one game for exclaiming, “Russell Westbrook is out of his cotton-picking mind!” The phrase “cotton-picking” is commonly heard in southern states, where millions of white people and brown people have picked cotton along with blacks. But inadvertently or not it summons a shameful era, and it understandably offends African-Americans, including Westbrook, who said, “What he said was not OK.”
Between the Lines: It may be good to bring attention to language that should be expunged. But it would be sad for a career to be ruined by a slip of the tongue that’s inconsistent with the person’s usual behavior. Howard Cosell, a trail-blazer in bringing sensitivity to racial issues, lost his network job when he excitedly blurted, “Look at that monkey run.”
Angels tell fans to shush while Ohtani is batting
The Shohei Ohtani Wonder Show continued over the weekend when the Japanese Angel went 3-for-8 as a designated hitter, with a double, a triple and 3 RBI against the Kansas City Royals. But a curious thing happened: An Angels representative requested the home team suppress the enthusiasm of three female fans who were Japanese exchange students standing behind the visitors dugout. They loudly cheered for Ohtani when he took his first at-bat. Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “It was a bizarre request, considering there were only 15,011 announced fans at Kauffman Stadium.” Ohtani said, through an interpreter, that he was “thankful for the cheers” but that he likes “to focus and block out the noise.”
Dear Shohei: In Japan the fans would be happy to honor your request, but the USA is not so hospitable. Expect thunderous noise from now on when you’re batting on the road.. You will miss the cheers.
Super Bowl hangover: Brady & Gronk step out of Patriot Way, resent Butler benching
The decision of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to bypass the New England Patriots’ “voluntary” training camp is part of a quiet revolt against coach Bill Belichick, whose benching of Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl is perceived as both petty and decisive. Chris Simms, former NFL quarterback who for 18 months was a member of Belichick’s staff, said on Pro Football Talk: “It sounds like none of the players think Malcolm Butler did anything bad enough to justify the benching. I think there’s a lot of anger still there within the locker room.” Simms, who lives in New Jersey and works for NBCSports Network, said retirement is under consideration by the two Patriots who are deemed Hall of Fame-ready. As Super Bowl Hangover lingers, fingers point to Belichick for not finding use for a Pro Bowl cornerback in even a nickel or dime package. Belichick’s blunder is not easy for his players to forget, much like Seattle Seahawks blamed Pete Carroll for calling a goal line pass that – as irony would have it — Malcolm Butler intercepted. Simms referred to his former boss as “the soulless wonder” who “lost the big game and . . . is always tough on the players, and this is their chance to needle him back.” Belichick’s opposition to Alex Guerrero, personal trainer of Brady and Gronk, is another factor in the retirement equation. Brady believes Guerrero’s unconventional methods are critical to his being, at 41, Greatest Of All Time.
Dear Coach: It’s time to share some warmth, humor and humility that you have revealed on so very few occasions.
David Johnson says Cardinals ‘will be the top offense in the league this year’
Now is the time for NFL players to be most optimistic about their team’s prospects. Everyone is healthy and the draft is coming up, and new coaches give hope of improved schemes. That said, David Johnson, running back of the Arizona Cardinals, struck some observers as delusional when he delivered a forecast on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Excited about the team’s signing of strong-armed but often injured Sam Bradford, Johnson said: “Not just with the addition of him, but also with the linemen we got, the receivers and everyone else that we’ve added to the team on the offensive side, I think we definitely will be the top offense in the league this year.” To which Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (NBCSports Network) said: “I don’t see how you can be the best offense in the league when you’re the worst offense in your division.” The Cardinals are competing against the league’s highest-scoring team of last year, the Los Angeles Rams, along with the Kyle Shanahan-coached San Francisco 49ers and the Russell Wilson-quarterbacked Seattle Seahawks. As for Bradford, his former coach, Mike Zimmer, said he has “a degenerative knee . . . basically bone on bone.”
Between the Lines: To be fair, Bradford is excellent when healthy. In 2016 he completed 71.6% of 552 passes. It was said he was throwing underneath most of the time, but Pro Football Focus rated him the NFL’s most accurate at passes 20 yards or more downfield.