Freedom of
speech is a wonderful thing, and all the more powerful when the speaker isn’t afraid to show
his/her face. Pro tennis player Eugenie
Bouchard of Canada qualifies as one such person.
Bouchard spoke
out last week on the subject of Maria Sharapova’s reinstatement after serving a
15-month suspension for drug use (it was an accident, I’m so sorry….). Bouchard called Sharapova “a cheater and so,
to me, I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that
sport again. It’s so unfair to all the
other players who do it the right way.”
Maybe a tad extreme, but upfront and not an opinion delivered
troll-like.
There was also
an interesting incident during the NFL draft in Philadelphia last week. Fans in the audience booed when the
Cincinnati Bengals picked Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, who in 2014 was
caught on camera punching a woman in the face.
The whole thing was spontaneous, and nobody threw any bottles, so I’m OK
with that reaction. (Unlike what Orioles’
outfielder Adam Jones experienced at Fenway Park last night: fans taunted him
with a racial slur, and someone threw a bag of peanuts at him. Red Sox management apologized for their fans’
troll behavior this morning.) Even
better, a Cincinnati TV station broadcast an editorial urging Bengals’ fans to
boycott the team and donate the money saved to groups that work to combat
violence against women. Again, an
upfront expression of opinion.
For his part,
Mixon said, “I come here to work and to be the best teammate, the best person,
and try to do whatever I can around the community and get everybody
together.” Well, he’s sort of done that
already. The trick will be to win over
his critics, both the loud ones and the articulate ones.
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