Although the Raiders' former head coach seems exceptionally awful, he probably isn't--and learning this is how we get to another place where white men don't write and enforce the rules
I love this essay because it shows how systemic hatred and abusiveness is perpetuated by complicity across lines of sport, politics, and media. For a Gruden to keep going for so long requires complicity by the privileged. When we see others blowing whistles, as in the case of Mark Zuckerberg, whether it's about race, misogyny, or outright sexual abuse and violations in the work place, it follows that the situation is actually MUCH worse than even indicated by the whistleblower. Because, especially if it's a white man blowing the whistle, they usually don't spill the beans until the abuse is overwhelming and spilling into, um, their own privileged, white male lives.
Actually, golf, a sport I love, might be even worse than football on all counts and compounded by the fact that it’s socially replicated on a massive scale in the everyday world of golf and country clubs. In some activist groups, breaking the fraternal code of silence is a top priority because change will come at less than a snail’s pace with men refusing to call out other men when it happens. I had also resigned myself to believing that we have no choice but to simply wait until some of those generations pass away. However, I have come to realize that these prejudices and behaviors are being successfully passed down. I agree with you that the uncovering of the emails is a success, not a failure. It’s another step forward.
My wonderful son-in-law is an LA (now LV) Raider fan(atic). He would add, there is no way Gruder could coach his team after these remarks were made public. All the athletes know the depths of the fascistic, racist, sexist, homophobic, tansphobic the coaches and football brass. But now that it is so public...the athletes would just say FU. My son-in-law is not at all like football coaches or brass.
I love this essay because it shows how systemic hatred and abusiveness is perpetuated by complicity across lines of sport, politics, and media. For a Gruden to keep going for so long requires complicity by the privileged. When we see others blowing whistles, as in the case of Mark Zuckerberg, whether it's about race, misogyny, or outright sexual abuse and violations in the work place, it follows that the situation is actually MUCH worse than even indicated by the whistleblower. Because, especially if it's a white man blowing the whistle, they usually don't spill the beans until the abuse is overwhelming and spilling into, um, their own privileged, white male lives.
Actually, golf, a sport I love, might be even worse than football on all counts and compounded by the fact that it’s socially replicated on a massive scale in the everyday world of golf and country clubs. In some activist groups, breaking the fraternal code of silence is a top priority because change will come at less than a snail’s pace with men refusing to call out other men when it happens. I had also resigned myself to believing that we have no choice but to simply wait until some of those generations pass away. However, I have come to realize that these prejudices and behaviors are being successfully passed down. I agree with you that the uncovering of the emails is a success, not a failure. It’s another step forward.
My wonderful son-in-law is an LA (now LV) Raider fan(atic). He would add, there is no way Gruder could coach his team after these remarks were made public. All the athletes know the depths of the fascistic, racist, sexist, homophobic, tansphobic the coaches and football brass. But now that it is so public...the athletes would just say FU. My son-in-law is not at all like football coaches or brass.