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• Gene Therapy: Then You Don't Love Football

  Jul 4, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by: Gene Clemons

   

   

  While most media members ignored it or tried to paint a narrative that nobody was paying attention, the USFL just completed their first season. That culminated over July 4th weekend when the Birmingham Stallions defeated the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL Championship held in Canton Ohio. Fox Sports president Eric Shanks did not allow any speculation to begin when he announced last week that the USFL will return next season. The ratings have been steady throughout the season. Games averaged over a million viewers on Fox and NBC. Even when you add in the cable network games on USA Network and FS1 the averages were still 715,000. Those numbers were better than the NHL, Premier League and MLS in this country. All three of those entities people will argue with you that there is an appetite for those sports but not for Spring football.

   

  The question is why? Why are so many in the media lying to sports fans; pretending as if there is no appetite for football in the spring? The answer may actually shock you. Too many people who work in football don't love football! 

   

  The idea might be difficult to understand as a sports fan, but the truth is like every other job, writers, broadcasters, and content creators get burned out and they are accustomed to the offseason to provide them with the necessary time to recharge the batteries. Interesting enough, most people who love their jobs don't need months away from it to feel rejuvenated. Usually all I need is a few days off from writing or creating content and I am right back ready to work. So, the idea of Spring football was fantastic for me. When the FCS decided to move their 2020 season to Spring 2021, I seemed to be the only journalist in the country excited about it and who truly believed that could be a permanent decision for them. Everyone else thought it would be a disaster. Nobody really pointed to anything significant except logistics.

   

  I love sports and more specifically I love football. One of the reasons I believe I don't get burned out on the game is because I love the game. I have heard many people including those in the business say things like "I love the NFL" or "I love college football" but I like it all. Youth league, high school, college, flag, women's, and every professional league out there, including foreign leagues, offer something to learn or study about the game. Many journalists don't invest in the intricacies of the game, they invest in storylines that can be regurgitated. But, like anything you have grown to truly love, you are always finding new things to love about it. That is what sustains you when you can't lean on the things that normally fuel your attraction. How can you ever love something you don't truly understand? How can you remain in love with something you only know at a superficial level?

   

  Another thing that shows up when people who cover the sport for a living don't want to invest in new leagues is that the grind to build up the sports fan's sustained attention is real. Football fans have been burned so many times before with leagues that did not last for many reasons but ultimately because the investment was not there for the ownership, sponsors and of course the media. Fans need the investment from the other stakeholders before they will truly invest. That means if media entities and journalists don't regularly produce content on the league, if they don't tweet or post about it, then how will the football fan who doesn't know much about the league find information about it. Most fans have their trusted outlet, journalists or creator that they follow for their sport's information. So, if those people or entities do not spread the word, how can the interest spread.

   

  The social media buzz began to rise over the past few weeks as more people happened upon the games. The response seemed to be pretty universal "These are some fun games." Watching as various football writers or creatives woke up and remembered that football was being played once they were not focused on NFL non-padded OTA and voluntary minicamps was funny. But the built-in attention that NFL content gets makes them want to grab the low hanging fruit. But the chance to expand the game of football is one that should never be overlooked or avoided because it may not get as many clicks, initially. As a football fan more football is never a bad thing, especially if it is fun. Ultimately, that's all you can ask for; right? Entertainment is the purpose, so as long as a league can be entertaining, then football fans will definitely invest in it. 

   

  There's value in being a pioneer. People always remember the "day one's" those that invested before it was fashionable. The fact that so many media coverage outlets didn't even bother to try and cover the USFL is sad. In days long past now, the media was charged with exposing the community at large to new endeavors and once the information was properly disseminated, the people could make an informed decision about whether they wanted to continue to consume it.

   

  I was excited to see the USFL accomplish something the XFL was not able to in its initial return or the AAF in their failed attempt at a league. I was willing to be critical about the areas where the league came up short and I gave them their props on the things they hit out of the park. I was even willing to admit I was wrong about the things I did not believe would work. That's all a part of loving this game and wanting to see it consistently expand and improve. There is more to football than the NFL and major college programs. More athletes deserve to be highlighted and more have earned the right to play the game we love professionally and be paid a good living wage to do so. The debate about the appetite for Spring football is over. A hunger was fulfilled and there will only be more to eat next year. It is time for sport's media to do their part. Start cooking.

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

   

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• Gene Therapy: USFL, Adapt or Die!

  May 10, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  The USFL is weeks into their return to action after 37 years of inactivity. Through the first few weeks the USFL has shown video technology and camera angles not seen on an NFL broadcast. That innovation is nice but it's adding questionable tech to a product that everybody else already enjoys. The real innovations that could separate them from the established game have not really been taken advantage of so far in the young season. Only one three-point conversion has been made this season. Nobody has tried the new onside kick and there are other little gameplay innovations that we have not seen used.

   

  Outside of the players there are so many people who want the USFL to succeed. They know that there is room for football that is not the NFL that football fans will consume. But there is a quote from the movie Moneyball that applies perfectly to the USFL, the XFL and every other league that decides it wants to dip its toe in the water. Billy Beane is talking to his scouting department as they try to put a game plan in place to replace their three most influential players and he knows they can't keep doing things the way they have always done it. He announces their new direction, and all of the scouts think he's crazy. After dropping an expletive in response to Grady Fuson's answer, he bangs his fist on the table and says:

   

  "If we try to play like the Yankees in here, we will lose to the Yankees out there."

   

  If these leagues try to do what the NFL does or even try to garner affiliation with the NFL, their product will without a doubt flounder and fail. In other words, "lose" to the NFL. So the innovation can't simply be in the first down technology, these leagues can't be afraid to embrace playing offense and defense differently. The rules can't be afraid to go completely away from formatting that we have become accustomed to with the NFL and college football. One of the reasons Canadian football has been able to survive is that the game is played differently than the American game. 12 men, forward motion, three downs, and many other smaller modifications allows them to create a lane all their own. So much that success in the NFL does not automatically mean success in Canada.

   

  In the first week of the USFL season, kickers blamed the new ball that was being used for all the missed kicks. The real question was why were there so many kicks attempted? Why were the offenses so conservative? Yes there is a new three-point conversion but why not promote scoring by making field goals more difficult? Reduce the field goal width to the size of an arena league field goal. That may make teams think three times about playing for a field goal. Back up the extra point to 35 yards so that teams understand the added value of the two and three-point conversions. Nobody comes to a football game to watch the four or five field goal performances seen regularly in the NFL. They want to see scoring or they want to see teams die trying. 

   

  The offensive end is where it is easiest to put in stipulations that reward aggressive offenses. Possibly changing the hash marks or even widening the field could encourage more offensive innovation. You can give an offense an extra 10 yards if they get a first down on a first down play. This would encourage offenses to abandon conservative play calling on third down. If the offense decides to punt beyond the 50 yard line or kick a field goal, the team should be penalized 10 yards. This would also encourage more people to go for it on fourth down once they get beyond midfield. Penalizing the conservative forces these coaches to innovate and adapt to a modernized game.

   

  Another innovation that the USFL needs to make is to speed the game up. Traditional play clocks allow for slower play from teams which in turn bores fans who have the attention span of a garden fly. If the play clock was set at 20 seconds, it would force all teams into up-tempo play which means that teams have a better chance of making mistakes that lead to more scoring. A faster game also keeps the fan engaged because things are moving quickly. Football is a game of mistakes and the team who makes the least mistakes usually wins the game. Force the teams into a situation where mistakes are critical. Don’t pause the game to allow defenses to substitute when offenses substitute. The pace of the game would ultimately result in the clock running consistently and a faster overall game time.

   

  Fans love scoring! The Arena League was one of the most popular professional football entities because they were a fast-paced league built on scoring. The USFL would be wise to bottle some of that excitement as they transition from Birmingham where all of the teams are currently playing, to their actual cities in year two of the league. That is when they can really make the league more personal like the AFL was able to do for years. The USFL has been consistently pulling ratings that rival or beat other professional leagues and with that it has proven it is a viable business. To grow in the right direction it will take foresight. The Arena League was able to tap into the community by offering an affordable experience for the family to come and attend. Many minor league baseball teams use similar models to draw in fans. The fan experience needs to be personal, much more personal than they get from the NFL and even big time college football. 

