What's Best For Mark Knudson

             While at work yesterday, I caught sight of Sportscenter for just a couple of minutes in one of the break rooms. It was muted but standing in the center of the screen was a man tagged as one Mr. Mark Knudson, and the byline running underneath him was this: ‘Says gay athletes should keep orientation private for the good of the team’.  Intrigued and immediately thinking this guy was the typical alpha male jerk unwilling to accept gays and lesbians, I decided what I really needed to do was some digging.

            A former MLB pitcher over the course of eight years, beginning in 1985 and ending in 1993, Mr. Knudson became a commentator and sideline personality in the wider world of sports after leaving baseball as a player.  Recently, in late February of this year, in fact, he wrote for Mile High Sports an article entitled ‘It’s About What’s Best For the Team’.  Here’s a link to the piece by Knudson:  http://milehighsports.com/2013/02/28/knudson-its-about-whats-best-for-the-team/

            And here’s a response to Mr. Knudson. The MLB pitcher-turned-commentator begins his unnecessary snark just a few paragraphs in. While talking about Esera Tualolo, a former NFL defensive lineman who came out after retirement and wrote a book about his experience being gay in the NFL, and who was also a professional singer, Knudson gives us the first hint that he’s knuckle-dragging.  How? By dismissing Tuaolo’s at-the-time legitimate grievances about being forced to stay in the closet as complaints that fell on deaf ears.  Says Knudsen ‘he had a successful career in pro sports and music, and then as an author.  He didn’t seem to need much sympathy.’

            Mr. Knudsen, it may shock and amaze you to find this out, but having professional success doesn’t immunize a person from hardship in life.  All the money in the world can’t buy Mr. Tuaolo back all the minutes, hours, weeks or years spent living a lie, forcing himself to be something someone, he wasn’t truly.  Nothing will take a away the fact that he likely had to hear homophobic slurs used all the time, without saying a word against such things.

            A couple of paragraphs later, Mr. Knudsen asks readers to carefully consider “[differentiating] between actual discrimination and hurt feelings”.   The defensive tone projected in Knudsen’s choice of words here is plain; he’s going to reject any claim of discrimination, and by way of an old machismo move.  He’ll try to demean those with claims as ‘bellyachers’ or ‘whiners’.

            Mr. Knudsen claims to not have heard anyone associated with pro sports advocate sexual orientation discrimination, and that’s probably true.  He likely hasn’t.  After all, staffers and coaches are businessmen, and they know better than to do anything overt.  For someone who has been a player in pro team sports, it’s staggering that he would deny that such a thing has happened under alternative auspices.  What do I mean?  Allow me to explain by way of a hypothetical example.

            In the NFL, if a player can’t produce at his position, he’s going to get cut or left on the bench. And each position relies upon every other player on the squad pitching in.  If a running back comes out as gay, and suddenly no one will block for him or create running lanes because they’re uncomfortable with him or refuse to support that teammate’s orientation, he isn’t going to perform well enough to stay on the squad. Coaching staff can use the excuse of, ‘well, he isn’t producing’, and cut him.  Don’t think it couldn’t or wouldn’t happen, folks.  We’re talking about athletes, not saints (unless they happen to play in New Orleans, and that doesn’t count). 

            This sort of skullduggery happens, and Mark Knudsen’s omission of that fact should not go unnoted.  When playmakers and all-stars and Pro Bowlers cause trouble in the locker room because of their antics, they get reprimanded in both the media and by their team for attracting unwanted attention.  However, these players are always given a fair chance to show their worth, to prove their value to the team, before anybody recommends they quit living their lives the way they’d like.  In sports, the focus should be on putting a game in the W column, not who the players are attracted to. When straight players refuse to play their best because they’re ‘uncomfortable’, then they are putting the team in harm’s way, not the gay teammate. While Knudsen rightly points out that these straight players have every right to feel the way they feel, if they’re true professionals, they’d be able to focus on the game and put in their best effort regardless.

            The entire second half of Knudsen’s Mile High article smacks of ‘Madmen’-style sexism mixed with a healthy dose of facepalm-level willful ignorance.  He kicks this off by mentioning the ‘justifiable foxhole mentality’ in the NFL, offering an awkward segue for a couple of lines to compare the straight pro athletes to an attractive woman worker in an office who’s made awkward by being gawped at.  Hot on the heels of the sentence in which he makes this comparison, he immediately invalidates it by saying that the two workplaces are far too different to make the same tolerance acceptance applicable to pro athletes.

            In a display of that afore-mentioned willful ignorance, Knudsen talks about how the 9-5 local ‘more tolerant’ office worker with a gay coworker isn’t ‘essentially living with them the way athletes do, their every move scrutinized, traveling cross-country and engaging in sport together’.  He says that the office worker isn’t expected to perform flawlessly as a unit with their gay coworker because they have different job titles and duties within the company.  He even goes for the knee-jerk reflex most of his male readers would have by mentioning that pro athletes shower together.  My question to him: so what? You know who has to perform perfectly in sync together, in genuinely hostile territories, sharing shelter, sleeping quarters, and showering together with gay teammates?  The members of the United States military, who are so worshipped and lauded as heroes by men like Knudsen.  Additionally, while the workers in the 9-5 office setting may have very different job titles and duties, they are hired on for the same bottom line reason; to help the company be profitable and succeed in the marketplace. 

            Mark Knudsen turns to George Karl’s ‘teamness’ concept at this point in the article, saying that individualism and personal agendas are fine in other workplaces, but not in team sports.  He is speaking out of his ass here.  I will make no apologies for being crass about it, folks, because every job I’ve ever worked, the bosses told me to leave my personal business at home, or to at least keep it somewhat quiet and not let it affect my work. So no, sir, it isn’t fine for other workplaces, that’s the truth of the corporate world.  In any company a person works for, every employee has to work as a cohesive group to get the work done at its highest level of quality.  Team pro athletes are not Olympian gods, sir, so stop treating them as if they are.

            As for the notion of personal agendas hurting the team, it only does so when that agenda negatively reflects upon the organization.  A few years back, when Terrell Owens was being a glory hog and drama queen on and off the field, yes, it negatively impacted the teams he played for, because it damaged their reputation for being professional outfits. The Atlanta Falcons had to go into major damage control mode when Michael Vick was arrested and successfully convicted of his role in operating a dog-fighting ring.  These two pro athletes damaged their teams because of their personal behaviors and agendas. Yet, Owens was given multiple chances with various teams, and Vick returned to play in the league at a premier level of play, ultimately taking the front-man spot vacated when the Eagles didn’t keep Donovan McNabb.  If Vick and Owens can have their personal agendas and still be allowed to thrive in the NFL after what they did, then gay athletes should be allowed to do the far more harmless thing of coming out of the closet.

            Knudsen goes on then about how gay players will “check out” straight players they find attractive in the locker room. What happened to giving pros the benefit of the doubt to act, oh, I don’t know, professionally?  If there are unwelcome looks or comments made, and the straight player being made to feel awkward wants something done about it, then he needs to do what the attractive woman from Knudsen’s office worker comparison should do in the same circumstances- file a formal complaint with management!  It’s on them to perform an investigation, to observe what’s going on in their locker rooms and on the field, and to take appropriate action.  If that response isn’t to Mr. Knudsen’s liking, perhaps he shouldn’t have brought up the comparison in the first place.

            In wrapping up his article, Knudsen goes once more to the well of team cohesiveness and how personal agendas have no place in a locker room. I’ve already mentioned the armed forces and how they seem to be doing just fine with gay teammates.  Perhaps we should also take a look at the efficiency and capability of police officers and firefighters, two more machismo-riddled professions that seem to be doing just fine integrating gay squad/team members into the mix. And what do all of three of these professions have in common? The men and women in these fields, risking their lives, protecting the common citizenry? They are paid peanuts compared to these glorified gym class all-stars, Mr. Knudsen. Even the most famous cop couldn’t make nearly the kind of money these guys in the NFL command.

            By encouraging gay athletes to stay in the closet for ‘the good of the team’ is a complete cop-out for what’s really going on here, which is the perpetuation of the idea that pro sports must be the realm of only straight men who adhere to conservative values.  The NFL and all team sports organizations need to face reality; gay players will be on the team.  Do you want them spending a whole lot of their time and effort keeping their sexual orientation a secret? Or would you rather they spend their energies on being the best performer they can be for the benefit of your team?  You have a choice to make, folks.  I’d choose the benefit of the team, myself.

