The Yang Slinger: Vol. XLIII

A conservative columnist's long-ago Jewish jokes. A Bills quarterback's young racism. An All-Star reliever's vile teenage drivel. Can we, as journalists, use old social media posts to judge adults?

Because I am old, and old people are supposed to have the answers to everything, there is a solid chance this week’s Substack will ultimately disappoint you.

Because, quite frankly, I don’t know the answer to the question I’m asking.

But sometimes, it’s OK to throw something out there and accompany it with uncertainty. Sometimes it’s kosher to shrug and hem and haw. So, with that in mind, here’s the question …

Should past youthful social media posts come into play when we—as journalists—are writing about people?

And I’m not referring to any ol’ social media posts. Like, say, a high school quarterback Tweeting about his favorite ice cream. Or a college gymnast doing Tik Tok splits to a Drake song.

No.

I mean stuff like this, from now-Padres reliever Josh Hader …

And this, from now-Bills quarterback Josh Allen ..

And this, from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins …

And, last (but not least), these gems from Amber Athey, Washington editor for The Spectator and author of the book, “The Snowflakes' Revolt: How Woke Millennials Hijacked American Media" …

And, if I’m being 100-percent honest, my initial goal here was to sorta kinda maybe perhaps possibly use this space to focus upon Athey, a woman I’d never heard of (that’s not an insult, to be clear. She certainly never heard of me, either) until someone on Twitter made me aware of her past anti-Semitic spewage.

I am, after all, a Jew. Not merely a Jew, but the great-grandson of a woman—Johanna Baer—who was murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. I also happen to be someone who, throughout boyhood, had his fair share of shit thrown his way. As one of Mahopac, N.Y.’s few Jewish kids in the early-to-mid 1980s, there were tossed pennies, there were requests to see my horns, there were “Jew ya down” and “Cheap Jew” references and remarks. In eighth grade, my social studies teacher actually cracked jokes to the class about folks burning in ovens. I sat there, knowing he was referring to my people, seething.

Hence, when I saw Athey’s Tweets I thought, “This woman cannot have a job in media.” Then, when I started to research her writing and career, I felt even more emboldened. Athey is one of America’s far-too-many partisan hard-right “journalists” who seem to live and die with bashing liberals (hence, the title of her book), seizing on inane wedge issues like trans high school athletes and gendered language, appearing on Newsmax, passing judgment on insignificant nonsense for the sake of making her readers mad! MAd! MAD! Worst of all, there’s seemingly nothing surprising about the positions she takes. Heaven forbid Athey dig into Donald Trump being accused of sexual misconduct by at least 25 women. Or really look at the way Ron DeSantis’ staff deals with the non-conservative press. Or acknowledge that her party’s 2024 presidential frontrunner (cough … cough) … STILL REFUSES TO ADMIT HE LOST THE LAST ELECTION, AND INSPIRED A VIOLENT ATTACK ON THE MOTHER-FUCKING U.S. CAPITOL.¹²

Wait.

Wait.

Deep breaths.

I digress.

The point is, I spent a bunch of hours combing through Athey’s Twitter feed and reading much of her work and thinking about her Jewish-hating Tweets and …

and …

and …

and …

I found myself feeling bad for her.

When I was a senior in high school, I signed the yearbook of a classmate by noting that she had a large ass.

I’d actually forgotten about that until a few days ago, when I was speaking to someone about this Substack entry. She reminded me—in no uncertain terms—that as a Mahopac High senior in 1990, I used permanent blue or black ink to ridicule a girl’s rear end proportions in her own yearbook.

I thought about that for hours last night. Couldn’t sleep. The pain that must have caused her. The raw-level meanness. The cruelty, almost for sport. How could I have been such an asshole at 18? What kind of monster was I?