   

  The ability to innovate is there for the USFL, not just in technology used to broadcast the game, but on social media, in their game play and in their fan interaction. They need to adapt, to be open to constantly evolving as they explore various avenues. That willingness makes them unique and can make this league unique if they really want to be around forever.

   

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

   

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• Gene Therapy: What Should A Coach Do?

  Apr 15, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  When I first read the headline that the head volleyball coach at Grambling dismissed the entire volleyball team, I thought it was a joke or that there was something more to the story that I was missing. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the new coach did in fact cut every young lady off her team. My first reaction was, "Damn! That’s cold-blooded!” The other people I talk to regularly all felt that this coach was wrong for what she was doing. I began to feel a weird duality at the time. As a player and a human being, I felt like this was the wrong thing to do but as a coach, I could understand the move. Ultimately, I don’t believe that I would have the ability to do that to players, but I can’t pretend that I don’t understand. So in an effort to explore this from the other side I wanted to explain why this may not be the last time you see a drastic move like this made.

   

  I know how coaches who take over bad jobs get treated when they don’t win. They are treated as if they are failures, like it is their fault the team has not won. If it is their first opportunity as a head coach, they may never get another job. Every time they interview for a job, they must explain why they were not successful in their first stint. Most of the time we all know the real reason but we just don’t want to admit it. The players were not good enough and the coach was not given enough time to recruit better, implement or change a culture, and get the team going in a winning direction. But if a coach goes into an interview and blames a lack of talent, then it is received as if he is shifting the blame off himself. So coaches are almost forced to admit to shortcomings that they don’t really believe they possess in order to show that they have grown from their first opportunity. 

   

  Meanwhile the players rarely receive the scrutiny associated with losing. There is usually some accountability piece they are missing. So many players get to college and feel like the job is over. They have reached their goal and now is the time to reap the rewards of their hard work throughout the prep ranks. So they go to college and never improve beyond what they were in high school. Some believe they are being disrespected when they are not playing and they transfer but others don’t really care about playing as long as they are getting that scholarship money. That has a negative effect on the players who do play. They don’t feel the pressure coming from the players behind them and therefore don’t rise to the level they need to be in order to elevate the team. Rinse, wash, repeat and you end up in a situation that a lot of the non-revenue generating sports find themselves in, especially at HBCU’s. 

   

  Chelsey Lucas seems to know HBCU women’s volleyball very well. Before being named the head coach at Grambling, she was the head coach at Arkansas Pine Bluff for three seasons and before that she spent three seasons at Alcorn State. At both stops her overall record was under .500 and she had to make due with small victories. She improved both of the programs she took over and now she gets a chance to return to her Alma Mater which makes this story take an ever more interesting turn. Who knows the culture of Grambling volleyball better than a woman who had personal success representing the university on the court. She was a first team All-SWAC performer and defensive player of the year in 2006 for the Tigers. I am sure she could attest to the skill level and accountability inside the locker room. As someone from the outside looking in, if a coach felt this was what she needed to do in order for the team to have success, her experience would say that if anyone had an understanding of what to do it would be her. 

   

  Let’s not pretend as if this has not been done in some capacity before. Over the years coaches have found creative ways to separate players from a program. They have done everything from lowering scholarships to the bare minimum, to creating expectations that are impossible to meet. Every time you see a player enter the transfer portal you can't possibly believe it is because they want to, sometimes they feel they have no other choice. The writings on the wall. When Taulia Tagovailoa watched his brother Tua rise to superstar status at Alabama so he naturally thought he would follow in his big brother's footsteps. He quickly learned that it would not be the case and he transferred to Maryland. That may have been the best thing for him. It humbled him and probably made him work even harder to prove the people at Bama wrong or to live up to his own expectations. What Lucas did was cut out the histrionics that come with these moves or at least she thought she did. 

