Chase Utley has been known for his reticence during his tenure with the Phillies. Now we begin to know why. Apparently the UCLA curriculum does not emphasize vocabulary development because Utley seems to be limited to articles, pronouns and a familiar Anglo-Saxon expletive. Utley's remark was boorish, tasteless, offensive, insulting, and demeaning. What on earth was he thinking?
Professional athletes are among the most favored in our society. They are compensated obscenely to play games the rest of us would engage in for nothing. They are feted and fawned over. Jason Werth recently remarked it was a long time since he had to pick up a tab in Philadelphia. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates would surely trade places with Chase Utley or Pat Burrell in a heartbeat. What do we ask in return? Not Albert Schweitzer or Mother Theresa, just a modicum of propriety. Instead we get crudity in the afternoon in front of adoring millions. Does a 30 year-old college educated multimillionaire need a crash course in etiquette - Amy Vanderbilt for Second Basemen 101?
You will remember that over the summer Jimmy Rollins was raked over the coals for making a fairly innocuous remark on late-night television about Philly fans being "front-runners". It was clear that Rollins didn't mean it to come out the way it did. But he was taken to task and was booed for weeks. Now comes the Chase Utley embroglio and Utley's backers are rushing to his defense as if he were a Christian martyr. Utley's remark was "cool" and "genuine" and "real". Or that this was Utley's way of coming out of his protective shell, assertiveness training on the fly. Oh now I get it. So this all about Chase's path of personal development. No doubt he will get a standing ovation in his next plate appearance to reward the courage it must have taken to overcome his shy, introverted personality. We can eagerly anticipate the next milestone in Utley's journey of personal discovery.
The only thing uglier than Utley's remark are these feeble, pathetic attempts to justify, even celebrate it. Is this the price we have to pay for a world championhip?
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3 comments:
I agree 1.000%. Utley planned to use the F-bomb from the get go. He embarrassed the Phillies and Phillies fans. Hello Garcia4Mayor.
You sir, are a moron. Utley's words and Rollin's words are completely different. Rollins bashed a fan base that pays his salary. Utley didn't. Utley said a word that is heard everyday on the ipods of children across this country. So stop the Save the Children crap.
I'm not saying it was right or wrong, but get over yourself...it's a word. Not the end of the world.
If everyone is so worried about the children, how about you go take a look on their IPOD and see what they are listening to. You'll hear something far worse than what Utley said.
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