            Cheers.

Specifically For Neil Gaiman

As an avid fan of Mr. Gaiman, a far more talented storyteller than myself, I'd like to offer this brief commentary to him or anyone following him.

Today, my fiance Kate informed me that a couple of years ago, the Star-Tribune wrote about a stink that had been risen over the fee Mr. Gaiman charged for a speaking engagement at a library.  $45,000 is what was paid out.  As a result, people got uppity, because he'd done several free talks and speaking engagements at other library events.

However, he'd already made arrangements for that, and as the man has said himself, he charges that sort of fee to discourage people from hounding him in droves. 

That's not my point, though.  My point is this; as a storyteller, Mr. Gaiman is undoubtedly one of the most talented I've had the pleasure of reading from.  Conversely, people don't seem to bat an eye anymore when one of the Palin family brood charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single one-to-two hour engagement. 

Frankly, those numbers should be switched.  Both Sarah and Bristol Palin are bigoted, self-righteous ninnies who espouse ignorant right-wing nonsense lacking in entertainment value.  Mr. Gaiman's fiction offers more magic, mystique, and insight into the human condition than any number of speeches or reality shows from those two ever could.

In short; $45,000 is small change for Mr. Gaiman's time.  However, Mr. Gaiman, if you could ever find it in your heart to convince someone to invest half that much money in a small-press author like myself, you wouldn't hear me complain.  Being a fellow author in the Minneapolis area, that'd make it even easier!  (just kidding, I'll get there eventually by my own efforts and skill).

Cheers.

Here's a Curiosity

Here's a curious thing; I have three blogs on here at Blogger, and the one upon which I focus most of my efforts has only 1 follower.  This one here, which is a blog of a more personal nature, has 2 followers.  How is that, or better yet, why is that?  I'm not certain.

One thing that is certain, however, is that some things need to change if I'm going to get more traffic to the Tamalarian Tales blog (www.tamalariantimes.blogspot.com).  I post updates on my Facebook main page and my groups there each time I put up a new installment.  Archived entries, I suspect, get few if any views, which is too bad.  I try to encourage my readers to go back and make sure they haven't missed anything.

But I have the distinct impression that very little of that blog's traffic is returning readers.  I suspect that I get a few curious nibbles here and there from various members of my friendslist, and some members of my groups on Facebook.  I don't know if I have any regular readers, because I never get any feedback, either on the blog, or on Facebook.

I've used Twitter a couple of times, but to little avail.  That might change soon, though.  The whole '#' trending thing could be a powerful tool, if used correctly.  I may have to look into doing what

Yes, I'm a Genre Author. Your Point Being......?

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart as an author of fantasy and horror, and it is this; genre definition.  The common practice when most folks ask me what sort of material I write is to say, 'Well, I write fantasy and horror'.  Far too often the response is either 'Awesome, I love that kind of stuff!' or a completely blank look of, 'Oh, he's THAT kind of writer, the sort of stuff that I wouldn't deign to read'.  This is somewhat problematic if, like me, you don't respond well to extremes.

I like the enthusiastic genre fans well enough and their reaction, but the vast majority of folks I come across who take an initial interest in the fact that I'm an author give me that second reaction, the one that makes me see in a crimson mist of murderous, purile, 'fantasy and horror are perfectly valid categories of storytelling classifications to work within' rage.  It kind of discourages me from sharing all that much.  That's actually half the reason I've slowed down so dramatically on the self-promotion front; I just get the feeling that not much of anybody cares. 

I realize I shouldn't be so put off by people's reactions.  After all, I've also received some pretty high praise from people regarding my written works, in real life and on e-book review sites.  But I'm getting away from the point, which is poor form for somebody who's trying to work on his short story writing style and technique (I work far better in novella and novel-length fiction, somehow).

Can anyone reading this tell me that J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series was not an influential and brilliant bit of narrative?  Can anyone reading this tell me that Stephen R. Donaldson's tales of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever were not compelling and complex, with undertones and key messages/meanings tucked away in various facets of the tale woven for the audience?  If you aren't paying attention, or don't care for fiction in general, or (and this is a distinct possibility for the ADHD crowd that seems to be getting larger and larger in population density as time goes by) haven't got the patience to actually sit down and enjoy an epic of the length of these sorts of tales, then you might be able to say 'yeah, I can tell you that'.

