Before we get into this blog, R.I.P. Dwayne Haskins. It's such such a tragic loss. He was only 24 years old. So fucking sad.
Friday night, I ended up ub**ing until about 2 am, then slept at my grandma's house because I had ambitions to drive for a little (sleeping there saves me about an hour round-trip) before going to a surprise party in the afternoon.
When I got up for good at 1 pm, that ship had sailed halfway across the world. By the time I saw the horrible news of Dwayne Haskins' passing, I had missed all the IRT outrage over Adam Schefter's less than ideal (since deleted) tweet.
Now what Schefter said was in terrible taste but also sort of accurate. That doesn't mean I support it. Not at all; it was utterly unnecessary and heartless in this situation. But honestly, I've come to expect that from someone who is in the business of being first. He wrote maybe the weirdest book in the history of the world. Schefter doesn't view athletes as people; they're just cogs in his information machine.
I love football and the NFL, but it is the athlete's JOB at the end of the day, and we need to remember that. It's not who they are, and their career struggles should not be in the first sentence of a tweet breaking the news of their DEATH! I bet Schefty already has a draft saved to dunk on Ryan Leaf's career when he dies (you should check out Leaf's podcast---it'll change the way you look at him).
Dwayne Haskins was only 24 years old; anyway, you slice it, it's a fucking tragedy. If you want to get mad at Schefter for a shitty tweet, that's your swag. I think it was a stupid fucking thing to tweet, but I'm not gonna waste my energy getting worked up about it (although I do think he should publicly apologize and admit he fucked up). If you were close to Haskins, I completely understand if your stance is different from mine. What I cannot understand is people getting worked up over the words of 90 YEAR OLD Gil Brandt.
I think I can safely assume that before his radio clip from Saturday, most people under the age of 40 had no idea who Gil Brandt is. I only know of him because I've watched over 10,000 hours of NFL Films in my day and am well aware of his role with the Dallas Cowboys. Brandt is so old that he's famous for being the first GM to use COMPUTERS to help with the draft, so yeah, he is probably not the most enlightened guy in 2022. I have no qualms calling him scummy. Brandt and Tex Schramm were notoriously cheap and underpaid stars like Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly, so "lesser" players had no leg to stand on in negotiations. Don't get it twisted; I'm not defending what this fossil said!
If you haven't heard Gil Brandt's clip yet, there's no sugar-coating it. It wasn't good and was a stupid thing to say. To quote myself from earlier in the blog, it was heartless. Shit was colder than the Ice Bowl. I was shocked to hear he has a satellite radio job; I thought he was dead.
As everybody knows, senior year of college is full of lessons about not jogging on the highway... (which is not what happened)
Fear of being branded a fill-in-the-blank-ist by idiots who don't understand my art has caused me to be more of a pussy in my writing the last few years, but I'm ripping the band-aid off for this one. Gil Brandt should not be on the fucking radio. The dude is 90 YEARS OLD. Let someone who'll see 2025 get a chance. Dead ass, fuck off if you're crying ageism. Do you mean to tell me his brain works well? Like his brain still, does a good job? No chance. There is no reason for a 90-year-old who is not 100% mentally there to be in this position. Whoever allowed him on the air should be charged with reckless endangerment. This man should be eating ice cream with his great-great grandchildren waiting to die. In textbook over the top outrage, some said to remove him from the Hall of Fame! You know, that place where O.J. Simpson still has a bust?
Just fucking chiiiiill. If George Preston Marshall (HOF racist scumbag) is still in Canton, I think Gil Brandt's bust is safe. FTR, I'm 1000% on board with removing Marshall from the Hall, and if Brandt had files on his 1971 takes-up-the-entire-room computer like "racial slur quarterbacks" then yeah, maybe we could have that conversation, but until then, just take a deep breath and remember his brain is basically pudding. I know people are emotional about Haskins' passing, but getting mad at a 90 year old for saying something insensitive is like getting mad at a baby for pooping their diaper. At least "he" apologized, unlike Adam.
There are soooooo many bigger issues in the world to get worked up about. Save your energy for them. Don't shit talk nonagenarian for fake internet praise by other dumbies. R.I.P. Dwayne Haskins.
UPDATE:
Adam Schefter has since issued an apology on his podcast.
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