By Anya

Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today.She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt … way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. … She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body. … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing? … She’s what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point. —–

Tony Kornheiser, Chivalrous Gentleman and Sports Talk Show Host

Kornheiser received a two-week suspension from some ESPN sports show that I could care less about for these remarks. Some speculate that ESPN hit him with a relatively harsh sentence for reasons that go beyond his remarks about Ms. Storm. Let’s just say if you Google ‘ESPN + sexual harrassment’ you get a lot of hits. Steve Phillips, anyone? Harold Reynolds? Note: I am not insuitating that Kornheiser’s tactless comments were in any way a form of sexual harrassment – simply that ESPN may be a bit sensitive regarding their image in the area of male-female relations.

There is another rumor out there claiming ESPN was more upset about Kornheiser’s ribbing of his fellow ESPN colleague’s Chris Berman’s flucuating weight.

You know what is kind of funny? Kornheiser doesn’t seem to take too kindly to people criticizing him. Funny how those double standards work, isn’t it?

Kornheiser has apologized – sort of:

“If you put a live microphone in front of somebody, eventually that person will say something wrong. This was one of the times I said something wrong.”

So I am interested in what IW readers think. Is Storm’s outfit that bad or inappropriate for her age? (She is 47, by the way). What do you think about the fact that Kornheiser seems to imply that Storm’s real worth and significance lies in her physical appearance and not in her capabilities as a journalist? Or are we making too much of this? Anyone who has listened to sports talk radio for even a few minutes knows that the hosts often engage in almost as much pop-culture talk and (not very funny) jokey-jokes as actual sports analysis.

At the end of the day, I am sure of two things — Tony Kornheiser is a Class A Jerk and Hannah Storm (and 47-year-old body) looks perfectly fine.

By Jennie

Recently I was driving home and heard an interesting story on the radio. It was about a high school student and volleyball player named Mackenzie McCollum who ran into trouble with her school when she became pregnant and wanted to continue playing on the school team. ESPN has a pretty comprehensive story that can be viewed here.

After the pregnancy was brought to the attention of the school (by the parent of another student; Mackenzie had told her family and some friends but otherwise had intended to keep the pregnancy a secret), Mackenzie was told by school officials that in accordance with district policy, she needed to get a doctor’s note clearing her to play. She was able to provide the note, but it was rejected because the doctor included restrictions, including one that stated that Mackenzie’s heart rate must not exceed 140 while she was on the court. It was only after the doctor provided a second, restriction-free note that McCollum was allowed back on the team. In the meantime, McCollum’s coach, in violation of privacy policies, had announced her pregnancy to her teammates. She alleges that he also restricted her play after her return. The school is now being investigated for Title IX violations.

I have mixed feelings about this story and some of the coverage of it that I’ve seen. On the one hand, the coach’s decision to reveal McCollum’s pregnancy to her teammates is indefensible; his behavior was entirely inappropriate and unprofessional. If the allegations about cutting McCollum’s playing time (as well as other alleged retaliatory acts) are true, then that, too, is wrong. And to the degree that any of this is about shaming this young woman for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, well, I don’t agree with that. I think McCollum has done something (not all on her own, obviously, though it appears that the father is no longer in the picture) that will make her life harder, but by my own moral code she has not acted immorally.

On the other hand, my first assumption was that the school was probably more concerned about liability issues than moral ones, and nothing I’ve read about this case has given me cause to think differently. McCollum alleges the moral judgment on the part of the school district, but I’ve heard nothing that actually backs that up. Feministing has a story that calls the school official’s concerns (and concerns in general about pregnant women playing sports) “paternalistic”, but my reaction to that is that McCollum is not somehow constitutionally guaranteed the right to play on her high school team. It’s not as if they are trying to control her right to exercise across the board; again, it’s a school team and I would not blame the school district for being nervous about liability, given the litigiousness of our society. If there were Title IX or other violations, that’s one thing, but to pretend that the school’s concerns were unreasonable (for instance, in rejecting the first doctor’s note) seems disingenuous to me.

Furthermore, while I again don’t approve of slapping a scarlet “A” on McCollum’s chest, I also don’t think the behavior of individuals who are not school officials should be blamed on the school or the school district; McCollum references people staring at and whispering about her in the school halls and the Feministing article mentions the odious nature of many of the comments about the case on the ESPN boards. There are probably few places one can find more judgment, cattiness and old-fashioned meanness than in high school hallways and on anonymous internet message boards. That’s unfortunate, but I think it’s simple human nature at work, not some organized campaign of harassment or retaliation.

I’ll admit my view of the whole story may be colored a bit by the reporting when I originally heard it on the radio; the story finished up with the bright announcement by the reporter that McCollum intends to continue on with her plans (which, good for her), just with “a little bit more responsibility”. A little bit more responsibility? If McCollum had bought a guinea pig, that would be “a little bit more responsibility” – a baby is 18 years of legal responsibility, at least as many of financial responsibility, and a lifetime of emotional responsibility. I hope McCollum realizes that, and wish her the best.

Written by Jeff

Coach Don Meyer, 64 and head basketball coach at Northern State University in South Dakota, was leading a six car caravan of his basketball team and staff to an annual retreat on September 5, 2008. His Prius drifted across the road and, to the horror of the occupants of the other five cars, was hit head on by an 18 wheeler. When the players and staff reached his car it was evident that the Coach was in real trouble. But seconds later his eyes focused and he looked at his assistant coach and wheezed “Is everyone OK?”. Everyone was, except the Coach.

Coach Meyer ranked second in college basketball wins and was only 12 wins behind the leader when the accident happened. His whole life consisted of the team, his wife Carmen of 41 years, 3 children and 8 grandchildren. Carmen always said that she never asked him to rank the importance of each.

Coach was transported via helicopter to Aberdeen, 20 miles away. The ER doctors quickly realized he needed more help than they could give him so they decided to move him to Sioux Falls, 200 miles away. One doctor asked Carmen to spend some time with him before he left as he did not think he would survive the night.

Coach’s left leg was shattered and his main artery severed. His spleen and part of his small intestine had to be removed and his diaphragm reattached. Carmen was told by the surgeon that Coach also had advanced cancer, found during the surgery.

Three leg surgeries later, they decided to amputate the leg below the knee, and Coach was told that he had cancer. He immediately wanted to know what he had to do to get back on the sidelines with his team. Carmen knew then that he would make it.

After two months and eight surgeries, Coach left the hospital and was on the sidelines at practice the next day. Barely able to speak above a whisper, due to his badly bruised lungs, he led practice and has not missed a practice or game since.

Fast forward ten months where Coach was honored by ESPN at their annual ESPY awards. His acceptance speech was littered with laughter and tears. In a room filled with jocks, who usually complain about not having a limo take them home after practice, his speech was numbing.

Coach may not be with us too much longer, but he will always be a True Hero.

A must watch video.

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