By Wayne Dominowski, SBA Guest Commentary
(SB) - I watched national sports news Thursday (Aug. 21) and saw Chicago Bears 2nd team quarterback Tyson Badgent – a 3rd year pro, free agent, from unknown Shepherd University – express, in tears, his thankfulness for the NFL team’s two-year contract of $10-million. He was thankful and grateful, he said, because he could now fully help his father who grew up never knowing what home running water was.
Whereas we hear of pro players making $60/$200 million and crying that they are underpaid, or holding out for more money, here you have Tyson Badgent from the hills of West Virginia. His attitude is time warp. Standing at the podium for an impromptu meeting with the press, he was humble, modest, unassuming, quiet, reserved, unpretentious, and a real American. Let me restate that: A real All-American.
Did I love what I saw and heard. You bet I did. This was the America I knew in my youth. There were a lot of Badgents back then.
Giving credit where credit is due, there are three other outstanding athletes – all from the Great State of Iowa -- I wish to cite: Brock Purdy from Iowa State U., Cooper DeJean from Iowa U., and Caitlyn Clark, also from Iowa U.
Purdy, if you remember, was last in the draft, selected by the SF -- the final pick in the 2022 NFL, becoming that year's Mr. Irrelevant. He became the 49ers starting quarterback.
DeJean, from Ida Grove in NW Iowa, was not only a standout D-back for the Hawkeyes, but also the best corner-back on the 2025 championship Philadelphia Eagles.
And… Clark, not only rewrote the record books on the woman’s basketball team one year after another for the Iowa Hawkeyes, she changed the complexion of the game for college and high school girls’ athletics nationwide. She’s doing the same in professional sports as a member of the Indiana Fever. Clark, from West Des Moines, graduated from DM Dowling HS.
There are other Iowans who have moved on from the college ranks to the NFL and made the rosters without squandering their moral and ethical character. The current count is 29. (I didn’t look up South and North Dakota and Nebraska players playing pro football.)
At any rate, don’t expect to hear TV or radio sports announcers, or sports writers, touting any bright or joyful news from our sides of the track. They’re too busy telling us about each and every player in college ball who transferred via the Transfer Portal to make money.
Remember when college players were selected by way of athletic scholarships and stayed with a team all four years? That’s gone. Now it’s a veritable Who’s Who on any given team and to hell with the kids who were originally selected by way of scholarship.
Money, money, money. Anyone go to college to earn an education leading to a degree? You tell me.
Or, I recall the blatant drubbing the news and sports media put Tim Tebow. The son of Baptist missionaries, Tim – one of five siblings – was home-schooled, led Nease HS to a state title, earned All-State honors, was named Florida’s Mr. Football, named a Parade magazine All-American, and was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was recruited by the University of Florida, where he broke records and earned the Heisman Trophy. He earned national recognition in a huge list of sports categories.
He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the NFL, and from that point onwards, he was accosted by a relentless, malevolent media that continued to belittle his religious beliefs and actions. He wore Bible verses on his eye black, and he knelt in prayer on the sideline or in the endzone (the media called it “Tebowing”). Tebow played for the Broncos, later for the NY Jets, and NE Patriots. Throughout his pro career and despite his successes, the media worked overtime to cast him as mediocre. Today, he heads the Tim Tebow Foundation, is an author, speaker, is married, has a family, and remains a devout Christian.
At the same time, there was Johnny Manziel. Manziel joined the Texas A&M Aggies in 2012 and instantly became a star at the collegiate level. Nicknamed “Johnny Football,” he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy after totaling 47 touchdowns. He also became the first freshman (and just the fifth NCAA player ever) to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards.
He was anointed a dual-threat QB with a captivating, devil-may-care play style, Johnny Football was beloved. Thanks to a sports and news media who fell in love with him despite or in spite of knowing of his reckless abandon off the field.
Alex Kennedy wrote: “There were warning signs coming out of Texas A&M. As a redshirt freshman, Manziel was arrested for disorderly conduct and giving false identification. During the 2013 season, Manziel’s eligibility was up in the air after he reportedly signed autographs for money. Texas A&M agreed to suspend Manziel for the first half of their season opener.
Manziel was known for his partying, but during the lead-up to the 2014 NFL Draft, he said the right things and acted like those days were in the past.
Manziel only needed one team to believe him, and the Cleveland Browns were that team. They drafted him with the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft in hopes that he’d become their franchise quarterback. The Browns were captivated by Manziel’s talents and seemed convinced they could work out the kinks”
Wrong! The whole persona came crashing down. Manziel was dismissed from the Browns and withdrew into obscurity. Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road.
Our Country’s history of sports has given us a comparatively long list of legendary athletes. In baseball: Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Ernie Banks, Bob Feller, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Mazeroski, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Satchel Paige, and Carl Yastrzemski, to name but a few of many great baseball players. In football: Chuck Bednarik, Jerome Bettis, Dick Butkus, Mel Blount, Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Len Dawson, Dan Dierdorf, Bobby Layne, John Elway, Frank Gifford, Otto Graham, Joe Greene, Lou Groza, and Ray Guy, again, a few of many.
Basketball: Michael Jordan, Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bradley, John Havlicek, Julius Erving, Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, and Kobe Bryant are just a very few on a very long list of outstanding basketball players.
There’s motor racing, tennis, hockey, track and field, swimming and diving, jockeys, volleyball, golf, mixed martial arts, boxing, soccer, lacrosse… and the list goes on.
As Americans, we have a lot to be proud of in our sports history.
We’re living in a different world today. It is incumbent upon each of us to discern and to not accept anything face value. What I am saying is there other Badgents, Purdys, DeJeans, and Clarks. You have to look for them. They’re out there. Don’t fall for media hype. Look, listen and watch. Think critically. Question what you see, hear, and watch. Question yourself. Do this and you won’t be in for unpleasant surprises. We’re told It’s all in the game. Ask, Is it?