And it got me to thinking about youth and stupidity and a generation of people—like Athey, who’s 28—growing up with social media at their disposals. It also led me to a column Athey penned for The Spectator back on Jan. 26, 2020, written not long after she appeared on television to discuss comments made by Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib that she considered to be anti-Semitic. In the piece, headlined, THE LEFT’S REAL CAUSE IS MUZZLING ITS OPPONENTS³, Athey wrote this …

And while I do believe it’s a bit warped to slam Omar and Tlaib⁴ and simultaneously own that sort of Twitter history⁵, I also think we, as an industry, need to not only consider the age of someone’s Tweets, but the circumstances and deeper meanings. "We all change as we grow up for better or for worse and to be held accountable for something you said 5-to-10 years ago seems silly and just looking for dirt," said Leah Vann, the LSU beat writer for the Advocate. “You’re creating the narrative or the story at that point, which is not our job. If it’s a tweet from a few months ago and it consistently reflects a pattern of behavior, then yes that person should be held accountable.”

Athey was 17 when she Tweeted the Jewish jokes. Seventeen. At 17, I’d never kissed a girl, never traveled outside the country, lived and died with my baseball card collection and just hoped someone would accept my prom invitation.⁶ At 17 I was signing a girl's yearbook and ridiculing her butt. Like Athey (I'm guessing—she respectfully turned down my request to chat), I didn't know shit from shit, and had Twitter been around in 1990, that "fat ass" notation strictly earmarked for one girl's yearbook may well have gone viral.

Though I’m focused on this issue because of Athey and my own recency bias, the whole social media-young stupidity thing is hardly a new topic. Back in 2018, right before the NFL Draft, a bunch of old, racist Tweets via Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen were discovered by members of the sports media. The backlash was intense, and resulted in Allen appearing with Stephen A. Smith to apologize.

As everyone knows, Allen wound up being selected by Buffalo with the seventh overall pick, and has enjoyed a stellar, uncontroversial run in upstate New York. When I asked Josh Barnett, the executive sports editor of the Buffalo News, whether he believed old Tweets were legit items to pursue, the veteran newspaper man didn’t flinch. “I would say it’s fair game and then it becomes a matter of how the information is used, like any other information acquired in reporting,” Barnett said. “When profiling an athlete or explaining who they are or covering them generally, you don’t get to only write about the good stuff. Yes, they were young and likely naïve or dumb, but how their views evolved and their maturation is also part of their story.”

Barnett noted that, as an NFL player, a job requirement is to mesh and work alongside and cohabitate with men from myriad backgrounds. While the Buffalo News did not break the Allen-Tweets bombshell, its reporters felt compelled to pursue it—with sound reasoning. “The view of [his] teammates when this information was unearthed was an element of the story,” Barnett said.

Three months after the NFL Draft, Milwaukee’s Josh Hader was pitching in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game when—for reasons we’ve never fully understood—a bunch of Internet folk began unearthing some of the relief pitcher’s past-life Tweets.

They, too, were written when Hader was 17, and the 2018 reaction was, eh, not good. Literally as the game was being played, members of both teams were scanning their phones in the dugouts, reacting (with horrified expressions) to what they were seeing. The following day, media members surrounded Hader to inquire about the fucked-up thoughts. “There’s no excuse for what was said,” Hader said. “I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve said, and it doesn’t reflect any of my beliefs going on now. I was young, immature and stupid, and there’s no excuses for what was said or what happened.

“We’re still learning who we are in high school. You live and you learn. This mistake won’t happen again.”

And here’s the thing.

The crazy thing.

I know how I aspire to feel (100-percent forgiving), but I dunno how I really feel. Like, I’m not mad at Amber Athey for something she wrote at 17. I certainly do not believe those Tweets should negatively impact her career, or be used as ammo every time someone disagrees with her. Also, she was correct in her column—political affiliation be damned, when people demand public apologies, they don’t actually care whether someone apologizes. It’s all performative nonsense.

But, at the same time, it’s weird, right? I may well have mocked a classmate’s rear end at 17, but by then I certainly knew jokes like “How many Jews can fit in a clown car? 1,002. Two in the seats and 1,000 in the ashtrays” were grotesque and offensive and never to be said/shared. Also, at that age, I was fully aware the n—— word was a big no-no. As was calling someone a “f——-.” Plus, there’s something to be said for having the wisdom to look back upon your younger days, know your Tweets sucked/might be problematic … and erase them. ASAP. “It's incumbent upon you and your reps to scrub anything from your timelines that may be considered controversial,” said Gail Sideman, the longtime publicist. “If you think something could be revealed, whether you deleted or not, have a crisis plan in place. Have a response in your cap that sounds sincere and not sound like it was written like a PR agent. Approach it sooner than later.” (Note: Athey deleted the Tweets several years ago)

So—all this being said—can I question the content of someone’s character based upon their ancient words?