   

  Looking at this from a coach's perspective I bet she felt she was doing the best thing for the school, for those players, and definitely for herself. For the school, it's an opportunity to build a winning culture and a team that alumni and donors want to invest in. For the players it is a chance to possibly find a school better built for their skills or maybe it is the motivation necessary to raise their abilities and expectations. For her, it is a chance to create a legacy at the place she called home. An opportunity to help thousands of young ladies reach their full potential as players and as women why winning at a high level.

   

  The one thing that we are not sure of but would absolutely be a necessity in this case is what is she doing to help those displaced young ladies find another home. We don't know how much scholarship money these ladies were on. We know it is volleyball and it is at an HBCU so it would not be irresponsible to say they probably don't have the same amounts of equivalencies as Penn State. Currently there is push back and outrage over the coach's decision and campaigns are in place to try and reinstate the players but ultimately who does that truly serve. If it is about playing the game the relationship is probably forever fractured.  The only hope is that Lucas is helping those players find other homes to finish their careers and more importantly their degrees because that is still the main goal.

   

  I'm sure all of the discourse and media attention surrounding this decision doesn't make the job easier. The old saying, "You have to crack some eggs to make an omelet" never tells you what happens when the shells get in the food. However, this episode plays out, if it doesn't end with winning Lucas will undoubtedly pay a steep price. If they win, it will cover up the stench of this decision and the fallout from it. She could go on to have a fruitful career and so many more women than she hurt with this decision but that is a big if. The team is 81-207 since 2011. That is a lot to turn around and as of now, the clock is ticking. I wish those young ladies nothing but the best, and I hope Lucas wins.

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

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• If You Thought Zion WIlliamson Wasn't Fit Already...

  Jul 29, 2022 SportZ 0 Comments

  

  Report: Zion Williamson's $193 million contract requires him to stay below 295 pounds (link)

   

  After many rumors regarding the situation behind Zion Williamson, the New Orleans Pelicans, and his willingness to stay, they finally agreed to a contract not too long ago. There is little doubt that Zion wants to stay, and the Pelicans want him around for a while, but only on one big condition.

  The Pelicans star signed a five-year, $193 million max contract earlier this month that could be worth as much as $231 million. According to The Times-Picayune, the contract stipulates that Williamson must weigh in at below 295 pounds periodically throughout the deal. His body fat percentage will also be monitored. Should Williamson tip the scales too much, the amount of guaranteed money in his contract can be reduced.

  It is certainly understandable from the Pelicans' point of view. The 22-year-old's weight and conditioning have been major issues, with some concerns dating back to college. One recent example was when he reported to training camp last September at "well above" 300 pounds. Even at his listed 284 pounds, Williamson is among the five heaviest players in the NBA, and the rest of his cohorts in that group are all 6-foot-10 or taller. Williamson is 6-foot-6.

  Williamson's body shape hasn't prevented him from being one of the most explosive players in the NBA when healthy, but that has been the rub. Williamson has frequently sustained lower body injuries since entering the NBA, missing 44 games as a rookie after tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee and missing all of last season with a broken metatarsal in his right foot.

  Despite his talent, in three years, Williamson has played a total of 85 games.

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• Gene Therapy: Addressing Racial Discrimination in the NFL | If Not Now, Then When?

  Feb 5, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

   

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  The Brian Flores lawsuit brings to light all of the issues that many people have pointed out that exist in the NFL regarding their questionable hiring practices. There is only one black head coach in the NFL and despite multiple head coach openings, the Rooney Rule and public scrutiny waiting, there has not been one black head coach hired so far during this cycle. That's where Flores comes in. He believes, and seems to have proof, that the Miami Dolphins fired him because he refused to lose on purpose and that the New York Giants interviewed him for their head coaching job knowing they had already made a decision to hire a white coach. Since its inception claims have been made that the Rooney Rule is nothing more than a front so that arrogant, white owners can save face when asked about diversity in their hiring practices while continuing to employ the people they really want to hire but for as much conjecture as there has been out there, there's never really been any legitimate proof.

