Detroit Lions football coach Rod Marinelli was justifiably unhappy with the comments Rob Parker, a columnist for the Detroit News and an ESPN contributor, said about whether he wishes (Marinelli’s) daughter had married a better defensive coordinator. Joe Barry, the Lions’ defensive coordinator, is Marinelli’s son-in-law and the Detroit’s defense has been an atrocity all season. Plus, nepotism in this case simply does not look good and it has been even worse considering the Lions have been so bad. But, one thing that came out of Marinelli’s Monday press conference caught my attention and is getting a little of play on talk radio, in blogs and in columns.
“Anytime you attack my daughter, I’ve got a problem with that. In a room of stink … and as a man and it was premeditated. I think there was something wrong with that, yeah.”
What does Marinelli mean by a “room of stink” in this comment? Is he badmouting all newspaper reporters in a blanket stereotype? Isn’t that inappropriate? Maybe Parker and Marinelli have some sort of running battle going on, but for Marinelli to cheapshot all reporters is wrong. I’m not contending it’s as wrong as what Parker said in a weak attempt at a joke, but it’s still not right. I wish Marinelli would have let it go (or handled it with a simple “I was offended and I choose not to accept that apology at this point”), but instead he chose to pour gasoline on the fire during his Monday press conference and seemingly badmouth (most if not all) media. Honestly, I believe he did it to position himself as a sympathetic figure and set the stage for his remaining head coach of the Detroit Lions. As bad as Marinelli’s team is, at 0-15, don’t be surprised if he is retained as the coach. Nothing should surprise fans of the Lions.
Detroit News:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081223/SPORTS0101/812230387/1004/SPORTS
No comments:
Post a Comment