Only a select few get the opportunity to do so in front of a national television audience. On Monday, ESPN’s Chris Berman attempted to address this issue, but stumbled over himself trying to balance play-by-play as well.
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Prior to the Ravens-Steelers game on Thursday night, CBS sportscaster James Brown gave a remarkably sound and stirring speech, issuing a challenge to men to stand up and take responsibility.
It was a brilliant piece of prose and was delivered with passion and meaning.
Something like this needed to be said, and there are few people, if any, who could have said it better than James Brown.
“And it starts with how we view women. Our language is important. For instance, when a guy says, ‘You throw the ball like a girl’ or ‘You’re a little sissy,’ it reflects an attitude that devalues women and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion. Women have been at the forefront in the domestic violence awareness and prevention arena. And whether Janay Rice considers herself a victim or not, millions of women in this country are.
“Consider this: According to domestic violence experts, more than three women per day lose their lives at the hands of their partners. That means that since the night of February 15th in Atlantic City, more than 600 women have died.
“So this is yet another call to men to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds, and to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly.”
