Whitlock: At It Again

Tattoos.

The reason, according to Mr. Whitlock, that the NBA has not been as warmly received by viewers as it would like.

No one wants to watch Delonte West or Larry Hughes play basketball. It's uncomfortable and disconcerting. You don't want your kids to see it. You don't want your kids to think they should decorate their neck, arms, hands, chest and legs in paint. You don't want to waste time explaining to your kids that some millionaire athletes have so little genuine self-confidence that they find it necessary to cover themselves in tattoos as a way to mask their insecurities.

Threatening appearances.

The players' looks scare an audience that can't relate to them.

You just want to watch basketball and feel like you're watching people you can relate to a little bit, people you somewhat respect.

This years playoffs.

A rousing ratings success thanks to the abundance of foreign players and non-threatening Negros on the Lakers, Spurs, Pistons and Celtics.

Part of the reason more people are watching these playoffs is because the average fan isn't constantly repulsed by the appearance of most of the players on the court. Most of the key players left in the playoffs don't look like recent prison parolees.

Mr. Whitlock's point seems to be that it is better for the league, and the business of the league if the players present a cleaner image. Better business means more money for the league. More money for the players. We get that.

But, in his bashing of the appearance of the players, he is stereotyping and grandstanding.

By diminishing the notion that much of the ratings upswing (if it is great, we didn't check the numbers) is due to the resurgence of the Lakers and Celts and propagating the notion that player appearance is anything more than a tertiary or minimal factor; Mr. Whitlock is simply attempting to turn attention towards...............himself.

Shock and a contrived contrarian view have become Mr. Whitlock's calling card.

The 'chicken little' antics that Mr. Whitlock engages in reek of self serving hypocrisy and self promotion.

Being the Negro that calls out the other Negroes and demands they change who they are and change their culture certainly must be an exhilerating position. To be the right thinking Negro must be stressful.

How could one argue with the right thinking Negro who postulates the position that increased viewership is due to the absence of ink and perceived thuggish appearance (although, Rasheed Wallace might take issue with not being single out here)?

Well, perhaps the best argument against this theory is....from the right thinking Negro's comments on last seasons Finals:

"Why don't the Spurs connect? Why were these finals a TV ratings disaster and a challenge to watch?" Mr. Whitlock writes. "Because sports fans aren't stupid. They can sniff an impostor even when we in the media try to convince them otherwise." He adds, "It's difficult to stake a dynasty claim when you've just completed the worst NBA finals series in history."

We at NOIS are sports fans.

And WE sniff an imposter.

And we sniff something else!

The 'unthreatening' Spurs and Pistons were in the conference finals last year, too. Along with the least threatening team in the league....the JAZZ! How could this year's NBA final four possibly be less threatening than last year?

Nope, it couldn't be that the ratings are due to better play this year!

Someone get some air freshener. Mr. Whitlock seems to have fouled the air.

NBA Coaching: Collins Back to the Bulls?

As the vacant jobs in the NBA coaching ranks are slowly filled, one thing is clear:

Negro coaches are being quickly and quietly escorted to the door. And their jobs are being filled by retreads and status quo ghosts.

Is it the NBA's desire to send a message to Negro coaches that they belong on the second or third seat on the bench? That, rather than give them the chance to mature and develop a program, the NBA is better suited by playing 'musical chairs' with the same old cotton swabs, over and over?

Is firing the Negro coach with the NBA's best winning percentage over the past 3 seasons and claiming the reason for the termination was playoff losses; and then hiring a man with a history of playoff failure not the very definition of bleachy hypocrisy?

Let's look more closely.

Sam Vincent was brought in to Charlotte at the beginning of the season. He was forced out after the season. One year. One year is all he was given to turn around a floundering and lost franchise. Who did Charlotte bring in? The man responsible for burning down Madison Square Garden (although the press has tried to blame someone else). Larry Brown. The King of The Road is the hired gun brought in to turn Charlotte around. Yes, the man has won a title. But he has also left carnage and destruction at virtually every stop, after he finds a bigger paycheck to chase. His experience and coaching 'the right way' will probably lead to more wins in the immediate future. But, is it worth it for the Bobcats to take one step forward, knowing full well that at the end of Brown's tenure they will end up being two steps back?

