EPTIn the history of arrested sportswriters, this weekend’s brief incarceration of Jay Mariotti brought with it an incredible amount of grave dancing. To say that Mariotti — a writer for AOL’s Fanhouse and a talking head on ESPN — has detractors would be an understatement. There is pure hate involved here. Everyone from White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to movie critic Roger Ebert has spit vinegar in Mariotti’s direction at some point, and his Saturday morning arrest for an alleged domestic abuse incident served as a schadenfreude fest for sports fans tired of seeing Mariotti cultivate a persona as a holier-than-thou scold on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”
The venom in Gregg Doyel's twitter account is hilarious :D
http://www.tauntr.com/content/cbs-gregg-doyel-really-really-hates-jay-mariotti
1st sentence of Mariotti's latest column: "It was arrogance that doomed Roger Clemens, raw defiance feeding a blind and reckless narcissism"
about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck
Swear to God, Mariotti concludes that story by mocking Clemens' coming prison term: "His next number will be much longer." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck
After two hours of this, I've received ZERO tweets asking me to lay off. Looks like I've heard from all of Mariotti's friends
about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
This guy is really not liked.
![[image loading]](http://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Chad-Ochocinco-Tweets-To-TO-About-Jay-Mariotti-Arrest.jpg)
Mariotti arrested? File that under: When bad things happen to (really) bad people.
1:44 PM Aug 21st via UberTwitter
1:44 PM Aug 21st via UberTwitter
Incidentally for those wondering, the hilarious hypocrisy:
A domestic abuser is not a hero in any arena. When a group of crude, drunken fans in Boston taunted him with chants of "Wife Beater! Wife Beater!" last week, I felt bad that Kidd's wife, Joumana, and the couple's 3-year-old son, T.J., had to endure such courtside harassment. Victims of violence shouldn't be subjected to cruel reminders.
That said, did I feel bad for Kidd?
Not really.
This is the baggage he inherited, the scrutiny that never will fade.
That said, did I feel bad for Kidd?
Not really.
This is the baggage he inherited, the scrutiny that never will fade.
Dan LeBatard wrote a pretty long essay about the reader reactions to the arrest:
I don’t know Mariotti beyond a few cordial meetings. I have no earthly idea if he’s capable of violence against a woman. Nor do I know if there is nuance and perspective that can be added to his incident that would make it more understandable or sympathetic. But I do know that he’s getting sliced up now by the same knife that he has made a profitable career out of wielding.
And I can’t remember, in two decades covering sports, an arrest creating as much glee among sports fans as this one. Unattached, I found it hypnotizing and frightening, seeing so many people enjoy someone else possibly get ruined. But I get it. A lot of people hate the media, an easy punching bag. A lot of people hate that Mariotti himself profits so much from judging others. But I’ll never understand, not for as long as I live, enjoying someone else’s suffering.
It is one of the chief complaints I have with sports coverage – jealousy of athletes and their money and their life and their women excluding them from fundamental and decent compassion we might extend to others who aren’t rich and famous. These are supposed to be fun and games, you know? To me, moralizing about the behavior of athletes is like complaining about the away-from-the-circus antics of the clowns. I was happy to hear that crazy-ass Ozzie Guillen, who hates Mariotti with the fire of a thousand suns, understood we-all-make-mistakes enough to rise above this nonsense and reserve instantaneous judgment.
Will Mariotti lose his job and career? I hope not. We don’t have enough details to know how bad this was. I just know he hasn’t built enough goodwill and value as, say, a Michael Wilbon. It helps, in all walks of life, to simply be nice and be liked – things the media isn’t nearly often enough. Mariotti, as evidenced by the avalanche of fan and media and athlete hatred falling avalanche-like upon his head now, didn’t accrue much of that in climbing atop the sportstainment empire.
And I can’t remember, in two decades covering sports, an arrest creating as much glee among sports fans as this one. Unattached, I found it hypnotizing and frightening, seeing so many people enjoy someone else possibly get ruined. But I get it. A lot of people hate the media, an easy punching bag. A lot of people hate that Mariotti himself profits so much from judging others. But I’ll never understand, not for as long as I live, enjoying someone else’s suffering.
It is one of the chief complaints I have with sports coverage – jealousy of athletes and their money and their life and their women excluding them from fundamental and decent compassion we might extend to others who aren’t rich and famous. These are supposed to be fun and games, you know? To me, moralizing about the behavior of athletes is like complaining about the away-from-the-circus antics of the clowns. I was happy to hear that crazy-ass Ozzie Guillen, who hates Mariotti with the fire of a thousand suns, understood we-all-make-mistakes enough to rise above this nonsense and reserve instantaneous judgment.
Will Mariotti lose his job and career? I hope not. We don’t have enough details to know how bad this was. I just know he hasn’t built enough goodwill and value as, say, a Michael Wilbon. It helps, in all walks of life, to simply be nice and be liked – things the media isn’t nearly often enough. Mariotti, as evidenced by the avalanche of fan and media and athlete hatred falling avalanche-like upon his head now, didn’t accrue much of that in climbing atop the sportstainment empire.
And on the other side of the spectrum (kind of like Doyel, but in a more reasonable way), is is Brooks' rundown of all the stuff Mariotti spewed at athletes who had DV issues themselves.
Dr. Tom would like his program stamped as a dynasty today, the first team to repeat as unanimous national champions in 40 years, the team that dented history and deflated Steve Spurrier’s little-boy ego on the same night.
Sorry.
The 62-24 thrashing of Florida was only a footnote to a deplorable sight in the (Ad Space Here) Fiesta Bowl. That vision would be Lawrence Phillips, running free in the desert, galloping for 165 yards and three scores and playing the hero’s role. Assuredly, this fellow is no hero. At a time when domestic violence never has been a more pressing issue - and largely involves the sporting genre - Phillips begins the new year as a horrid symbol of why the problem still isn’t taken seriously enough.
Pummel the girl, play in the big game, do your touchdown moonwalk, revive your pro career. Afterward, say, “I knew we would wear them down. It feels good to be with my team and win another national championship.” What a fine statement for young America.
Sorry.
The 62-24 thrashing of Florida was only a footnote to a deplorable sight in the (Ad Space Here) Fiesta Bowl. That vision would be Lawrence Phillips, running free in the desert, galloping for 165 yards and three scores and playing the hero’s role. Assuredly, this fellow is no hero. At a time when domestic violence never has been a more pressing issue - and largely involves the sporting genre - Phillips begins the new year as a horrid symbol of why the problem still isn’t taken seriously enough.
Pummel the girl, play in the big game, do your touchdown moonwalk, revive your pro career. Afterward, say, “I knew we would wear them down. It feels good to be with my team and win another national championship.” What a fine statement for young America.
Figured I'd blog this rather than make a thread because it's pretty niche; people who recognize Mariotti will get a kick out of it, etc. but otherwise I don't see a whole lot of discussion potential here.
Sorry if reveling in someone's misfortune isn't exactly smiled upon :[ I don't think I've ever seen a media person get this obliterated by his peers.
