30 for 30 LANCE: "My Truth"

While I do love a good "Letter to the Editor" very seldom do I read the editor's letter in any magazine. It's all too easy for me to pass up. However, Matt Malone, SJ the editor of America had me at hello...or rather kept my attention as he spoke to life in prolonged quarantine. He wrote

The world is an awfully tough place to call home right now. In addition to the economic and public health crises, there is the general desolation that pervades the public discourse. Every time we turn on the television, there is one group of people, who believe the world is ending, yelling at another group of people, who believe that it’s just beginning. 

But both groups of people have something in common: They are joyless. There is a serious joy deficit in both the church and the world these days. Some of the most visible Christians, for example, look as if they haven’t had a joyful thought in 10 years. That’s a big problem, for them certainly, but also because joy is what makes our witness truly credible, what changes the mode of the giver and the receiver. Joy is what makes our faith attractive, even what makes it intelligible. Without joy, to paraphrase St.Paul, we are just clanging cymbals.

And this, my friends is precisely the difference between the five-part 30 for 30 docu-series: "The Last Dance" and the two part 30 for 30: "Lance."

What I found so compelling about "The Last Dance" and why it captured the attention of so many sports fans and those who aren't is because of joy. Joy cannot be faked. It is not a virtue that is "on demand." To me, it is even elusive in that one can be going through hardship and grief, loss and frustration and STILL find joy! Steve Kerr has claimed joy as essential to his coaching philosophy with the Warriors. "The Last Dance" shows from whence that came.

To watch the three hour program on Lance isn't devoid of joy, but I challenge you to find much of it.

The work of film maker Marina Zenovich, the first episode chronicles the rise of Lance Armstrong and the second shows the fall. In an interview with Mina Kimes on ESPN Sports Daily, Zenovich admits "The fall is much harder." 

People are quick to draw comparisons between Michael Jordan and Lance Armstrong—two of the all time greatest athletes in their respective sports. Though there are similarities, I find that claim to be very limited and over-simplified. However, one similarity worth noting is that both men had creative license over their films. Neither one of them had a single interview or respondent eliminated. Both directors emphatically verified this as true. 

To me, this is important because the primary question of myself I asked while watching "Lance" was Is he telling the truth? For example, the opening story is simply fantastic. I love the way Zenovich cut up the dialogue with introductory credits. She strings the viewer along, only to have this dramatic incident, rife with yelling and shouting obscenities end in a way totally unexpected. I shared this story with a friend from Texas. He didn't laugh, he didn't smile. I looked at him totally confused. He immediately responded, "that story has been told so many times and not once has it ever been verified as true. It is a complete urban legend. No one can confirm who, where or when it happened." I wanted to retort and then I recalled my primary question: Is he telling the truth? 

Tough to hear what Lance said about Kristn, his wife and the mother of their 3 children.
"I take full responsibility for saying “I’m out.” 

I struggle with those who conflate honesty with "my truth." In Episode One, he vows "I will tell my truth....my truth as I remember it."  Given that he withheld the truth—his truth/your truth/my truth/.any truth for years—I don't know why I should believe him now. Zenovich asked him, "When you were lying, what was it like looking at yourself in the mirror?" He immediately responded  "No problem. It was no problem. I’m not denying it or defending it, but I’m telling you it was not problem. I was so used to it.  You become so immune to it." I'm considering showing this scene in class for it presents a conscience qualm. What else should we call it? Lance is being honest about his dishonesty.

Some have asked if this program reveals anything new about Armstrong. Why does it need to be told? I suppose because of the tension we can so readily see in Lance is one we most likely have to reconcile in ourselves, too.

Lance says, "Nobody dopes and is honest. You’re not. The only way you can dope and be honest is if nobody ever asks you, which is not realistic. The second somebody asks you? You lie." When I heard that confession, I said "I believe that's true." Minutes later he adds "I could never be honest about this because all this momentum, profitability and goodness would come crashing down." I said "that might be true, but it's not."

The dance of telling the truth/not telling the truth, living the truth/not living the truth in Armstrong is hard to see. For example, after Lance speaks to the Rice University football team where his eldest son Luke (who wears #35, not #48) plays, Zenovich asks "What would you say to your son if he wanted to use PEDs?" he says, "Not now. Not at this level. No. If it’s the NFL that’s another thing, but not now." Perhaps Armstrong is unaware that PEDs are unsanctioned in the NFL. Players are tested regularly, fined and punished for violations, too.

