Yknot wrote:
Rappstar wrote:
For some additional perspective, it's worth reading Brett's most recent post about his own kids. His daughters. For those who rip into him on this forum for the mistake(s) he made, it's some interesting perspective. I used to think the same way - he's a sleeze. Then I realized that I didn't really know him at all and was overlooking the fact that a lot of very smart and capable athletes trust him and care about him a lot. We've since become friends on email. Anyway... The classic parts of Sutton get hammered on here a lot. This is something very different - http://www.teamtbb.com/...ask=view&id=1534
What he did wasn't a mistake; it was a failure of morality. I assure you a longer list of smart and capable athletes trusted and cared about Joe Paterno- what are your thoughts on him? Then remember that his was a failure to act while Sutton's is more on the Sandusky level.
Sutton's coaching accomplishments mean little to me and how he treats his daughters means substantially less than how he treated another man's little girl.
The difference is that every athlete who signs up with Sutton knows about his past. He admitted to his crime, and it was a heinous crime; I do not deny, and neither does Brett. And he served the sentence he was given. That is - to me anyway - a significant difference. I respect that you may not see that as being a difference or being significant.
To Bjorn's point, I won't attempt to speak for other athletes in terms of what they will/won't overlook in Brett's past because of what they think he might offer them. It's a more cynical view of our peers than I'm willing to take to say that they only overlook it because of what might be in it for them. Do I accept that might be the reality? Sure. But I also accept that it might now be, and I have enough faith in the character of the athletes that I have known on TBB to assume it's the latter.
I also think it's interesting that people perceive him as badmouthing Chrissie. I don't think he ever badmouths her. I think he badmouths the people around her. In that sense, I actually think he gives Chrissie a bit of a free pass, since she chose who she wanted to surround herself with. But I think it's all out of a sense of loss. What "could have been" with Chrissie. I think we all have a bit of that sense of loss. If there is a person who doesn't think we all lost something special when Chrissie retired, I think that person is crazy.
Lastly, I also think Sutton's coaching accomplishments - the titles - are actually less profound than his care for the sport and for his athletes. I think he cares about being a steward of the sport. I think he violated that stewardship in a major way when he engaged in sexual relations with a minor, and a minor who was under his tutelage. And, more importantly, I think he believes that he violated that stewardship. And I think he's doing what he can to make up for that. In short, I think he cares about leaving the world and the sport in a better place, and I think that in large part he's motivated by the fact that he's got a lot to do to even get back to zero - if he can ever get there - in a lot of people's eyes.
What I like about Brett is that - in contrast to a lot of people who have transgressed in serious ways - he does NOT want people to forget what he's done. He wants them to forgive it. And he's working hard to earn that forgiveness, in spite of the fact that he knows that a lot of people will never give it.
"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp