[On September 28th,
1920, four key members of the Chicago White Sox admitted to throwing the
1919 World Series, a pivotal turning point in the unfolding Black
Sox scandal. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy the Black Sox and four other
sports scandals, past and present!]
On two ways the record-breaking
NFL dynasty’s scandals foreshadowed the age of Trump.
Full disclosure:
I really hate the Patriots. But in truth, my personal perspective on the team
has evolved greatly over the last two decades, an arc that I would argue has a
great deal to do with the team’s scandals. Due to a combination of my ex-wife’s
fandom, my 2003 move to the Boston area, and the team’s historic underdog
status, I cheered the Pats on in their 2001 and 2003 Super Bowl triumphs. Having
previously lived in Philly and as a big fan of Donovan McNabb, in 2004 I rooted
for the Eagles, but with no animosity toward the Pats. But the combination of 2007’s
Spygate scandal (and more exactly the collective response from Pats fans to
those cheating revelations, on which more below) and my growing distaste for
the mythos
around Tom Brady led me to increasing hostility toward the team in the
course of that undefeated season, and over the 13 years since they’ve become
the only sports team in my life to date that I genuinely, passionately despise
(and that was before
their multi-layered connections
to Donald
Trump!). So yes, it’s fair to say that it’s hard for me to write a post
about them that remains entirely analytical and objective.
I’m still gonna
analyze them, though, and if and where I fall short I have no doubt that the
many Pats fans in my life will let me hear about it. More exactly, I believe
two layers to the responses to the Pats’ scandals foreshadowed dominant
narratives surrounding the rise, presidency, and era of Trump. For one thing, I’ve
seen time and again arguments that Belichick and company aren’t cheaters, they’re
just a coach and team who are willing to “do whatever
it takes to gain a competitive advantage” (and thus to win). Of course sports
figures and teams have cheated since the dawn of time (to use a favorite
student phrase), but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such brazen
dismissals from sports fanbases or commentators of the ethics or morality
of cheating in favor of a “win
at all costs” mentality. And I would say something very similar of Donald
Trump and the 2010s GOP—dirty tricks have always been part of the political
landscape, but I’ve never seen a political party more dedicated to nor more
blatant in stating the idea that the goal is “winning,” that everyone else in
politics and society are “adversaries” to be
defeated at all costs, that cheating (such as blatant voting
rights repressions) is not only acceptable but necessary in order to achieve
those goals.
In my extensive
experiences with both New
England sports radio and Patriots fans (especially the younger ones, including
my sons’ peers and my FSU students), I’ve also encountered a second, even more
disturbing and Trump-like mindset: the idea that the
league is out to get them. In this perspective, the cheating scandals not
only were not a big deal, but also and more importantly were
conspiracies concocted by those aforementioned evil adversaries, turning
the Pats into the true victims of these stories. This mindset can permeate
everywhere, making it nearly impossible to recognize even basic facts: I remember
after the Pats Super Bowl
LIII win over the Rams, a game in which the Rams were charged
with six more penalties than the Pats (for 45 more yards), hearing a Pats
fan student lament that “the refs were against us and tried to make us lose.” Given
that Donald Trump is rivaled only by Andrew
Johnson in his ability to see enemies everywhere, to depict himself as the
victim of “fake news” and many other conspiracies, and to gin up similar
sentiments from his cult-like fans, it seems only fitting that the scandal-ridden
Patriots, more than any other sports franchise, have become so
closely connected to Trump and his presidency.
Last
ScandalStudying tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Other sports scandals you’d highlight?
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