Yeah, I believe I can.

Can I write about it?

Depending on the context—sure.

But I also must be openminded to the possibility that they’re no longer who they were. That all people—right or left, up or down—are capable of change. That the weight of words doesn’t last forever.

And shouldn’t.

The Quaz Five with … Jeff Karzen

Jeff Karzen is a veteran sports journalist and the author of a new book, "Playgrounds to the Pros: Legends of Peoria Basketball." Follow Jeff on Twitter here, and order the book here.

1. Jeff, you're the author of "Playgrounds to the Pros: Legends of Peoria Basketball." Which strikes me as a cool idea, though I'm not entirely sure it's one with a shitload of mass commercial appeal. So I ask—does it have mass commercial appeal? And does that matter?: In my opinion, people in New Mexico or Rhode Island would enjoy this book just as much as locals, but obviously Midwestern basketball fans are the target audience. While the backdrop of basketball pervades the book throughout, it's also about race and poverty and violence and deep dives into interesting people. I think one of the best compliments I've gotten is when people say "it's not really a basketball book." So no, it doesn't have the mass commercial appeal of books about Bo Jackson or Michelle Obama, for example, but this is kind of my sweet spot through two books (so far). Grassroots-type stories about small or mid-sized towns with subjects that don't require going through 17 different PR handlers. It doesn't matter to me that there isn't a massive built-in audience. Of course, I want to sell as many books as I can, but I mostly want to tell cool, unique stories that haven't been told before. I would like to think I accomplished that with Peoria Hoops.

2. Peoria has produced a shitload of basketball talent, including A. J. Guyton. Sergio McClain. Marcus Griffin. Frank Williams. Shaun Livingston. Seriously—why? how? What's in the water?: Yeah, that was the crux of starting the project. And amazingly, most of those players came through high school at almost the exact same time. Once I started reporting, I learned about fascinating personal stories, but in the beginning, it was "good lord, how do they have so many awesome players?!" There's a couple different factors at play here: Peoria is an urban, northern city where basketball is king. In the south, a 6-3, 200-pound stud athlete is a wide receiver or linebacker. In the north, that's a shooting guard or wing. Peoria is a basketball town and all the best athletes played hoops. I came to learn that all the top players in town played against each other, all day, every day in the summer. We're talking about the 1980s through early 2000s, and they would all congregate at a city park, and move from there to another park or a high school open gym on their bikes, hooping all day. Come fall, they were spread around different city high schools, but in the summer these future Big Ten players were earning their stripes seeking out the best competition. The other thing was the terrific coaching in Peoria. This was an era when coaches coached HARD and players actually listened and respected their elders. Peoria teams had a reputation of being well-coached and playing relentless defense. When you combine that with terrific talent, you end up with six state titles, four Mr. Basketball of Illinois trophies and countless legendary moments in a 15-year period.

3. You seem like a dogged book promoter. What works? What doesn't?: Boy that's the million dollar question. Being creative and working it, spreading information about your book in as many places as possible seems like the best way to give yourself a chance. As you know, I stole your idea of placing postcards with a QR code to the purchase page on cars at a high school basketball tournament. I never would have thought of that, so thank you. Like most authors, I had book signings and tried to flood social media in a (hopefully) non-obnoxious way. Being the center of attention is not my favorite thing, but we have no choice when it comes to selling books. I had some signings that were great, and others that were humbling. There is no science or formula ... I think sometimes you just have to get lucky. The anecdote I've heard you say about how a celebrity shoutout on Instagram is worth more than a Sports Illustrated excerpt these days makes me want to run away and live in the woods, but this is the world we live in. I will say that the Peoria Journal-Star ran a 2,000-word excerpt of Peoria Hoops and that was definitely valuable. Several folks at signings mentioned reading it and becoming intrigued in the book because of it.

