Many professional athletes are not motivated by winning.
We over Me? All for one? These are heirlooms of the mind.
Mix the volatile youth sports culture with social media, and it should come as no surprise that plenty of accomplished athletes value brand over team. Good for Newton.
Do I like it? Nope. Do I understand it? Yep.
The last five years have laid bare a society defined by selfishness. Sports are no different. We want to believe athletes are pure when we see them through a child’s eyes in “Chariots of Fire” or “Rudy.”
They are not.
Asked on ESPN’s “First Take” if he would give up his MVP award for a Super Bowl championship, Newton said, “No.”
Answering the Super Bowl shows humility. Answering MVP reveals refreshing honesty.
“(The) impact of you holding yourself accountable to say everybody has a responsibility to do, you can say as an MVP award winner or an All-American, you’ve held your end of the bargain down,” Newton said.
Professional athletics are a business. Players’ journeys typically go like this: establish yourself, get paid, win a ring. Of course, there are exceptions. But you get the idea.
I respect Newton’s opinion because it is not nearly as uncommon as people think. However, letap be clear: It is easy for Newton to say this because he never won. Worse, it appeared to influence his actions in the Panthers’ Super Bowl loss to the Broncos when he failed to jump on a critical fumble.
I respect Newton for speaking his truth. It is who he is. But his teammates don’t hold reunions to celebrate his MVP award. Champions? They walk together forever.
NBA gets it wrong: Why do professional sports leagues continue to screw up their All-Star games and who they choose to play in them? The latest example came in the NBA. Please tell me how Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball is not an All-Star. He has more combined points, rebounds and assists than every reserve. He won the fan vote. There must be a place for this player every year. It is an exhibition. Fans want to see him. What are we doing? Get Ball in the game, and while you are at it, find a spot for the league’s assist leader, Trae Young.
Will Tad continue to roll? Tad Boyle will go down as the greatest men’s basketball coach in CU history. But how much longer will he want to deal with pay-for-play in college hoops? The Buffs underachieved last season, given their pro talent, and remain winless in the Big 12 through nine games this season. The next recruiting/transfer cycle will be telling.
Just Win, Baby: New NFL coaches have the wrong priorities. Nobody cares if you win the press conference. Just win games. The Jets’ Aaron Glenn tried speaking confidence into existence with his “We are built for this (blank),” while the Jaguars’ Liam Coen went viral with his “Duuuval” chant. Coen sounded more like Jack Nicholson than Jack Del Rio. Stop with the cringe. Just win.
Mail Time
We are going to have to root for the Kansas City Chiefs now because if they win it makes (the Broncos) look better and more like a second-place Super Bowl team. So write something positive about this to help the Broncos.
Gary Warner, voicemail
A Broncos fan rooting for the Chiefs? What’s next, Kanye West cheering at an awards show for Taylor Swift? The Chiefs winning doesn’t change how the Broncos will be viewed. A victory makes them the first NFL team to three-peat. That will be the only thing remembered from this game, not how they compare to or illuminate previous opponents. The Broncos made up ground this season, returned to respectability. The next step requires adding a tight end, running back and inside linebacker. That will do a lot more for their record than any reporter’s story.
