Democracy taking over sports, quarterbacks gaining power
Updated Wednesday, March 10, 2021
At a time when this country and others are moving away from democracy and equality, the sports world heads in the opposite direction. Sports have long been viewed as a microcosm of society. I’m not so sure any more.
This is a time when long-established democracies in India, the Philippines, Turkey, Hungary and Poland are consolidating power into one man. The most popular form of government seems to be a dictator who has the same values and fears as you. This is the new populism, curiously resonating with the working class.
But look at sports, where athletes are insisting on having their say about who the next coach or general manager will be. And quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson want to edit the playbook.
This is the Era of the Disgruntled Superstar. Grumbling all the way to the bank.
James Harden pouted his way out of Houston, only to reemerge in Brooklyn as the greatest player in basketball. Why couldn’t it happen in Houston? My guess is Harden didn’t have enough input. It was Mike D’Antoni’s offense.
When D’Antoni left, on whoever’s volition, Harden wanted the next coach to be his long-time friend, fellow Houstonian and former Rocket point guard, John Lucas.
Lucas has had his chances – San Antonio, Cleveland, Philadelphia – and is way below .500 as an NBA coach. But he has a fast-moving, creative mind and so much empathy that I can’t help but think he and Harden would have meshed. The Rockets would have been a helluva lot better than they are now or will be in the foreseeable future.
And now, another unfortunate severance seems inevitable in Houston. Deshaun Watson is adamant about wanting out of the Texans after promises were broken.
The hot rumor is that the Texans and Arizona Cardinals will swap quarterbacks. It will be one-for-one, Watson for Kyler Murray even-up. And I don’t like it from a Texan perspective. Murray is one of the most mobile quarterbacks ever, but Watson moves better than most, and he’s far superior as a passer, and he’s 4 inches taller.
Watson last season led Murray in completion percent, yards per pass and touchdowns and had fewer interceptions. And you know who was throwing to DeAndre Hopkins.
To avoid long-term devastation, the Texans can’t give up Watson for a quarterback who doesn’t have the potential to be him.
It seems to me the only place to send Watson is to the New York Jets. His social media messaging indicates he would not vote no on such a trade.
And this would be convenient for the Texans because the Jets have draft capital and the Texans have none, thanks to Bill O’Brien’s shortsighted roster management.
With the No. 2 overall pick in the April 29 draft, the Jets have the rights to the best college quarterback who’s not Trevor Lawrence. And some NFL talent judges insist that Zach Wilson is a better passer and runner than Lawrence. Chris Simms, former Tampa Bay quarterback who now evaluates quarterbacks for NFL Network, said, “Zach Wilson is clearly the No. 1 quarterback in the draft. I compare him to Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes the way he carves up defenses.”
So perhaps there’s a way out for the Texans. But it’s still a mess that should not have happened.
The National Football League is not adapting well to the changing economics of its industry. The owners wanted more offense, because that’s what viewers wanted. So they created a culture of enormously paid star quarterbacks, latest breakthrough being Dak Prescott earning $160 million over the next four years even though he’s never been in an MVP discussion.
So now the quarterbacks have not just a platform but a very large stage and limelight and power like few American athletes have ever faced.
It’s not just the money. They want to be champions, and they can’t tolerate stubborn coaches who stand in the way of that objective. They expect to be heard on the sidelines, in the locker room and in the front office. Tom Brady moved from New England because he wanted more input into schemes and personnel decisions, which is not to say his desires were entirely ignored by Bill Belichick.
It’s been said that Watson demanded that Cal McNair involve him in key decisions, just as it was reported that Brady resented Belichick not including him in team-building strategy. But what alienated Watson was that McNair promised to involve him and then failed to follow through.
American sports continue to hurt themselves with a plantation mentality that occasionally gets directly expressed, as when the Creighton basketball coach, Greg McDermott, urged his players to “stay on the plantation.” That had echoes of Bob McNair’s “We can’t let the inmates run the prison.”
The teams that succeed in upcoming years will be the ones with an inclusive approach, as exemplified by the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a coaching staff that’s multiracial and multigender. The other teams must learn to listen to their superstars and determine a way to accommodate them. Autocrats are doing well in many parts of the world, but not as well in sports.
And who’s to say sports can’t be out in front of the next trend? Professional football, baseball and basketball integrated long before most restaurants and night clubs did.
