Blow The Whistle

I will try, and I do stress try, to talk about the following with an upmost unbiased stance.  I blogged not long ago about the multiple racism rows which stained our beloved game.  Since then FIFA president, Sep Blatter, did his best to fuel the fire of the already burning scandals with his nonchalant solution on how racism should be handled.

This and more have made the past few months in football more than uncomfortable. Before these scandals, the unresolved issue of racism had never been completely ousted (forgive the pun) from the game. Since then it has intensified. In case you haven’t heard, Luis Suarez was banned for 8 matches (yes 8 whole matches) and fined £40,000 (yes a whole £40,000) for using ‘racially insulting words’ against Patrice Evra. Since this news broke late yesterday evening, the controversy behind this case has intensified.

First of all, the FA has found him guilty of using racially insulting words. Suarez’s defence is that the word “doesn’t have racial connotations back in Uruguay”.  He and Liverpool have vigorously stated this throughout their defence. Here’s my first issue with this. If the FA feels he is guilty, why give just an 8 game ban and fine him half a week’s wages? They may as well adopt Sep Blatter’s approach and tell Evra and Suarez to shake hands on move on. Before I carry on let me stress that I’m not posing as the judge and executioner here, I’m merely airing my views.  

“Luis Suarez’s eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra is a strong statement that racism will not be tolerated” – Gordon Taylor.

How is this a strong statement? This is nothing short of feeble. If the FA really wanted to send out a statement that they are combating racism, they’d hand out a season long ban. Let all the other players in the league know just how intolerable racism is. My second issue is with Suarez and Liverpool. Firstly Suarez. Fair enough (well not really) he said the words he used don’t hold the same connotations in Uruguay. He’s been in Europe for around 6 years now. Surely he must be wise enough to understand that the words he used won’t be welcomed with the same grace in Europe as they would in Uruguay. Once again, I’m not accusing him of using malice. I’m accusing him of lacking plain old common sense. At the end of the day only he and Evra know what really happened, so we can only speculate as to what he really said and meant.

As for Liverpool. Well I’m disgusted with the statement they released. Instead of just defending their man, they tried to attack Pactrice Evra and make him out to be the boy (man) who cried wolf too. They are going off Suarez’s word alone, and nothing more. Obviously they will stand by what their man says. But who are they to call out the lynching mob for Evra? Allegations of racism are no joke. Neither for the accuser nor the accused.  In no way shape or form should they be allowed to attack somebody who is a victim. At the end of the day Evra is the victim here, not the enmy.

“It is our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible - certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.”

This was taken from the statement released by Liverpool last night. I may be a United supporter and be naturally bound to hate Liverpool, but even others must be able to see the lack of tact in this. Fans from both teams have also react with a mix of anger, ignorance and fickleness. But this was expected considering the intense rivalry.

Once again racism in football has turned its ugly head and it will be a long time before she goes into hiding. Later today we are expecting the CPS to make announcement on the investigation into alleged racist abuse involving Chelsea footballer John Terry towards Anton Ferdinand this afternoon. I will just sit and wait and see how the FA handles this situation. I’m not rooting for John Terry to be found guilty, I simply want a correct verdict to be reached and a proper penalty to be imposed should it warrant one.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many experts tell one man, “you can’t do it”. I watch a lot of sports and never has one player/team been told so many times that they can’t do something. I don’t know which continent you’ll be reading this from, but if you’re reading it outside of North America there’s a good chance you won’t know who I’m referring to. No single trip to Wikepedia will help you understand the man, the athlete, the legend that is Tim Tebow. You’ll need to back that up with various YouTube videos and multiple articles to understand just who Tim Tebow is, and how much of a battle he’s had against adversity.

Many regard him as the best collegiate athlete to ever grace the gridiron. He was a successful quarterback during the majority of his college years, winning both individual and team honours. Reading this as a football novice, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that a legendary career awaited him in the NFL. Well you would be very wrong to think that. Every expert in football seemed to decide that all the magic that Tebow produced in his college years, just wouldn’t cut it in the NFL. And so began ‘The Curious Case of Tim Tebow’. Before he even entered the draft, a large minority (excuse the oxymoron) had decided that his future in the NFL was away from the QB position. Crazy right? Some had him going as late as the 3rd round. But as with anything Tebow related, some twist was lurking in the shadows. The whole of America probably took a huge gasp as Tebow was surprisingly selected in the 1st round by the Denver Broncos.

So shocked were people that the next few months were nearly entirely devoted to Mr Tebow. The words ‘mechanics’ and ‘throwing arm’ became the slogan to this mini soap opera. Those who said he wasn’t ready, were smirking after his first season passed with his behind firmly cemented on the bench. It seemed as if Tebow-mania had been subdued. But like the dormant volcano that this saga was, it exploded into life again. The Broncos, who drafted Tebow in the first round, had tried every option but Tebow himself. And the Broncos fans started voicing their discontent at at his unused state. I blogged before about the drastic measures Broncos fans resorted to, to get Tebow starting. By week 7, the Broncos eventually gave in (if you want to call it that) and gave Tebow the starting job. Since then, Tebow has been 6-1. However the experts still don’t think he has what it takes to make it in the NFL. Imagine that?! He’s won 6 out of 7 in a league where many said he couldn’t cut it, yet many are still sticking to their words.

What do I think? Well sure his throwing motion isn’t the most orthodox, or comfortable to watch even. However he’s getting it done. Not by himself may I add, but he’s getting wins under his belt. Wins they weren’t getting while he was on the bench. This is why I say he’s amazing. He’s definitely not the best QB in his division, let alone the league, but he’s producing it when it matters. Tebow isn’t the first QB to have his abilities questioned by those NFL experts saddled on their high horses. Cam Newton and even Colt McCoy faced questions about their abilities before they took their first starts. Where are they now? Comfortably in the #1 QB spots for the respective teams. So why can’t we give the same closure to Tebow? He has a better win percentage than both Newton and McCoy, yet he still hasn’t won over the masses. To be honest even if he gets as far as the Superbowl, not even wining it just getting there, he will still face this skepticism. Before I continue, count the amount of times I’ve said Tebow’s name. That’s the level that he’s being discussed at this current moment. If any other young player had faced this much coverage, would they have coped as well? Or would they have cracked under the constant scrutiny? By the way somebody say hello to JaMarcus Russel for me, wherever he may now be. Anyway whatever happens next, Tebow will be the talking point. Even if the Packers go 19-0, Tebow will still be the talking point. As I said, the man is a (temporary) legend.