Yesterday, ESPN’s Dominique Foxworth was very upset with a certain segment of the NFL because of the way Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s head injury was handled.
Foxworth basically called NFL fans ‘callous’ and ‘indifferent’ to the devastating effects playing in the NFL has on one’s body.
So let me ask: Was he mad at the doctors who handled Tua after he was obviously wobbly and disoriented two weeks ago? Nope. Then, was he mad at the NFL or the Dolphins support staff who allowed it to happen? Not so much.
Foxworth took his time on air to excoriate the one segment of the NFL with no control — the fans.
Foxworth said, “What frustrates me is all these people, fans in particular, pretending like they give a damn about Tua or they give a damn about football players all of the sudden.”
He asked where the fans were when the players and the NFL were in CBA meetings hashing out the terms of their agreements over the length of the season and player safety. Does someone want to tell him fans aren’t allowed in those meetings?
“When we’re in these collective bargaining meetings,” said Foxworth “and we’re arguing to not have Thursday games after Sunday games, to have a bye, to not have a 17 game season … there are not fans up there fighting, throwing themselves all in a tizzy on Twitter…”
Foxworth suggests fans need to stop ‘pretending’ to give a damn about the players because they don’t care about them playing on Thursday after a Sunday game, or being able to get a second opinion from a doctor.
Again something no fan has any control over.
It seems like every time Foxworth is on ESPN he’s complaining or talking at a certain group in a resentful manner. But attempting to challenge the fans character about something they have no control over is laughable at best.
The fans are the reason the players are getting paid so much, like you did Dominique. The fans are the ones who buy the jerseys, the hot dogs, the tickets, and the TV packages and watch your network so you can make your salary talking about sports.
The fans are people who aren’t as successful as you, they’re out here struggling everyday to put gas in their car and food on their table. Yet, you expect them to line up and cry at a meeting they have nothing to do with, where decisions are being made between millionaires?
The smugness and arrogance to think you know how everybody feels is typical from the media elite in today’s society.
ESPN continues to show how out of touch they are with their viewers. Eventually, nostalgia for the old days of the real SportsCenter and actual sports won’t be there anymore.
Maybe next time, before you go after the people who are doing the most when it comes to preserving the games you cover, you’ll channel that frustration to someone who can control it or people will continue to change your channel.
Jake Crain is co-host of “Crain & Company.” the Daily Wire’s sports show hosted by former athletes and coaches Jake Crain, Blain Crain, and David Cone.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.