I have often thought that the more I read and learn about great athletes, the more sympathetic I become toward them and their cause. I generally find the good and want to believe in them. However, Lance Armstrong challenges my concern.

One cyclist says  "there are good people who do bad things and bad people who do good things." I agree. His work with the LIVESTRONG foundation and how he spoke openly about testicular cancer—a disease most men were unwilling to address is legion. One respondent said" I truly believe if you are diagnosed with cancer today, your experience is better than it was pre-Lance and pre-Livestrong. Irrefutably better." Thank you Lance.

American cyclist Bobby Julich said, "thirty years of knowing a person, you either love them or hate them. I still can’t decide." The missed opportunities, the selfishness, the lack of respect for teammates, the moratorium on one of the greatest comebacks stories of all time—seven Tour de France trophies in tow—is why "joyful" is not a word I can use to describe this program.

At the beginning of Episode Two, Zenovich uses the same director's cut. She asks,

"Do you feel like you want to be relevant again?"  to which he responds "This is going to sound terrible but I am relevant."

I narrowed my eyes.I asked myself how that is true. Seems like a fitting question....Joy is always relevant. Lying is not.

Photo Credits
Stats page
Lance and Kristin
Winning

Michael Vick: The Past and Important Perspective

Although The Match 2: Champions for Charity didn't leave my Sunday totally devoid of a sports shot in the arm—the trash talk was great—my evening entertainment was remiss. Perhaps you too have developed some sort of ritual the past five weeks in anticipation of "The Last Dance" two pack we were given during shelter-in-place. As much as I would enjoy and anticipate a docuseries on the five time championship Los Angeles Lakers, we are hopefully NOT another pandemic away. In the meantime, until the sports world moves beyond UFC fighting, the Outlaw Tour, Korean baseball and Bundesliga, I have one suggestion: the 30 for 30 Vick.

I don't know why this two part ESPN program didn't get more attention. Released in January 2020, Stanley Nelson's documentary divides its time between the two reasons you are most likely familiar with that surname—football and dogfighting. 

In the article ‘Vick’ Review: Latest ’30 for 30′ Installment Shows the Difficulty of Considering a Life in Full, Steve Greene writes

In an attempt to provide a full accounting of Vick’s life and career, “Vick” stops short of full absolution or outright condemnation. With a person who’s still capable of inspiring equally passionate reactions — from those who argue for his superiority as a generationally influential football player, as well as those who say his role in a highly publicized dogfighting scandal should negate any athletic legacy — Nelson has made something that looks to address both as thoroughly as possible. It’s an admirable goal, but in this expansive project that winds between moments of insight and moments of redundancy, that pull between two opposite ideas doesn’t leave much room for anything else. Sounds fitting for the times we are living in today. 

To reduce Michael Vick's story to one of two domains is short-sighted, Take one look at the current trends, changes and developments in the NFL, and it's hard to deny his story emerges as that much more intriguing, complex, worth watching and discussing. 

Though the past NFL season may feel like a lifetime ago, the director Stanley Nelson had it right when he said in an interview with The Undefeated: "The timing of this story is impeccable when you look at the season that Lamar Jackson had, and what Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson and others have achieved in recent years. Some don’t comprehend the historical significance of Vick’s legacy as the first African American quarterback to be selected with the NFL’s first overall draft pick."

He added, "Not only was it significant that he was a black quarterback taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the entire draft, but it’s also significant in light of the way he played. The decision that was made by the Atlanta Falcons was that this style can win. Ten years prior, he would have been switched to defensive back, running back or wide receiver. We’re seeing his impact come to fruition with this current generation of black quarterbacks. And it will continue this way, this emphasis on having more athletic quarterbacks. Vick was at the vanguard of that and we’re going to see more and more of it."

I love the word vanguard....

