Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Thursday, July 12, 2018

Comment and Response to the Jim Jordan Wrestlegate Post


Received the following comment on my Jim Jordan post of 7/10/18:

Don't like Jordan either, but your story is too one-sided. Of course, I understand that's your MO. While this likely won't end well for Ohio State, you have failed to even acknowledge that at least 15 wrestlers and several coaches say Jordan is clean in this whole mess. Nor do you address why Jordan is the target when so many athletes from other teams have leveled complaints. What about their coaches and the administrators. Why is Jordan taking all the suspicion and not others who may have been aware? I hope Jordan doesn't get a sniff at the House Speaker position, but his involvement in this case isn't clear yet. You needn't present as if it is.
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I commend Mr. or Ms. Anonymous for not liking Jordan and not wanting him to become Speaker of the House, but my "M.O." and I will quibble with rest.

"Too one-sided"?  Not every issue is a 50/50 proposition.  Sometimes the sides are not equivalent, not equally credible.

I "fail to acknowledge" that other wrestlers and coaches say "Jordan is clean"?  There's too much evidence which says otherwise, and I simply don't believe those people.  So what if I didn't mention them?  They're in standard denial mode, predictably circling the wagons to protect themselves.  (See Penn State and Michigan State for examples of the same thing.)

"Why is Jordan the target?"  Why is he "taking all the suspicion"?  Bearing in mind that the real target, Dr. Strauss, has been dead for over a decade, Jordan is in the hot seat because of who he is and how he conducts himself.  He's an ambitious, high-profile politician who's a combative, sanctimonious, family-values right-winger.  His involvement in this scandal stands in stark contrast to his carefully crafted conservative Christian political persona.  Of course that will draw attention.  That's politics, and all's fair.

No, he's not "taking all the suspicion."  No one has suggested Jordan is the only one to blame.  Far from it.  Clearly, many others were also aware, including those who bore more direct responsibility than did Jordan. But they're not so well known and they've been mum.  Jordan is on the national stage and he's been his usual outspoken, confrontational self, immediately hiring a PR firm and going on national TV to attack and belittle his accusers.  He could have chosen a different approach to this problem.

"His involvement in this case isn't clear yet"?  I see it differently.  Clearly, a lot of people knew about the problems with Dr. Strauss.  (How could they not?)  Clearly, Jordan knew.  And clearly he did nothing about it, even when asked to do so.

I hope he regrets his inaction.  A quick and forthright acknowledgment and a contrite apology would have served him better than his snarling pit bull routine.

1 comment:

  1. Appreciate your prompt retort Buster, but you're stretching this one. You could've been even 60/40 & Mr/Mrs Anomynous wouldnt have commented.
    You believe accusers who are a convicted felon & a jilted OSU merchandiser with axes to grind? That's not equally credible compared to the many more people who have vouched for Jordan.
    We agree not to like Jordan's politics. He stands on his bully pulpit & spews troubling shit, but too many others should be the ones in focus. At least 13 sport's athletes besides wrestling have claimed Strauss 'played' with them. Have you heard of other coaches or administrators being identified? No you havent, only Jordan. You admit the attack is simply politically motivated. He's the big target on the carnival balloon dart board simply because he is a national figure. That's not right. If there's fish to be fried he's might be the tastiest, but likely there're others who are bigger, more involved, in any net of non-reporting. Just because he's on a national political stage shouldn't condemn him as you've done.
    Come on Strauss, your identified target, has been dead 12 or 13 years. What're they going to do to him, send his ashes to prison? These guys, mentioned above, want money from OSU, and Jordan shouldn't be the scapegoat for this neferious character.
    I 'think'(because I don't know & neither do you) that Jordan didn't know abuse definately occured.
    You've overly politically bashed on this one. Jordan offers lots of stuff to pick on. Pick on something more reliable, at least until the dust settles. Then, IF he's culpable, you can roast him on a BBQ spit as he would deserve.

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