Yet Another Example of Athletic Classiness

Frank (The Tank) Kaminsky   AND   Mo'ne Davis

A couple of weeks ago we lauded Mo'ne Davis exhibiting real class when she responded with classy forgiveness to a nasty tweet by a College baseball player (https://www.facebook.com/JMK444?ref=tn_tnmn).

In the wake of Wisconsin's stunning victory over Kentucky gaurd Andrew Harrison muttered under his breath in the post-game press conference, "F*ck that n*gger," in reference to Frank Kaminsky, whose 20 pts and 11 rebounds helped upset the previously unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats.

In the wake of that error, Andrew Harrison stepped up to take responsibility and apoligized to kaminsky and anyone who took offense to his "poor choice of words."

But Kaminsky showed the same kind of true class and forgiveness in immediately and graciously accepting Harrison's apology. http://www.courier-journal.com/…/harrison-apologi…/25324869/

People make mistakes....especially highly competitive athletes in the wake of high stakes wins and losses.

BUT we've ALL got to move past the pernicious double standards that still persist.

The public seems far more willing to accept Harrison's apology, far less so Joey Casselberry's. BOTH apologies should be accepted and BOTH verbal gaffes should be seen as mistakes made by over-heated young athletes, who's aggression that serves them so well on the fields and courts, sometimes hurts them in public forums.

NOW would be a good time to truly heed the lessons of Mo'ne Davis and Frank Kaminsky.

Mo'ne Davis is a CLASS Act...On & OFF the Field

Mo'ne Davis

Recently young Mo'ne Davis made the news for something someone else tweeted about her.

Joey Casselberry, a junior first baseman for Bloomsburg University(in PA), in response to Disney working on a movie titled "Throw Like Mo," tweeted, "Disney is making a movie about Mo'ne Davis? What a joke that Sl*t got rocked by Nevada."

WHY?! Why belittle a kid...a girl who actually went where NO girl has ever gone before? She s the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history!

That tweet just doesn't make any sense. The operative, or offending word, of course, is the "S" word...especially when hurled at a 14 y/o girl, who's been nothing but exemplary in her character and play!

The rest of his tweet was mean-spirited, but accurate. Mo'ne Davis DID lose a game to the eventual Little League National Champs (after Chicago got tossed for having a slew of ineligible players on the team), but (1) she's the first and ONLY girl to compete as effectively as that, at that level against boys and (2) her team didn't lose solely on her pitching....her teammates didn't hit very well that game.

If Casselberry had written, "Disney is making a movie about Mo'ne Davis? What a joke. She got rocked by Nevada," it would've been just as boorish and mean-spirited, but somewhat less sexist...AND it wouldn't have given the highly INTOLERANT politically correct crew the opportunity to APPEAR all "tolerant and inclusive," while continuing to show their classless intolerance to religious folks (OK, mainly Christians), Wall Streeters and virtually anyone else they perceive they disagree with.

Bloomsburg University rightly and predictably responded by immediately putting Casselberry off its team and that's where Mo'ne Davis showed incredible class, by emailing that school in favor of giving that goofball a 2nd chance. She told one outlet, "... I know right now he's really hurt and I know how hard he worked to get where he is. I mean, I was pretty hurt on my part but I know he's hurting even more,"

WoW! Seriously, THAT is true class!
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/opinions/jones-mone-davis/

It's highly unlikely that Casselberry will be reinstated, as calling a 14 y/o girl a "sl*t" is definitely beyond the pale, BUT had Casselberry been black and Mo'ne white, I'm sure we can ALL be pretty much certain that many of the SAME media hawks vulturing Casselberry would be explaining away his faux pas based on his immersion in the "rap culture."

THAT'S how deep our cultural and socio-economic segregated standards go now-a-days, and that's NOT about to change any time soon, NOR is any of that Mo'ne Davis' fault.

In fact, her classiness is made all the more apparent BECAUSE of such pernicious double standards. As good an athlete as she is...and she's exceptional, she seems to be an even better person!