There's an old Irish Blessing that goes something like this: “May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts and if He doesn't turn their hearts may He turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping."
Well, there's a writer by the name of John Feinstein who must be limping every day. Feinstein (Duke grad) who's the author of "A Good Walked Spoiled" and "A Season on the Brink" never misses the opportunity to take a shot at Notre Dame. Here is Feinstein's blog entry this week after hearing the news about Jim Tressel's resignation at Ohio State.
I know I do this on occasion but the subject of today’s blog is not going to be The NBA Finals (yawn); The Stanley Cup Finals (I plan to watch it all) or even Jim Tressel (I wrote a column you can read on WashingtonPost.com or on this blog).
I will add one thing to the Tressel column that there wasn’t space for (it will also run in tomorrow’s newspaper) because even though it isn’t directly connected to Tressel, it has some relevance in any discussion of big time college athletics.
I have no sympathy at all for Tressel or for Gordon Gee or Gene Smith who, as I wrote in the column should both be fired too at the very least for complete incompetence. But I also think we should keep things in perspective a little bit.
Ohio State is getting fried justifiably for allowing its program to run amok and then for trying to cover up clear violations. But why is it that almost NO ONE around the country is nailing Notre Dame for the cavalier manner in which it handled the death of Declan Sullivan?
Please don’t tell me you buy into Father John Jenkins blanket, “we’re all guilty,” press release. Really? If everyone is guilty where is the list of those fired or at least disciplined?starting with Jenkins and then going on down to the athletic director (who claimed there was ‘nothing unusual,’ in the weather conditions minutes before Sullivan’s tower came crashing down) to the head football coach who insisted on practicing outdoors on a day when there were wind warnings all over the Midwest; to whoever was responsible for not ordering Sullivan to stay off the tower?even if he was willing, though apparently terrified, to go up there?
No one was fired. Jenkins should have added a sentence at the end of his statement if he was being intellectually honest about how he felt that said: “Now let’s get back to the important work of figuring out how to beat Navy!”
Jenkins strikes me as a complete fraud. Can you imagine him refusing to meet with the family of the girl who committed suicide shortly after filing a report alleging sexual assault against a Notre Dame football player? He was acting on the advice of his lawyers. Where in the vows Jenkins took, I wonder, does it say: “your lawyer’s advice comes before comforting those involved in a tragedy?” Meeting with the family would not have been an admission of guilt; only an admission that he cared about people who were suffering.
Can’t have that. The lawyers told him so.
I can’t wait for the fall when all the TV apologists will tell us what a wonderful, caring place and nurturing place Notre Dame is. I will keep an air sickness bag handy should I happen to encounter a Notre Dame game while flipping channels. You can bet I won’t actually WATCH one. (Go ahead you Irish fans, pile on and tell me how awful I am for criticizing such a wonderful place. Can’t wait.)
I have never purchased a Feinstein book and I know I never will...