After Scott Skiles was let go in Chicago (and interim Boylan was sent to the soup kitchen), Chicago management said they were interested in hiring a 'tough, former player'. Naturally, folks thought that meant Avery Johnson (the possessor of the NBA's highest winning percentage over the past few years) or perhaps Mark Jackson. Well, apparently, 'tough, former player' is code for 'washed up, retread vanilla cupcake'. ESPN is reporting that Doug Collins will get the nod in Chi-town.

Isiah Thomas, victim of Larry Brown's most recent 'rape and pillage' expedition, was run off the bench in NYC. Certainly, arguments for Thomas' release abound. And we do not pretend to support the notion that Thomas had the team on the right track. However, rather than bring in someone with a deep connection and understanding of the NBA's flagship franchise...the Knicks brought in a coach who runs a system which the Knicks don't have the personnel to man. In the process, Knicks management managed to offend a Knickerbocker all-time great.

"There's nobody who is an assistant coach who doesn't want to be a head coach," said Ewing, who has been an assistant for five seasons and is credited with lifting center Dwight Howard to the next level. "Unless you've already been a head coach and you're older and you're just putting in hours until you retire. I'm young. I'd definitely want to be a head coach one day.
And I'm disappointed I didn't get a call, yeah.

In one fell swoop, through these firings, the NBA was able to reduce the ranks of Negro head coaches by a staggering 25%.

In contrast, the ranks of white coaches have increased by over 10%.

These are chilling numbers that, coupled with the retread hirings of Brown, Carlisle, Skiles, D'Antonio and possibly Collins, send a clear message to Negro assistant coaches everywhere:

We prefer failed white men to be the face of NBA franchises, rather than give you an equal chance to succeed.

Back to the third seat!

Yannick Noah: Charmingly Naive

Yannick Noah's son, Joakim (of the Chicago Bulls), was cited over Memorial Day weekend for a few minor infractions by the Gainesville and U of Florida Police.

Noah the Younger received citations for an open alcohol container and less than 20 grams of possibly medicinal cannabis. He was also cited on campus for traffic violations.

News of the incidents were met with puzzlement by father Yannick.

"I don't understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street," Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open.

Certainly, living in the sheltered and Negro accepting country of France has insulated Mr. Noah from these types of things.

How could Mr. Noah understand what all the fuss is about. He was known, and admitted, to have a fondness for the self medicating effects of the possible medicinal usage of cannabis. And, in France, he was never dragged through the mud on a rope by the media for it. How could he understand what his son is being confronted with?

How could Mr. Noah understand how offensive it must be for the local police to see Joakim show up back in Redneckville, FL, driving a fancy car and his pockets lined with money that they won't make in a lifetime?

How could Mr. Noah understand that the fuss has nothing to do with carrying a beverage in a cup on the street?

How charmingly naive of Mr. Noah to believe that this is all over a beer in a cup!

Racial Slurs at MLS Game

The beautiful sport.

The most popular sport in the world.

But, in the US, apparently a magnet for racists wishing to spew their hatred for the Sons of Africa.

MLS will investigate an incident in which a spectator at a Columbus Crew home match directed a racial slur at a black player from the New England Revolution on Saturday night.

Fabulously talented Negro soccer star Kheli Dube, from Zimbabwe, scored the go ahead goal. Much to the shock of no one, the response from the white crowd was foul language and racist venom.

Certainly, this is not a surprise. From pitches across Europe all the way to California, soccer fans are famously racist and belligerent.

In the effort to expand the popularity of the game in the US (read: to make money), soccer has been portrayed as a suburban delight. A game embraced by the mini-van driving soccer mom and her children named Madison and Austin.

But, the capture of this incident and posting of it on YouTube has exposed soccer in the US for what it is: A fetid incubator for racial hatred and potential violence.

As part of a statement, the Crew said "there is no excuse for the reprehensible behavior exhibited by the fan heard in the video clip that has surfaced. That kind of behavior has no place in our stadium, or in our society, and we strongly condemn it. . . . We will continue to evaluate and enforce safety and sportsmanship policies."

Certainly, the expected response. Although, there was no addressing the issue of why, when the vicious onslaught (which clearly was directed at Negroes the world over) took place, no action was taken. It took a posting of the incident on YouTube to generate a response from management.

One is left to wonder if the verbal assault had not been promoted on YouTube, would the Crew have ever bothered to address the issue?

How will the league respond? What is the appropriate punishment for the management of the Crew?

Allowing this to go unchecked sends a message to Negro soccer stars the world over that if they choose to bring their formidable skill and talent to the MLS, they risk verbal lynching.