If you think you honestly can tell me that, please stop reading this blog entry now.  Seriously, walk away.  Otherwise, your eyes might just start to bleed in the next few paragraphs.

Genre fiction is just as artful, mindful, and capable of transporting the audience to a deeper understanding and/or appreciation of philosophical musings as literary fiction.  I grow weary of pseudo-sophisticates and academics espousing the idea that the sort of work I produce in the fields of fantasy and horror is somehow inferior to 'the classics'. 

To anybody who is unwilling to give a particular novel a chance because of its perceived genre, do yourself and everybody involved in the world of storytelling a favor, and just give it a chance.  It may not be your cup of tea, sure, but are you approaching the story with that prejudice already in mind?  If so, I would suggest trying to remove it before reading.

Otherwise, you might have to remove my foot from your ass.

Perhaps that was a bit harsh, but ignorant people need to be dealt with in blunt fashion. 

Sick

Well, it doesn't happen too often, but I'm sick once again.  I'll tell you, folks, there's nothing pleasant about it.  I'm too cold and then too hot by alternating degrees, excessive light hurts my head and then too little light leaves me feeling blind, my ears are stuffed up and I keep going from being ravenously hungry one moment to wanting nothing to do with food the next. 

When you want to do something of a presentation in a video format, i.e. a Youtube video, getting sick before you actually record the material can stop you up for a few days.  I don't want to go on camera right now.  I have a video I want to do, but I am in no shape (in my own mind, at the very least) to show up in video format.  Neither Kate nor I have much of a voice right now, so audio would be crappy, and neither of us feels like we're looking at our best.

In short, getting sick sucks, but you already knew that, didn't you?

Cheers. 

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Not a Hometown Boy, But....

As a life-long resident of the suburbs surrounding and the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York, I'm not precisely what one might deem a 'hometown boy' when it comes to my sports teams.  I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan when it comes to the gridiron, and they kicked some ass today against the St. Louis Rams.  Sure, there were a few times when I worried for their seeming inability to COMPLETE A FUCKING TACKLE on a runner, but they did good.

However, there was another game on in the NFL that kind of blew me away today, and that was the complete and utter annhililation of the Kansas City Chiefs at the hands of my hometown Buffalo Bills. 

When one mentions the Bills, one does not typically think of a capable team.  One actually tends to recall that Buffalo is known as a big bar town, a big drinking town, where most of the athletics fanatics are drunk due to shame and horror at how terribly its sports teams perform.  I mean, these guys haven't just been bad, they've been the stuff of legendary suck.

Except that today, on their season-opening game in Kansas City, they walked on to the field and systematically picked the Chiefs apart.  Or at least, that was how it looked at first glance.  If one has been watching football as long as I have, one might realize that the blowout was the result of two major contributing factors.  Factor one, Buffalo came to play, they really did.  They executed, stayed in it, and didn't falter at any point, as they've done in years past.  They stuck with the game 100% of the time, and finished it out in the appropriate style, with a punch to Kansas City's eye.

Factor number two, however, and quite possibly more key to Buffalo's victory than their own stability, was the sloppy, undisciplined play of the Chiefs.  This was a team that just showed up to earn its collective paycheck, it would seem.  The sidelines showed little if any emotional reaction from either players or staff; the fans were clearing out of the stadium before the game was even five minutes into the fourth quarter; the silence in that stadium could have been used in a horror film to give a haunted house its creepy atmosphere.

When teams play piss-poor football, they're going to lose, period.  What really helped the Buffalo Bills win their season-opener was the combination of sloppy play from their opponents and sturdy, steady play from their own squad.  But if they want to compete in the AFC as a whole, or even just in their own division of the AFC East, where they face the New England Patriots, they cannot simply rely on steady play.  They're going to have to become stellar.

It's early in the season yet, so nobody's sure who the league's superheroes and superzeroes are going to be as yet.  I mean, just look at how badly the Pittsburgh Steelers got trounced by the Ravens!  But man, it's going to be interesting to see as yet another season of the NFL rolls along.