Nelson's message, though timely, it not new. In "Success is a Journey" an article written in June 1980 in Sports Illustrated hall of fame basketball player Bill Russell said,

I can remember watching a game on TV a couple years ago, and I was moved to say something like: "Man, that Unitas is great." One of the black guys I was watching the game with, said: "Who knows?" A little bit stunned by that, I asked him what he meant, and he replied that he really could not evaluate Unitas or any other quarterback fairly since they had never faced a full range of competition. A Paul Hornung, Mickey Mantle, Jerry West—you cannot deny their greatness, because they have stood the test of time in a free market, so to speak. But no one can pretend to know how good our best white quarterbacks would be if the NFL permitted the development of black quarterbacks to compete with them.

Michael Vick opened that door to a full range of competition. Though not the first black quarterback—the program shows Donovan McNabb as a mentor—his position as the top pick  in the draft is significant, regardless of race. However to consider the norms both spoken and unspoken add import and bear reflection. 

William C. Rhoden, New York Times Columnist 1983-2016 adds, "Back in the day, if you were a Michael Vick type of person, there was no way you were going to play quarterback in the National Football League. They would put you in a wide receiver, slot receiver. Anywhere else but quarterback Athleticism was a punishment. You were being punished for being athletic. That was a source of frustration for a generation of black guys."

But what became of such promise? We know some of the story. "Vick" offers much more. The cultural critic Alejandro Danois said, "the thing about Michael Vick is that I don't think it's too difficult to examine his legacy and think about What he could have been as opposed to what he actually was. He set the stage for the Cam Newtons and the Russell Wilsons. What if his career was not interrupted?"

To reduce the "interruption" to a federal investigation for dog fighting is totally limited. The climate in Michael's home, personal relationships, substance use and abuse, money, media and more were a mounting storm. The trial and conviction, the public outcry and response, his time in prison and community service are worth (re)examination and evaluation. 

When asked the question "What would you say to people who are opposed to watching this film, who are still adamantly yelling that Vick is nothing more than a dog killer?" the director, Stanley Nelson says:

"I hope we all believe in some sort of redemption, because we all make mistakes. And if anybody is a representative of redemption, it’s Mike. But if you want to watch the film and hate him more, you’re welcome to do that."

In the ESPN Sports Daily podcast, Bomani Jones is much more direct. He says, "to anyone who says Michael Vick should never be forgiven, I challenge them to check their definition of forgiveness." Again watch and decide for yourself! 

Today, I see Michael Vick in the announcer's both during NFL games and enjoy his commentary and insight. Wondering how the public regards him today, I was drawn to this story when I heard about an ad that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wanted to run during the Super Bowl. Allegedly, “The National Football League (NFL) apparently found our new Colin Kaepernick–inspired ad — with its message of inclusion and respect — too daring and pressured FOX to snub our commercial," However, many believe conflating the struggle of African Americans with one that animals have endured is problematic, inaccurate and dehumanizing. Bomani Jones added "many Blacks believe that animals have more rights than humans." None of this can be ignored in light of Michael Vick's story, his work for PETA since his conviction and the public's response both past and present.

Vick doesn't have the backdrop of 90s beats, bad uniforms, renowned profiles and championships as one will find in "The Last Dance."  You will however see another example of a unique talent. As Nelson says, "You wanted to watch him on TV regardless of who his team was playing against because he was simply breathtaking. Every time you watched him, you saw something new. He was the athletic embodiment of Jazz and hip-hop, his improvisation on the big stage took the game to a level it hadn’t been to before." 

And, in it own way, VICK is "a classic American story. Sports is a part of all of our lives, it’s a part of who we are as a larger society. It allowed me to talk about other things within the context of this one-man story. That’s what storytelling is about. It’s not, “this is what happened day-to-day” to Michael Vick, or The Freedom Riders or Marcus Garvey or The Black Panthers." It’s about, what’s the bigger story behind all of this and how does that reflect on who we are? Human rights, animal rights, family, friends, prejudice and bias, expectation and more. Times like today afford us with the opportunity to watch, discuss, and share. 

Photo Credits
Vick
With Mahomes
Conviction
Announcer
Final Head Shot

Unmatched: Why Chris Evert is a Role Model for Women's Sports

I went to purchase a pair of heels for work. As I was browsing, I found a pair I liked. I held them up to show my friend who said in reply, “they’re nice, but I want a pair of shoes that are “sexy.” I put them down and wondered, “when did feminine get replaced by sexy.” 