MLS must act swiftly in levying a blow against the complicit racism exhibited by the Crew and the stadium staff that allowed this action to take place. The fact that the Crew made no statement until the video was available for the viewing of millions on the web makes it clear that the statement about the investigation is nothing but filler and defensive posturing.

We suggest that an appropriate start would be changing the franchise's name. A crew is a mob. And mob's lynch Negroes.

In an effort to demonstrate penance and contrition, the only recourse is renaming the team the 'Clouds'.

Soft, white and fluffy.

Marvin Harrison: Odd Situation

The gun was registered to him.

The incident happened after he was involved in an argument in the vicinity of a car wash that he owned.

6 shell casing were found on the ground and they matched his gun.

A man and a boy were injured.

But, luckily, the normal instinct (let's call it Pacman Syndrome) to convict the Negro athlete, who happened to be circumstantially related to the geography of the event, in the courts of public opinion and judiciary expedience has been avoided. In this case.

Marvin Harrison told his coach, the venerable and magnificent Tony Dungy, that he is not involved.

"At this point I'm keeping my fingers crossed," owner Jim Irsay said, according to the newspaper. "We've done everything we could do in our diligence to try to discern what happened. He said he was not involved in that shooting and ... the authorities have said there is nothing imminent.

We at NOIS congratulate Harrison for being honest, forthright and wholly believable. We congratulate Irsay for keeping his fingers crossed, rather than distancing himself from the athlete and fostering an image of guilt. Something that many other owners have done. And we congratulate the law enforcement officials involved for not getting caught up in the hype and glee so tangible when the chance to ruin the life of a Negro athlete presents itself.

Perhaps this is a sign of the change.

Perhaps it is the change we, as a Nation have worked so hard to foster.

Yes, we can change.

Obama '08.

Whitlock: Exposes Deadspin's Resident Hate-Monger

For those of you unfamiliar with the current social, cultural and economic shift effecting the mainstream media; allow us to enlighten you with a crash course.

Many in the mainstream media currently fear for their jobs, relevance and future because of the growing trend of the masses turning to Blogfrica for education, commentary, 'news' and diversion while at work.

Essentially, there is a concern that Blogfrica's ever widening influence may well be cutting into the way the mainstream media is consumed by the masses.

That gets you up to speed.

Certainly, for some members of the mainstream media, the prospect of loss is scary. It is a fear inducing endeavor to witness an unknown, 'un-understood' commodity begin to usurp the cache and currency once held in a death grip by the status quo. Particularly scary for the older, more entrenched members. The members that feel they came up the hard way, played by the rules (old rules, tho they may be) and now should be seen as the elder counsels of the industry.

Only...the industry is changing.

That background sets the stage for something that happened on HBO not long ago. Bob Costas hosted a panel made up of old-media journalist Buzz Bissinger (wrote Friday Night Lights), new-media blogger Will Leitch (writes deadspin) and token Negro presence Braylon Edwards (writes name on back of paychecks from the Cleveland Browns).

To capsulize: Bissinger loses mind, calls Leitch names and attacks Blogfrica with the fury only a senile old man could muster for some new-fangled contraption that scares and confuses him.

Nothing to see here, really. Nothing surprising.

Nothing surprising that is, until Jason Whitlock's commentary on the event.

"Some of us don't have the time, patience or inclination to help promote Leitch's book, which spends an inordinate amount of time telling prominent, successful, well-spoken African-Americans that they're not really black."

While we certainly won't take the time to listen to the link that Mr. Whitlock provided, we will take the time to point out that we believe there must be some sort of confusion.

As we have demonstrated previously on these very pages, Mr. Leitch is an avid racist. But we aren't sure that we can take it seriously that Leitch ever told Negroes that they aren't really Negroes.

In fact, if one references an interview we conducted with Mr. Leitch, it is obvious that this probably is not the case.

NOIS: Prior to leaving Mattoon, IL, had you ever seen a live Negro?

Leitch: I had heard rumors of a Negro family in Mattoon around the turn of the century, but that had never been confirmed. I thought I had seen one at an Illinois basketball game around 1983, but it turned out it was just Lou Henson.

So, certainly, it would be difficult to assume that Mr. Leitch is in any position to judge Negro-ness.

