Wai Sallas kicks off our new ‘Friday Sports Dump’ feature: acknowledging the bad, but seeking out the good.
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GMPSports Editors Note: The “Friday News Dump” has been a tried and true method employed by many. The idea is to unload unsavory news at the end of the week to avoid prolonged media scrutiny. Here at the Good Men Project Sports we have decided to dip our foot in the cesspool of the Dump. We’ll wade in the waters giving you the worst of sports from the week and replacing it with a much cleaner, better counterpart.
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Sports Dump #1:
Despite the NFL’s new personal conduct policy, it seems teams still have carte blanche to wield punishment with arbitrary carelessness. Case in point, Ray McDonald.
Before the season started, McDonald was arrested for felony domestic violence. 49ers CEO Jed York defended McDonald, “I would much rather take shots at my reputation than to put somebody down and judge them before an entire investigation has taken place.” Did it matter that McDonald was a key cog in the 49ers Defense? Did it matter that the 49ers were trying to make the NFC championship game for a fourth straight year?Fast-forward a little over three months and McDonald has been cut from the 49ers amid sexual assault investigation.
What happened to the calls for due process?
Does it matter that the 49ers are not in playoff contention? Does McDonald’s drop in performance have anything to do with the decision? Could this latest incident been avoided had San Francisco disciplined McDonald, providing McDonald a much needed wake up call?
Either way, the situation stinks.
flickr/elmahdiannis
Luckily, there are good people in the NFL. Cam Newton has two fractures in his lower back but it didn’t stop him from getting into the holiday spirit.
From the Charlotte Observer: For more than four hours Tuesday, Newton made four stops across Charlotte to surprise teachers, students and homeless women and children with gift cards, presents and clothing – through the Cam Newton Foundation – valued at more than $31,000.
For all the flak Newton gets for his perceived showboat antics, one search on YouTube will have you singing a different tune.
So how would you rather spend the holidays, complaining about San Francisco or siding with Santa?
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Sports Dump #2:
To say FIFA, soccer’s governing board is corrupt would be equal to saying chocolate is delicious. We all know it, I mean Qatar!? The recent news collected by Deadspin makes the whole situation and apparent cover up that much more agonizing.
Former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia spent 18 months investigating charges of corruption levied against FIFA. Garcia wrote a 432-page report that was concealed by “ethics” committee colleague Joachim Eckert and summarized into 42 pages. Garcia resigned and obliterated FIFA in the process.
We covered the whole story here, in a piece called: ‘The Farce of FIFA’s Ethics Committee Findings and the Case of the Unlikely FBI Mole.”
Photo Courtesy of Brad Williams
Somewhere along the road to corruption, FIFA lost sight of the reason for sports.
Luckily for us, we have kids like Bennett Williams. The Ohio State fan sent his $1 allowance to the University of Alabama Birmingham to try and save the football program. His father Brad said, “Bud, that’s about $22 million short, but why not, we can try.”
I hope FIFA can try and bring back the innocence that made us all fans of sports and the “beautiful game.”
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Photo Credit: Associated Press/Joe Songer
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