Larry Fitzgerald's dad

[Stitch]

I had one guy whose son was one of the state's best amateur golfers. Couldn't cover him.
Had another whose son played collegiate football in the state. Couldn't cover him.
It isn't that hard.
That said, doesn't sound like Mr. Fitzgerald's paper is a traditional paper.

Don't know what you mean by traditional. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with him covering the Super Bowl, PROVIDED that he stayed away from writing a piece or anything involving his son. I would like to think that he can be professional enough to handle such an assignment.

He's wearing his son's jersey on press row. Do you really?

If he's wearing his son's jersey at press row covering an NFL game, I have a problem with it. If he's wearing his son't jersey at press row covering an NBA or college game, while I would ask him not to do so, don't see where that is a major problem. I know sports writers don't make a lot of money but I'm sure he can find something in his wardrobe to wear besides a football jersey while representing the newspaper.

From Reilly's article:

"I'll be at his interview table, trying to get my questions in, just like everybody else."

 

[Drip]

I had one guy whose son was one of the state's best amateur golfers. Couldn't cover him.
Had another whose son played collegiate football in the state. Couldn't cover him.
It isn't that hard.
That said, doesn't sound like Mr. Fitzgerald's paper is a traditional paper.

Don't know what you mean by traditional. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with him covering the Super Bowl, PROVIDED that he stayed away from writing a piece or anything involving his son. I would like to think that he can be professional enough to handle such an assignment.

He's wearing his son's jersey on press row. Do you really?

If he's wearing his son's jersey at press row covering an NFL game, I have a problem with it. If he's wearing his son't jersey at press row covering an NBA or college game, while I would ask him not to do so, don't see where that is a major problem. I know sports writers don't make a lot of money but I'm sure he can find something in his wardrobe to wear besides a football jersey while representing the newspaper.

From Reilly's article:

"I'll be at his interview table, trying to get my questions in, just like everybody else."

That's not right. However, I can see him doing a story on his son from the standpoint of it being a first-person intereview type of thing, what's its like to cover your son and his team in the Super Bowl. Outside of that......

 

[mateen]

Larry Sr. and board favorite Sid Hartman have a history. (Cheryl Johnson, now known as CJ, is the Strib gossip columnist whose continued employment defies reason).


Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, MN)
October 2, 1997


Unsportsmanlike conduct called in Gopher media box
Sid and Spokesman sports columnist face off in heated dispute that results in police presence


Cheryl Johnson; Staff Writer

Sid Hartman vs. Larry Fitzgerald was the surprise under card at Saturday's Gopher football loss. The sports guys, easily the local media's two most unabashed homers, went a round in the Dome media box when Sid took umbrage at a recent "Fitz Beat" column in the Minneapolis Spokesman. The column speculated that Sid pulled strings to have KFAN's Chad Hartman (Kid Sid he might be called in the boxing world) replace Gus Johnson as the Timberwolves' MSC play-by-play guy. Fitz ended with: "It is not the first time a Black man's career has been interrupted or derailed because of the power of Sid Hartman." The usually mild-mannered Fitz took off the gloves in this column, referring to Sid as a "media fossil." An animated Sid reportedly hurled ugly names at Fitz. After one name in particular, Fitz said, "I came out of my calm mode and went after him," tossing the contents of his cup of ice water at Sid. Sid said Fitz pushed him. Police were called. "I didn't put my hands on him," said Fitz. "I thought the U of M's media relations department basically sat on their hands and let Sid do whatever he wanted to do with me; and then when I retaliated, that's when they called the police." Fitz called the imbroglio "regrettable" and said he's apologizing to Sid publicly in this week's column and in person. For his part, Sid wants his record on race relations cleared: "Being Jewish, being a minority . . . getting anti-Semitic mail and phone calls all the time, I'd be the last guy to have any feeling of any racism whatsoever because I go through this thing myself. I give money to the Negro fund every year. Some of my best friends are black." To no avail, I advised Sid to drop that last line. Insiders say Sid's thing is not racism, but nepotism. "Nothing but a lie," said Sid. "My son would not allow me to do one single thing to help him. He wants to do it on his own. If he hears rumors of it, he goes out of his mind. We've had situations where he has heard that and won't talk to me for six weeks."

 

[Zombie Vonnegut]

Or:

http://www.slate.com/id/2209770

Uff-da.

 

[Stitch]

Sid pulled "some of my friends are black". Classic.

Of course Fitz's apology goes something like this, "I'm sorry that Sid is a douchebag."

 

[Drip]

I finally read the Reilly story. It was a nice touch but if the Cardinals win, it will be interesting to see if Larry Sr. can hold it together after celebrating with his son.
I applaud him for attempting to keep the two worlds separate, but that's going to be really hard to do if the Cardinals win.

 

[JayFarrar]

I don't really care.
Seems like a little bit of navel gazing is going on.
The Slate guy gets all worked up about 23 articles since 2003, but if you figure four sports a week that would be more than 1,000 stories and only 23 are on the guy's son? But even if the paper only ran one sports story a week, that's still roughly 250 stories that ran and less than 10 percent were on Fitzgerald Jr.
That isn't much to get worked up about.
Plus, nothing the father has written has been wrong.

 

[exmediahack]

I see some levels of fault on both sides.

First, for the Reillys and the Wilbons for treating Larry Fitzgerald Sr. like he's one of the Strib/Pioneer Press columnists (or even Rosen or Shaver for that matter, in terms of longevity and relevance in the market).

That 1997 column was fairly telling -- on both sides. Gus Johnson -- who is probably the most entertaining basketball pbp guy out there -- taken out of the Wolves job by Kid Sid. I've seen Fitz and Sid in the Metrodome press box aisles a few times. Most just roll their eyes at Sid.

Yet, overall, does it really matter about Larry Fitzgerald Sr.? He writes for a niche weekly. It's not like we're talking about the child of Mike Lupica/Bryan Burwell/John Feinstein here.

 

[Walter_Sobchak]

I don't really care.
Seems like a little bit of navel gazing is going on.
The Slate guy gets all worked up about 23 articles since 2003, but if you figure four sports a week that would be more than 1,000 stories and only 23 are on the guy's son? But even if the paper only ran one sports story a week, that's still roughly 250 stories that ran and less than 10 percent were on Fitzgerald Jr.
That isn't much to get worked up about.
Plus, nothing the father has written has been wrong.

Respectfully disagree. You don't think 10 percent of a section's content over 4 years about a guy who doesn't play in the market, written by the guy's father, isn't patently ridiculous?
I didn't see it as Levin getting worked up. And I would expect Fitz Sr. to be on cloud nine for the next month. I'm just a bit surprised about how he's being portrayed by his quasi-colleagues.

 

[txsportsscribe]

It's not like we're talking about the child of Mike Lupica/Bryan Burwell/John Feinstein here.

that would be one messed up child

 

[Big Circus]

It's not like we're talking about the child of Mike Lupica/Bryan Burwell/John Feinstein here.

that would be one messed up child

Ay yo
I wanna dedicate this song right here to Oren Ishii
Half Chinese, half Japanisie, half American, and yo
Oh what a species

 

[JayFarrar]

Lots of papers run articles about hometown guys who made good.
I'd think Fitzgerald Jr., would fall into that category without much argument.
Just seems to me that people are looking for an easy story to write and having a sportswriter's son playing in Super Bowl, a game that the father is going to cover, makes for an easy story.
More lazy than shameful.
Than the ever-predictable, navel gazing as to why it is wrong for a father to report on his son.