Whitlock goes on:

"Ninety minutes before Bissinger's eruption, we shared a car service from our hotel to the Equitable Center Theater where Bob Costas' live town hall meeting on the changing landscape of sports media would take place. It was my first in-person meeting with Bissinger ("Friday Night Lights"), and I found him bright, intense, straightforward and likable.
He told me on the ride over that he hated blogs. I told him that blogs weren't going anywhere and we might as well learn to live with them and enjoy them."

Excellent insight and advice from Mr. Whitlock. The insinuation, that Mr. Bissinger really didn't realize he didn't hate blogs. He didn't understand them. Hence his ill will.

Which brings us back to Mr. Whitlock's comments about Mr. Leitch's telling Negroes that they don't act Negro enough.

"And maybe Will Leitch can come along and tell us if we're all acting black enough."

It's a shame that a respected journalist like Buzz Bissinger simply doesn't 'get' blogging. The real shame is that it led to his appearing foolish on national TV, on a forum that could have led to necessary and insightful dialogue.

If journalists and bloggers have a difficult time understanding each others intent, and it leads to ill feeling (feelings that might too easily be called 'hate'), would it be a jump to say that individuals of different races might misinterpret intent of word and actions?

Again, let's refer to our interview with Mr. Leitch:

NOIS: Why do you hate Negroes?

Leitch: Hate is such a strong word. We fear what we do not understand, fine sirs. I eagerly await my re-education.

Clearly, Mr. Leitch is not the only one due for some refresher training.

If The Candidate Were A Coach...

College football and presidential politics. Two arenas filled with corruption, empty promises, high hopes, dirty money and politicians.

What if the Obama, Hillary and McCain were college football coaches?

Who would they be?

Half-rican American Barack Obama is the presidential equivalent of former Notre Dame (current U Dub) coach Tyrone Willingham.

Obama burst onto the scene as a man with a vision of renewed hope and dignity. He didn't have a truly measurable track record, but he had a commanding, polished and regal presence that has allowed for a predominantly white electorate to get over their deeply rooted desire to reject him based solely on his fraternally bestowed Negro-ness. Upper middle class and well educated whites have welcomed him with open arms. Coronating him the savior of American politics and warmly wrapping themselves in the comfort of the communication of his positive vision. But, as soon as he mis-steps or doesn't meet the incredibly high standards that will be expected of him; the clamor for his leaving office will be deafening. There will be no margin for error in his term. And, after he is run off, whomever is chosen as his white successor will be given a mandate of a minimum of two terms. Despite the strong possibility that there will be no discernible difference in performance at the time of the mandate. And, certainly, any early success gained by the successor will be attributed to the successor's 'genius'; Obama's contributions will quickly be discounted and he will be labelled as shiftless and lazy.

Hillary Clinton is Nick Saban.

Somehow, Hillary is able to convince herself that what comes out of her mouth is honest and true. Her moral character allows her to easily reshape reality to her personal needs, and her mind believes it. Whether it be NAFTA, snipers or health care; she doesn't bat an eye or hesitate to give the politically expedient and personally beneficial answer or comment. Regardless of what historical documentation of the event says actually happened. In normal life, that is called lying. In college football or politics, that is the ability to spin or sell your program. Hillary's other great talent is to look at the rules, and rather than find ways to comply with them (ie, party tenants for the number of delegates required to win the candidacy and party decisions for states that broke rules), she looks for loopholes in the language that allow her to attempt to gain an advantage over others. Hillary runs an authoritarian regime, emasculating those around her and rarely looks pleased or happy. Such is the life of one who sees every interaction as a power struggle.

John McCain is Mike Price.

Mike Price took a woeful Wazzou program and turned it into a winner. A little older than the average 'hot coach', Price seemed to be earning the chance at a plumb coaching job later in life than many coaches. Given the keys to the storied Alabama program, it turned out that Price simply wasn't a good fit for the 'party'. His 'philosophy' didn't quite match that of his constituents or the other 'party' power brokers. He ended up never coaching a game for the Tide and is now back to having some success in a smaller program with a less 'conservative' philosophy out in the Southwest.

Politicians and college football coaches.

What's the difference?

SAS: Is Stephen A. A 'Company' Man Now?

One of the most endearing things about Stephen A. Smith was his willingness to go out on a limb. To say what was in his mind. To not mince words. To hit you upside the head with an honest comment or perspective, regardless of whether his perception was not the 'party' line or shared by the mainstream media.

Smith is caricatured frequently in Blogfrica. Screamin' Stephen. Certainly, he played into the role. But, why not? It got him a lot of face time on ESPN. Although, it might have cost him his newspaper job.