4. You have a journalism degree from Michigan State. I hate asking this, but if someone approaches you and says, "Journalism degree? Should I pursue?" What says you?: I've thought about this one a lot in recent years. I think the lessons about reporting, diligence and truth-telling that we're all taught in journalism school are all super important. But ... no I probably would not advise one to pursue journalism at this point. Typing that out makes me sad, but it just feels irresponsible to lead a young person into a world of constant layoffs, yelling, err talking heads, and ridiculously short-staffed jobs. I'm actually shocked that I still have a lot of friends in journalism, and I respect the hell out of them for grinding it out. But when I think about the life of a beat writer in the Twitter age, that's a hard pass for me. Dear young folks, get yourself a business or finance degree and maybe don't pursue the life of a newspaper reporter where deadline is 4 pm and readers want to know about evening game. 

5. You're a Senior Manager of Publications at North American Spine Society. What does that entail?: Think the glamour of Hollywood meets the prestige of a tech exec. OK that's not true. But it's a good place to work! NASS is a non-profit organization representing about 8,000 physicians who work on the spine -- mostly orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physical therapists, etc. In the publications department, we have a membership magazine that I'm in charge of. My other duties include overseeing our social media channels, media relations, working on e-Newsletters and various other communications tasks.

[bonus] rank in order—favorite to least: Marco Rubio, Nick Cage, David Bowie, Scottie Pippen, “The Martian,” award shows, strawberry ice cream, “Zoolander,” Craig's List, Martin Lawrence, the number 44: David Bowie, strawberry ice cream, Scottie Pippen, Martin Lawrence, Nick Cage, Zoolander, number 44, award shows, Craig's List, The Martian (never seen it), Marco Rubio

A random old article worth revisiting …

I was sorta curious when Miley Cyrus—daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus—first appeared in an article. So I did some digging, and it was this Sept. 12, 1993 Pittsburgh Post Gazette profile written by Jerry Sharpe. Waaaaay before she was “Miley,” Billy Ray’s second child went by her birth name, “Destiny Hope.”

This week’s college writer you should follow on Twitter …

Annika Wickham, editor in chief of The Oswegonian.

So Annika, a graduating senior, has absolutely kicked ass as editor of the Oswego State student newspaper. In particular, her recent work exposing the university’s ongoing presidential hiring search has been pure butter. One of the hardest parts of being a student journalist is feeling as if all your colleagues wanna do is drink, get high, play XBox and compare IG flows. Somehow, Annika has walked through that to dig deep into the candidacy of Mary Toale, the school’s officer-in-charge, and question her eligibility.

Writes Wickham in OFFICER-IN-CHARGE TOALE’S ELIGIBILITY FOR PRESIDENCY IN QUESTION:

One can follow Annika on Twitter here. Bravo.

Jim Murray speaks with …

A new feature to the Pearlman Journalism Substack—thanks to the warped geniuses at Chat GPT, we can sorta kinda see what would happen if Jim Murray, the late/legendary Los Angeles Times columnist, sat down with three random celebrities. This week, here’s what GPT offers from Jim’s meeting with former Major League pitcher Dontrelle Willis, R2D2 and the Grim Reaper …

Jim Murray: Good evening, and welcome to our special sit-down interview session. Today, we have a very unique panel with us. First, we have Dontrelle Willis, former Major League pitcher who had a successful career in baseball. Welcome, Dontrelle.

Dontrelle Willis: Thanks, Jim. Glad to be here.

Jim Murray: We also have R2D2, the iconic droid from the Star Wars franchise. Welcome, R2D2.

R2D2: Beep boop beep boop beep!

Jim Murray: And last but not least, we have the Grim Reaper, the personification of death. Welcome, Grim Reaper.

Grim Reaper: Thank you, Jim. It was nice escorting you to death.

Jim Murray: Um, OK. Thanks. I guess. So, let's start with you, Dontrelle. You had a very successful career in baseball, with multiple All-Star selections and a World Series championship. What was your secret to success?

Dontrelle Willis: Well, Jim, I think it was a combination of hard work, dedication, and a love for the game. I always tried to give 110% on the field and never took anything for granted. It was an honor to be able to play at such a high level.

Jim Murray: That's an impressive attitude. R2D2, you're one of the most iconic characters in film history. What's it like to be a part of such a beloved franchise?

R2D2: Beep boop beep!

Jim Murray: (laughs) I'll take that as a positive response. Grim Reaper, your job is often associated with sadness and loss. How do you cope with that emotional burden?