   

    The fact that the NFL, before doing any investigation to see if any of these allegations were true, would come out and make a statement saying that the allegations were meritless only proves that regardless of whether they believe they've done something wrong or not, there is zero chance that the NFL would take action against their own teams when it comes to diversity hiring impropriety. After all the NFL is not afraid to swing their hammer. They spent months investigating whether or not a football was underinflated during a game. They then levied punishment against an organization that included a heavy fine and a loss of draft picks. This Flores case should not have even been a difficult press release to write. Something like this would have worked while they actually took time to investigate:

   

  "We were informed of the lawsuit by Coach Flores and disappointed that one of our more respected coaches felt as if he was treated improperly. We care about our diversity initiatives and take any allegations that our Rooney Rule has been violated or that the integrity of our game has been compromised seriously. We will investigate the allegations and when we have a better understanding of the facts, address it in further detail."

   

  Instead, they Dismissed Flores and immediately, several media members took to their platforms to discredit Flores' claims. The regular smear campaign was on. People saying that they had first-hand knowledge that his claims were false while producing no evidence and hiding behind anonymous sources. People like Tiki Barber came to the defense of the Giants based on his love of the organization and the fact that they had a black GM. It is the same claim that so many Giants fans made while arguing against Flores.

   

  "He's just mad because the Giants didn't hire him." and "This isn't going to help him get another head coaching job." are common responses you can find about this situation. The truth is these people are somewhat right but like what happens with issues of race and equality, they completely miss the point and only focus on the low hanging fruit. Yes, he's mad but not because the Giants didn't hire him. He's upset because they used him to make a mockery out of a rule meant to give coaches like him legitimate opportunities to ascend to head coaching positions. And yes, this isn't going to help his cause for getting another head coaching job.

   

  But those who question him should ask themselves 'why?'

   

  Why would a man who spent 15 years working his way up from a scouting assistant to get his opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL want to ruin the lifestyle he has crafted as a professional football coach?

   

  Why would a coach who cut his teeth in an organization committed to winning want to purposely lose?

   

  Why would a man of color who understands how difficult it is for coaches like him to elevate to a head coach position, try to sabotage his opportunity to do so in the future?

   

  Why would a coach who has never sought the spotlight at any time in his almost 20-year NFL career, all of a sudden decide he wants to throw himself into a situation that is sure to garner all of the attention he's actively avoided? 

   

  Why would a man who has been applauded as a man of integrity just fabricate these stories out of thin air?

   

  The answers are simple, and they all come back to one undeniable point; there is definitely merit! Eventually one of these minority coaches were going to get tired of being quiet for fear of losing their livelihood and blow the top off of a problem that has been around for as long as black men have been allowed to coach professional football. You can't continue to discredit people and expect that all of them are going to just shut up and be content with their fate in this profession.

   

  While the sports world was digesting this news, the Vikings and Jaguars both hired new head coaches, and neither were minorities. So even during a time where the diversity hiring practices of NFL teams were being publicly debated, NFL teams continued to keep things status quo with their hirings. This says there is no change coming regardless of this case. So, what is there to do to get change?

   

  Unfortunately, the responsibility comes back on the players. They have another opportunity to show that this is about more than just money and that if they are united, they have the power to create change in their profession. The NFL is made up of 70% minorities. That means if that 70% disappears, there is no NFL. The question becomes do they really care. Do they feel as if they should be coached by men that look like them? If so, the answer is simple. Don't play until there are legitimate changes made and not sometime in the future, but right now! Demand that people of color be hired until 50% of the head coaches in the league are represented by people of color. There are more than enough qualified black men to do the job correctly. If they don't really care, then it's time to get rid of the Rooney Rule and refer to the NFL in the proper context, one that doesn't include them as a leader in the efforts to increase diversity or support the causes of equal rights and opportunities.

   

  The time for talk seems to be over, actions are the only thing that's going to get this done. If this climate of empowerment and inclusion is not the time, when is it? If this is not the cause to get behind, what would be? If this isn't more important than money, nothing will be. If the players are as tired as their people are, what would keep them from acting? 

   

  If not now, then when?

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

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