Say What?

Aggie assistant coaches suspended for sexist ‘Chalk Talk’

In a Kyle Field football seminar for women, billed as “Chalk Talk 2016,” Texas A&M assistant coaches Jim Turner and Jeff Banks displayed a rewritten Aggie hymn that included such lyrics as “We are putting down our dish towels and taking off our gloves . . . No more Lysol or Cascade.”  In a misguided attempt at humor, the coaches issued pass-blocking rules that included “Spread your legs” and “bang him hard.”  Head coach Kevin Sumlin, who was not present during the presentation, was mortified when he heard the details.  He suspended Turner and Banks for two weeks without pay for their “degrading comments toward women.”  The coaches also will be required to spend 20 hours in community service.

Dear Coach Sumlin: What were you thinking when you hired Turner after he was cited in the Wells Report for gender insensitivity?  He was accused of taunting a player for being gay – giving him a blowup male doll as a Christmas gift in 2012.

His technology snafu puts Draymond’s penis on internet

Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Draymond Green is developing something of a split personality, acting very professionally most of the time but occasionally erupting with bizarre misbehavior.  In this year’s playoffs he was suspended a game for kicking Steven Adams in the groin and another game (No 5 of the Finals) for swiping at the groin of LeBron James.  “I have to be more responsible,” Green said when he realized he may have cost his team a championship.  But last month he plea-bargained on an assault charge for punching a fan who insulted him in a bar, something only Charles Barkley could appreciate.  At least that third incident had nothing to do with the groin, but that cannot be said for his latest misstep.  In a variation of the butt-dial, he accidentally sent across the internet a photo of his most private body part.  Well, not so private anymore. After his inadvertent posting on Snapchat, his penis was on global display for about 10 minutes before he could privatize it again. 

Hacked….. Can’t win right now

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) July 31, 2016

In the next minute he tweeted it was no hack:

“I kinda hit the wrong button, and it sucks.”

Dear Dray: You’re not being more responsible, but less.  And by the way, don’t think you can’t be hacked later.  Perhaps you’re someone who should not be taking selfies.

Big Ben says teammate Bryant must ‘grow up,’ stop lying

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said his teammate, wide receiver Martavis Bryant, lied to him after his second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.  “Looking at me in the eye and denying everything . . .  it disappoints you,” Big Ben told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  He said Bryant is not returning his messages, that “he needs to grow up, reach out and talk to me, anybody.”  Bryant last season scored six touchdowns in 11 games.  He was the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Antonio Bryant. 

NHL commissioner denies link of concussion to CTE

Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League, issued a 24-page letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal insisting, “A causal link between concussions and CTE has not been established.”   The NHL has been sued for wrongful death by the family of Derek Boogard, a hockey brawler who in 2011 died of an accidental drug overdose at 28, as he tried to overcome pain from head injuries he had suffered while playing.  Bettman is trying to minimize damages by arguing that science hasn’t proved that concussions lead to chronic brain disease.  Blumenthal called his position “appalling.”

Dear Commish: Hard to believe you’d take such a position, considering that a concussion ended the career of NHL defenseman Ed Kea, causing him to lose much of his cognitive skill and the ability to walk.  He died in 1999 at age 51 when he drowned, apparently accidentally.  How much evidence do you want?

Olympic aquatic sports pose risk of viruses in Rio

The waterways in Rio de Janeiro are so contaminated by human untreated sewage that 1,400 athletes are at risk of contracting viruses during the Olympics, the Associated Press reported.  The viral loads are high enough to cause respiratory and digestive illnesses as well as damage to the heart and brains, scientists have said.  Testing has also shown levels of viruses that threaten the health of swimmers at the famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.  Dr. Valerie Harwood, biologist at the U of South Florida, advised tourists to the Games: “Don’t put your head under water.”

Dear Rio: You’re doing for the Summer Olympics what Sochi did for the Winter Games.  This will do wonders for your tourist industry.