And that is why we question his most recent contribution to the ESPN dot com mainstream sports 'news' outlet (and magazine).

The writing is clearly Mr. Smith's. Clearly. The ideas and vision communicated through Mr. Smith's words; however, are foreign.

Mr. Smith says things like, "Enough with the race issue."

And, "Once upon a time, I was inclined to believe that the NBA, in an effort to ingratiate itself with its viewing public, wanted more white players to serve that purpose—until, that is, common sense taught me otherwise."

Certainly, these are Mr. Smith's words. But we wonder, where did these postulations of common sense teaching anyone about race come into play?

This takes us back to our previous statement about Mr. Smith losing an income source from his newspaper affiliation. While we understand that Mr. Smith has a need to feed his family, we wonder if this gig writing for ESPN has boundaries included.

Is Mr. Smith being forced to conform to the mainstream media or espn view of the world? Is Mr. Smith gun shy, and afraid to allow Screamin' Stephen to have a go at the key board?

I've heard such noise emanating from African-American communities in the aftermath of the Brawl in Auburn Hills, nearly four years ago. The argument goes like this: The NBA hasn't had an American-born white superstar since Larry Bird, and teams will travel to any and all corners of the earth to find a Dirk Nowitzki, a Peja Stojakovic or someone else without a remote connection to Ron Artest. The noise has been echoing again this spring, as 13 of the 16 playoff teams have at least one white international player in at least a supporting role.
If the argument made sense, the NBA would be the definition of hypocrisy, considering all the hip-hop booming in arenas around the league. Except the argument doesn't make any sense at all.

Does Mr. Smith really believe that there hasn't been a concerted movement to supplant the young Negro as the face of the league? That it is just coincidence or a response to a shifting market?

We are great fans of common sense, as is Mr. Smith.

So, we step back and ruminate on the words submitted.

Which is to be expected: Mr. Smith exposing the racist tactics of the NBA and loudly complaining about them? Or, Mr. Smith supporting, in calm language, the NBA's death sentence for the young Negro as the face of the league?

Clearly, it's more shocking to see Mr. Smith support the direction the white rulers are taking the Association.

Certainly, we at NOIS wouldn't even be discussing this if Mr. Smith had written the type of column we expected.

Adding to this righteous analysis, we can find additional comfort in a statement Mr. Smith made in an interview right here on NOIS:

I consider it my responsibility to express a point of view -- even one I may admittedly not necessarily agree with...

Indeed.

We can take solace in Mr. Smith's words.

This instance of conformity and compliance to the white ruling class can only be a veiled act of contrarian resistance.

We salute Mr. Smith for taking this stand to demonstrate just how misguided, misdirected and miscalculated the NBA's business plan is.

In playing into the mainstream notion that Screamin' Stephen is wrong thinking and loud mouthed; he has effectively turned the tables on the powers that be.

They have his endorsement.

How can they hate on him and hold him down now?

And at the same time, how can the rest of us agree with what he says on this issue?

Well played, sir.

Checkmate.

Our Readers....

Just wanted to share an email exchange we had with one of our readers.

It was in reference to the recent decision to deny LSU's Ryan Perrilioux the opportunity to continue his education at LSU.

We had successfully previously argued the point that Perrilioux's suspension was arbitrary and unfair. We say 'successfully' argued the point, because not long after our post, RP was reinstated as a student-athlete.

To wit, we received this email:

Sir
"Unspecified" usually means "Not for Public Consumption". So, to be suspended for unspecified reasons is often better for the individual than telling everyone he was suspended for failing a drug test three times, getting arrested twice, being under FBI investigation, and generally being a screw-up. Who cares if he is black, white, or purple? Justice should be colorblind, and when it is, I tire quickly of comments like "a few minor incidents of non-compliance". When does non-compliance become criminal?
I feel that the LSU program has been more than fair with Ryan. Certainly talented - but talent does not necessarily mean privlege, and that is what is implied that he deserves. I disagree. The worst thing that can happen is he doesn't get to play pro football - guess what? - stand inline with the 95% of other college athletes who want to go pro. The university pays all of his costs and asks that he, in return, PLAY football, attend classes, make decent grades and avoid embarrassing the university. I think he managed to go one for four. THAT's why he's gone,not some vast whitey conspiracy to keep the brother down.

