I had been a fan of the University of Kentucky basketball team all my life. It's one of many things I inherited from my father.
As far back as I can recall, my dad followed the fortunes of the Wildcats. He remembered when Claude Sullivan, not Cawood Ledford, was the radio voice of the team. He had an old battery-powered Channel Master AM radio we called "Coach Rupp" that he took along if we went on overnight trips during basketball season so he could tune to clear-channel WHAS-AM to listen to the games. He was especially interested in the fortunes of Larry Stamper, a Lee County native who went on to play for Rupp and started for the Cats in his junior year, Rupp's final season. (I think Stamper may have been a former student of my dad's in elementary school in Lee County, but I'm not positive.)
Dad didn't get too outwardly emotional during the games, but one notable exception was the 1975 Mideast Region finals when UK knocked off Indiana. Earlier that year, on its way to an unbeaten regular season, Indiana had drilled UK in a game marked by their coach, the volatile Bob Knight, whacking his up-until-then friend and fishing buddy Joe B. Hall in the back of the head. As the rematch game wound down, Dad would clap his hands at every UK basket or defensive stop. Even my mother, who was not at all a sports fan, got in on the excitement. For all the big games the Cats played in their lives (my mom died in 1986; my dad in 2010), I never saw either of them get as worked up as they did over that UK win.
My dad was a disabled veteran. He lost a leg and suffered other life-altering injuries in Korea in service to the United States. I hesitate to ponder on what he would have thought about what happened Saturday in Gainesville, Fla., when the UK basketball team knelt in protest during the playing of the national anthem.
When someone says or does something that others find offensive, they're frequently told to look at it from the other person's perspective. What matters is not how it was meant, but how it was viewed. Yet that doesn't seem to apply anytime there is a national anthem protest. Those who see it as a slight against this country and its veterans are told that it really isn't, that it means something else, and they're wrong for perceiving it in that manner.
But beyond that, there is a time and a place to make an opinion known. During the national anthem prior to a public event is not one of those places.
UK has defended the protest as a player-initiated action. Coach John Calipari gave it his approval and even participated, and it was later lauded by Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart and UK President Eli Capilouto. College basketball players, as tall and muscular and talented as they are, are still basically kids. What they needed in this time was adult guidance, not acquiescence and encouragement.
Each of the players has an outsized voice that can be used to make a point. They all have social media accounts which they often use to break news about their futures. Look how many UK football players, in the past week, used social media to announce they're staying at UK for another season, transferring to another school, or declaring for the NFL draft. Nothing is stopping the players from posting their thoughts on social media, or other online outlets -- maybe even a blog, like this one. They are constantly being interviewed by press outlets. Why not offer opinions and speak quotable quotes during those sessions?
When kneeling during the national anthem first became a hot topic a few years ago when Colin Kaepernick did it before an NFL game, I've often wondered what would happen if a regular person did it. I occasionally attend work functions at which "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played. How long would I have a job if I knelt? Yet the UK players are being praised in some quarters, and those who speak out in disgust automatically get falsely labeled as "racist."
The backlash to what happened Saturday came quickly. I learned of it during the first half and confirmed it just before halftime. I changed channels on the TV, switched my social media profile pics to anti-UK images, and washed my hands of the Wildcats.
The disdain has gone farther. The jailer and sheriff in Laurel County staged a public burning of their UK apparel, and initiated a drive in which they're collecting UK clothing items to donate to a homeless shelter in exchange for a shirt expressing support for law enforcement. The fiscal court of Knox County in southeastern Kentucky passed a resolution condemning the action. And Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers gave an impassioned speech denouncing the act on the Senate floor.
The United States has its faults, but we're still the greatest country in the world. I had hopes that this anti-American poison would escape Kentucky, but I was sadly wrong. Now I'm left with no sports to watch. I was never athletic enough to play sports, but I've always been a fan. The left has snuffed out that joy.
I acknowledge that most celebrities (entertainers and pro athletes) are liberals, although I don't know why. You'd think they'd oppose high taxes and would prefer to make their own decisions on what causes are worthy of their support, instead of the government taking their money and spending it. And most college students these days also lean left. We all know this, yet we continue to be fans and support their work. But sometimes, a line is crossed.
As much as my dad enjoyed the Wildcats, he was also a Cincinnati Reds fan. That trait, too, is something I inherited from him. I used to stay up at night to listen to the West Coast games. I gave up major league baseball after the 1994 players' strike. The greed of those players just was too much for me to take. At the time, the minimum major league salary was around $110,000 a year and the average salary was close to $1 million. For that kind of money, I would stand knee-deep in manure eight hours a day. I couldn't -- and still can't -- fathom a work stoppage by people who made that much income.
My interest in the NFL waned over the years, replaced by NASCAR. My dad had become a NASCAR fan and I'd spend Sunday afternoons with him, and the races were usually on. Kaepernick, and the NFL's refusal to sanction him for his actions, ended my interest in pro football. Given its southern roots and the feelings of its fan base, I figured NASCAR would be immune from any national anthem protests. But when the sanctioning body gave its blessing to kneeling last spring when racing resumed after its Wuhan Chinese virus hiatus, that was it. I gave up being a NASCAR fan and quit watching the races.
So now, sports fandom is gone. I'm definitely not a fan of hockey or soccer, nor of golf -- and if I was a golf fan, I'd give that up after the PGA's politically-based decision to pull its 2022 championship from a Donald Trump-owned course.
It will be interesting to see what happens as the backlash from Saturday continues. Will attendance drop (once Rupp Arena's capacity is back to normal)? Will merchandise sales fall? Will television ratings for the games plummet? Indications are that more Kentuckians are opposed to the protest than support it.
As for me, the NASCAR thing was tough, but this is harder. This is the loss of something I've enjoyed my entire life. I have lots of fond memories of UK basketball. Larry Stamper representing Beattyville as a Wildcat. The aforementioned 1975 Indiana game. The 1978 national championship. Jeff Ginnan, another Lee County player, walking on and getting a start during his final home game. The Unforgettables. The improbable 1998 national championship.
Kentucky basketball died for me at approximately 6 p.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. I'm left with a lot of good memories -- and a few pieces of clothing which will never be worn again, and an incredible sense of loss.
