GU issue has blogs abuzz
It’s just a symptom of our society, I guess.
It’s the Nancy-Grace-who’s-at-fault-rush- to-judgment culture we live in now.
It’s the way we react to bad news. Bad news like the news that hit Friday night and Saturday morning about Gonzaga University men’s basketball players Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis arrested and booked into jail on drug crimes.
And it’s never more evident than in this medium I have made my new home.
The first wave hits. It’s a giant surge of anger, with a throw-the-bastards-out mentality. Then there is the inevitable backlash posted by those who want to show compassion, followed by another wave of venom, back-and-forth, up-and-down like a piece of wreckage from a plane crash at sea.
But through it all, if you are willing to read it all – and I’ve tried – there are pearls of wisdom buried in the thousands of words. It just sifting through all the flotsam and jetsam that is tough to take.
We are a society that exists on instant gratification. Sports culture is symptomatic. Instant highlights, real-time scores, information at a glance.
News happens. Always has, always will. People talk about it. Always have, always will. The difference now is simple: You just don’t talk about it over the back fence or around the mail box, you can talk with everyone in the world. At least talk to everyone in the world.
Your opinion can be heard on any Web site that solicits comment. It doesn’t have to be founded in facts (“everyone knows so-and-so has been doing this for years …”) or even have to be particularly relevant (“when so-and-so was in high school he did …”).
We ask for it and you deliver.
And those opinions sit there like bait in a crocodile pen, waiting for someone to bite.
They do, of course, and back and forth it goes.
We’ve gone through this with the Gonzaga news this weekend. I’ve read everything you’ve posted on the SportsLink, Steve Bergum’s Gonzaga blog and a lot on the GU fan forums.
Most of it’s intelligent, thoughtful and appropriate. Some, not so much.
Those of you who have written we are judging the events too quickly, I agree with. Those of you who have written with passion about Gonzaga basketball, I understand. Those of you who have written urging patience and compassion, I applaud. Those of you who have written defending at least one of the young men, I admire your courage. And those of you who have written that we shouldn’t be surprised two 20-something men were pulled over and arrested for drugs, basketball players or not, boy are you right.
Where do we go from here?
A conversation about the arrests is still worth having. So is a conversation about Gonzaga’s immediate basketball future. A conversation about selfishness – which driving around Cheney at midnight the night before a game, regardless of what is in the car, certainly qualifies as – that’s worth conversing about as well. So is any other way you want to take this without getting chippy with each other.
Let’s continue. You can add your thoughts on SportsLink at spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/sportslink. I’ll check in from time to time with my beliefs. I’ll make sure the posts stick to the issues and don’t become personal, but I’m not going to wield a ruler and slap your hands – unless you really cross the line, then I’ll swing with the might of a ‘60s Catholic- school nun.