This isn't about politics and it certainly isn't about machismo and/or any college basketball player's degree of masculinity as FOX's "The Five" co-host Eric Bolling would like you to think it's about. This is about a grown man, a professional college coach, an idiot trusted with the lives of 12 college kids (and yes, till they're 21, they are still kids) hurling vitriol, throwing a basketball at the heads of his players, using abusive language to embarrass and supposedly "motivate" them and worst of all physically assaulting his players when they mess a play up...in practice no less. Put aside the fact that there are more things in life than sports.
Bolling, in his insane defense of Mike Rice, said that "I’ve played for a lot of coaches like that. And let me tell you something: the best coaches are coaches like that.” Yet, other than maybe Bobby Knight, I can't recall any successful, college coach ever acting in a despicable fashion (mind you. Rice's record in 3 years at Rutgers was 44-51) towards his players like this. Not Coach K, Not Roy Williams. Not Jim Boeheim. None.
But then no coach has a right to put his hands on a player in a threatening manner. No parent should have to worry about their child being abused by their coach. Bottom line, Mike Rice deserved to be fired and until he gets some serious anger management therapy, he should never be allowed to coach again:
Rice was fired by Rutgers this week after ESPN footage showed him
physically disciplining his athletes while shouting homophobic slurs at
them. Off the bat, Bolling clarified his earlier remarks
to Kelly by noting that he does not condone the coach’s language
whatsoever, but reiterated that he believes Rice should not have been
fired for the pushing and shoving of players as part of disciplinary
coaching.
“No question he’s a tough coach,” Bolling said. “I’ve played for a
lot of coaches like that. And let me tell you something: the best
coaches are coaches like that.”
After remarking that he’s received angry emails since defending Rice
yesterday evening, Bolling remarked, “We are so afraid to discipline our
kids. We are so afraid to tell our kids we disagree with what they are
doing. Everyone gets a participation trophy. There’s no winners, there
are no losers in American life anymore. We are wussifying American men
and it has to stop.”
Echoing the sentiments of his colleagueSean Hannity,
Bolling asked what it would be like if we told a military drill
sergeant not to get in the face of his soldiers. “We’d be losing wars
all over the place” if that were the case, he suggested.
When Kelly expressed her negative feelings towards Rice’s pushing and
shoving of athletes who “can’t fight back,” the two went back and forth
over whether it’s “degrading” and “humiliating” to be treated that way
by a coach. When pressed to “draw a line” for when it becomes physically
“abusive,” Bolling said throwing punches would be egregious, but
grabbing and shoving by a coach is acceptable.
A former minor league baseball player, Bolling recalled the time he
was intentionally hit by a pitch for disciplinary measures. “If they set
the bar at ‘You can’t grab the guy’s shirt or throw a ball at his
feet,’ you’d probably have to eliminate two-thirds of coaches in
America,” he said.
“No racial or anti-gay slurs, and don’t hit anyone,” Bolling concluded. “I’m not for that.”
Student of Life, lover of God, Black, conservative Democrat, believer in self-responsibility, traditional values and morals, resident of New York City. Follow me on Twitter at @MrGreyGhost1.