0411218450
DETROIT FREE PRESS
040928
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Copyright (c) 2004, Detroit Free Press
NO EXCUSING WHAT FOX INSINUATED
Every now and then, we learn a lesson about ex-players in front of TV microphones. Usually the lesson is this: Why?
Such a lesson came Sunday, during the Lions-Eagles broadcast, when Tony Siragusa, the beefy, ex-NFL lineman, was asked by his Fox colleagues what he thought of Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington, whom he had only met Friday night at a production meeting.
"He seemed a little different than what I expected," Siragusa said. "I thought he was a little bit too overconfident ..."
As the other announcers egged him on, Siragusa got more specific.
"Just a different kind of guy. Not a meat-and-potato guy but a very sophisticated man. That's as much as I can go into right now."
He then, of course, went into more.
"I wouldn't see him going out and ordering a beer any time soon ...
"He's the kind of guy that's on the other side of the club than I am. He's over there with the champagne and the caviar and also the strawberries and chocolate, you know?"
Well, no, we don't know. But if that's how a guy you just met slams you, why wouldn't you be on the other side of the club? And what club would that be? The Neanderthal Society?
Though I'm sure Siragusa will say he didn't mean anything by the one, no, two, no, three, no, four little insults he threw Joey's way, I am reminded of "Animal House" and the scene in which Otter and Boone see a frat boy picking on their freshmen.
"He can't do that to our pledges!" Otter says.
"Only we can do that to our pledges!" Boone adds.
So with all due respect to Siragusa, a man who is the size of a Sub-Zero, you don't get to pick on our quarterback.
Unless we get to pick back.
A good role model
First, where does Siragusa come off talking about Harrington as if his manhood were in question? And let's face it, that's the implication of this, intended it or not. "Other side of the club?" "Sophisticated man?" "Chocolate and strawberries?" "Champagne and caviar?"
Next he'll have Joey offering fashion tips on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
That's patently unfair, derogatory and false.
Now, I happen to know Siragusa's broadcast partner, Dick Stockton, one of the most decent people in all of TV broadcasting. So I called and asked him about the sideline rant. At first he laughed.
"Well, that's Tony," Stockton said. "He's not there as an orator."
But when I told him how the talk shows in Detroit were buzzing with the innuendo of Siragusa's comments, he got serious.
"I don't think (Siragusa) has an agenda. We were all impressed when we met with Harrington. Nothing unusual was said in that meeting. I think what Tony was trying to say was that Harrington is not your typical jock."
Well, yes, that's true, if by typical jock you mean a guy who signs footballs during the game, like Terrell Owens, or who pulls out a cell phone after a touchdown, like Joe Horn, or who makes filthy comments to media in the locker room, like Randy Moss, or who thumps his chest and celebrates his greatness like half the "superstars" in the NFL, then yes, he's not your typical jock.
And what? That's a bad thing?
A time to apologize<
I spoke to Joey on Monday. He tried to wave the whole thing off.
"My dad taught me to look people in the eye, to be articulate, to say hello, to try and smile and enjoy the work I do," Harrington said. "If I'm too sophisticated for him, so be it. It's one thing to criticize my play. But to make comments like that. That's absurd ...
"I know what kind of guy I am. The guys on my team know what kind of guy I am. As long as I'm OK with the guys in my locker room, that's all that matters."
Harrington was saying the proper words. But in his voice you could hear a tinge of hurt. And why not? For one thing, he's still young, just 25. Secondly, he's used to living on the other side of these kinds of messes. The good side. A guy tries to do the right thing, and a palooka calls him names?
Listen. I would love to see Joey develop as a star. But chomping steaks, knocking back beer and gulping potatoes only makes you fat and drunk, not successful.
And while TV football loves its beefy, off-color, John Madden wannabes, the guys on the sidelines need to remember that what gets said into the microphone gets blasted around the world, thanks to the Internet and talk radio.
So if no one else is going to stick up for Harrington as a guy whose behavior ought to be held in higher -- not lower -- regard than your average brewski-hoisting Troglodyte, we will. He may not be Siragusa's kind of guy, but since when was that a prerequisite for success?
"I'm sure if Tony knew it would cause this" type of reaction, Stockton said, "he'd apologize in a heartbeat."
Good. He can do it today. And next time he comes to Detroit, all will be forgiven.
We'll have a brontosaurus burger and a can of motor oil sent to his room.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com"
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
column