Name withheld by NOIS to protect the challenged

Hard to argue. But, we tried in our response to him.

Sir, thank you for your obtuse and overly loquacious response. While we agree that at times it is better to allow the individual some privacy; we feel it is more important to allow the individual to understand exactly what the rules are before worrying about guarding his privacy.

If the rules are unspecified, how can the young man know if he is breaking them or not?

"Justice should be colorblind, and when it is, I tire quickly of comments like "a few minor incidents of non-compliance". When does non-compliance become criminal?"

If the young man has committed a crime, why has he not been convicted? Your ability to quickly tire of calling him non-compliant with the program rules...and opt to call him criminal without going to trial or being convicted tips your hand.

You say justice should be colorblind. Implying it isn't. And we agree. Yet, you pretend here that it has been. Your deranged tirade with references to 'keeping the brother down' intensifies the suspect nature of your commentary.

Clearly, the young man was brought to LSU under the auspices of being the recipient of privileged treatment. Who (athlete or otherwise) goes to a school like LSU with the notion they will receive a reasonable education? Let's be forthright. No one aspires to the educational offerings of a third rate university located in one of the academically poorest performing states in the nation. The idea that an athlete 'owes' LSU some sort of feigned interest in academia is laughable. LSU's national rankings in academics show the university itself isn't even interested in academics. The notion that RP should be held to a standard of not embarrassing the university, when LSU's liberal use of the term 'university' is an embarrassment in and of itself is humorous at best - and horrifically delusional at worst.

We thank you for submitting your thoughts on the matter. And we choose to dismiss them as either racially motivated hysteria or a poor opinion formed out of the insufficient thought process developed at LSU.

Good day.

NOIS

Tim Tebow: The Total Package

We never quite got behind the Tim Tebow Heisman Trophy thing.

We felt that, yes he was a good QB and put up some heady numbers, but that the offense itself is what allowed the big TD numbers. To put it succinctly, any 'good' QB that had his skill set (Chase Daniel, Dennis Dixon, etc) could have matched the production. Put Tebow in another offense, and he was just an above average QB. Feel free to wrongly disagree. It hasn't stopped some of you in the past.

Anyway.

We were wrong.

Tim Tebow, who has had Gator fans worshipping at his altar for over two years now, is the bearer of skills and abilities that are simply unparalleled.

Smart......check.

Athletic....check.

Able to perform surgery without any formal medical training....check.

During Tebow's spring break in March, he traveled to his father's Filipino orphanage for five days. He spent time with orphans, spoke about his faith in schools and market places, and even assisted doctors during medical procedures. Tebow said he removed cysts from patients and performed a few circumcisions.

You read that correctly.

No word on whether Tebow will be available for work should his services be needed at a briss.

But we'll keep you informed.
We must lodge a formal complaint against Mr. Tebow.

While it is admirable that he is standing strong for his personal convictions, he should be more careful with his words.

"No matter where I am, if I'm preaching to Muslims or in a prison, if you're in the will of God, that's safer than driving down the interstate," Tebow said.

We can think of nothing more advisable and reasonable than an Evangelist attempting to witness and convert Muslim.

Other than, perhaps, driving down that interstate Mr. T-bow mentioned blindfolded.

Leonarad Little: Stuggle With The Past

A quick off topic thought:

We work under the presumption that most of you that read our work are sports fans. And fairly well versed sports fans. So, most probably have some recollection of Leonard Little.

Little is a football player. Ten years ago, he made a bad decision that changed lives. He drove drunk, and struck and killed a woman.

This morning we read an article detailing the struggle that Little has gone through. Living with the guilt and repercussions of his poor decision. Coming to terms with and communicating his regret and remorse.

All reasonable and acceptable.

Certainly, many people feel that Little may have gotten off lightly. He served a mere 90 days. Others will feel that the baggage he will continue to carry is a sufficient punishment.

We aren't here to judge either way. Drunk driving is something that most don't take seriously until tragedy strikes. Drunk driving, we believe is something that must be dealt with in the harshest terms.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about what we read, is this:

His mother could see the pain eating away at him. His mother made him go see a psychologist in Knoxville. He saw her four or five days a week. One day in broad daylight as he was driving a little rental Toyota on his way home from the psychologist's office, still unable to shed the guilt, Little stared at the tall trees that lined both sides of the highway.

We don't get it.

Several weeks after the vehicular homicide caused by driving under the influence, Little is behind the wheel of a car?

That is all.