The sexualization of young girls and women is not a new topic.  Plunging necklines, shorter skirts, higher heels than I once thought possible are the norm. When my co-worker found a padded push-up bra for sale in the girls’ section of a department store, I confronted a new low. It was marketed for an 8-year old girl. Again, I asked where is a pretty dress? Or is hot the only way to go? Is there a woman out there who models feminine and pretty instead of hot and sexy?  I would love some answers. 

It seems I found a few in ESPN’s 30 for 30 "Unmatched," a documentary that spotlights two tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert from their teenage years on.

As I watched “Unmatched” I was struck by a number of things: the magnitude of their rivalry, the depth of the friendship and just how feminine America’s sweetheart, Chris Evert was. Overtly, she was not presented as a sex symbol—although I wonder in today’s world if she would be.  No she was distinctly, innately and tremendously feminine. And for this very reason, I think Chris Evert is a great role model for women’s sports.

Chris Evert won 90% of her matches, including 125 straight on clay, the longest winning streak on any single surface. “For 12 years from 1975-1986 only Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova was the top-ranked player of the year.” She won 18 Grand Slam championship titles and reached more Grand Slam singles finals than any player, man or woman, in the history of professional tennis.  I love that she was Sports Illustrated’s 1976 Sportswoman of the Year.

Evert was a dominant tennis player, but “played like a woman.” She was a master from the baseline. Her strength was her ability to draw a player to the net so she could launch her lethal passing shot. Her serve was incredibly consistent and she was always fit. I love Serena Williams’ style of play because she is so tremendously athletic. She hits for power. Her serve is killer. She is very aggressive.  I don’t mean to say that women cannot play like Serena, but many can’t and I never did. I believe Evert presents a style that many females can identify with—she played a calculated game with her strength; strength that played to her build and her feminine nature.

Her look was tremendously fresh and feminine.  I looked with fascination at the many hairstyles she featured for 17 years in the spotlight.  From the classic ponytail with a ribbon, to a bun, a perm in the 1980s or a feathered hairdo held in place by a braided headband, Chrissie could have been one of my fashion plates. Her tennis dresses were pretty yet fashionable. From the lace one piece to her matching yellow dress as Martina’s doubles partner in the Wimbledon finals to the later years with her colorful Ellese skirts, she was always dressed to kill.  Not one outfit was inappropriate or even borderline un-classy.  Chris was an example of how women are beautiful.

But as we know, looks aren’t everything. And Chrissie is a worthy example for more than her physical self.  Many women have been discriminated against because they are too emotional.  Chris Evert however was anything but emotional.  She was cool and could always keep a straight face. In “Unmatched,” Martina said, “Chris was so strong and so tough mentally. She didn’t look the part, but my God, she was as tough as they get.  She was one of the greatest competitors ever.  She motivated me to play stronger.” Evert’s a wonderful example that female athletes need not let their emotions get the best of them.

As mentally tough as she was, Evert had a soft side that speaks to the caring nature of women. In the 1976 Wimbledon finals, Martina was losing big time in the first two sets.  In fact, she completely whiffed an overhead.   Shortly thereafter, standing at the net, Martina guessed wrong that Evert was going to hit her shot cross-court.   The ball hit Martina, which doesn’t happen often in singles tennis.  Martina said, “I was mortified once again.”  Chris immediately pet Martina lovingly on the head and asked if she was okay.  The two laughed about it.  It was a very tender moment.  Martina also thanked Chris for totally accepting her for who she was.  She said, “Chris was gay friendly before it was okay to be gay friendly.  She was always supportive of me.”

“Unmatched” deepened my respect for both women in different ways.  I was saddened by the reality of many challenges Martina faced, one of which is contrary to the point of this posting.  Martina was anything but feminine. But in her own way, she too is a wonderful role model for women in sports (another blog posting?). 

In spite of it all, Chris Evert remained true to who she was in a simple basic way. She was a great female athlete. She was feminine and fierce, pretty and poetic on the court, unemotional and yet caring. She reminds me that as a female, you need not be a sex symbol. You just need to be yourself, no padded push-up bra required.

Photo Credits
CE and MN serve
Lace Dress