Grim Reaper: It's true, Jim, that my job can be emotionally difficult at times. But I find solace in the fact that I'm helping people make the transition to the afterlife, and that I'm part of a natural process that's been happening since the beginning of time. It's not an easy job, but it's one that I take very seriously.

Jim Murray: That's a very admirable approach. Dontrelle, you had a unique pitching style that included a high leg kick and a deceptive delivery. What inspired you to develop that style?

Dontrelle Willis: It was actually something I developed on my own, Jim. I always loved watching pitchers with unique deliveries, like Luis Tiant and Hideo Nomo. So, I started experimenting with different styles and eventually found something that worked for me.

Jim Murray: That's really interesting. R2D2, you're a very unique character with a lot of different gadgets and abilities. What's your favorite thing about yourself?

R2D2: Beep boop beep!

Jim Murray: (laughs) Another great response. Grim Reaper, your job is often portrayed as very serious and dark. Do you have any hobbies or interests that people might not expect?

Grim Reaper: Actually, Jim, I'm a big fan of crossword puzzles. They're a great way to keep my mind sharp and focused.

Jim Murray: That's a surprising hobby, but a great way to stay mentally active. Dontrelle, you retired from baseball in 2014. What have you been up to since then?

Dontrelle Willis: Well, I've been spending a lot of time with my family and doing some broadcasting work. I've also been involved in various charities and community outreach programs. It's been a great way to give back and make a positive impact.

Jim Murray: It's important to have a strong support system in any endeavor. R2D2, as a droid, you've faced many dangers and challenges. How do you stay resilient and keep going in difficult situations?

R2D2: Beep beep!

Jim Murray: Your determination is truly inspiring, R2D2. Grim Reaper, Dontrelle Willis, R2D2—thanks for all being here today.

Dontrelle Willis: Thank you, Jim!

R2D2: Beep boop beep!

Grim Reader (to Dontrelle and R2D2): I’ll see you both soon.

Journalism musings for the week …

Musing 1: What an absolutely riveting obituary from the New York Times’ Margalit Fox—who explains the life and death of Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman who accused Emmett Till of accosting her. Wrote Fox: “Only two people knew exactly what happened during the minute they were alone together in the general store in Money, Miss., on Aug. 24, 1955. One, Emmett Till, a Black teenager visiting from Chicago, died four days later, at 14, in a brutal murder that stands out even in America’s long history of racial injustice. The other was Carolyn Bryant. She was the 21-year-old white proprietress of the store where, according to her testimony in the September 1955 trial of her husband and his half brother for the murder, Till made a sexually suggestive remark to her, grabbed her roughly by the waist and let loose a wolf whistle.”

Musing 2: So last February Lawrence Fan, San Jose State’s longtime sports information director, died at age 67. And Fan was, without question, a hugely important and influential member of the school’s athletic community. He was loyal, wise, comforting. Just a great man in the perfect situation. And that’s why I’m legitimately irked that, a few days ago, San Jose State announced Fan would be inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. Like, it’s wonderful for his family and friends. But … why do we so often wait until one dies to offer up meaningful honors? This would have been a legitimate thrill for Fan. But, alas, he’s not here.

Musing 3: In the aftermath of the riveting Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight, Showtime’s Jim Gray interviewed the victorious Davis—then requested a selfie. A friend actually made me aware of the transgression, and asked, “What do you think?” Answer: I’m horrified. Jim Gray is a veteran and a pro. For fuck’s sake, act like one.

Musing 4: What a depressing piece from Politico’s Arek Sarkissian. Headlined FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL ALTERED KEY FINDINGS IN STUDY ON COVID-19 VACCINE SAFETY, the story details the handiwork of Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general, who doctored all sorts of Covid data to make people more fearful of the vaccines. Truly, this guy should never work in medicine again.

Musing 5: One of the coolest, most-random things I’ve seen on the world wide web in some time is a dude named Sir Yacht, who loves the Cleveland Browns and has devoted his YouTube channel toward the pursuit of interviewing every quarterback the team has employed since 1999. Trust me, it’s lovely.

Musing 6: ESPN fired one of its reporters, Marly Rivera, for calling another journalist “a fucking cunt.” It was caught on camera—and it was bad. But, eh, fireable bad? Nah. Shit gets heated when we’re pursuing interviews, throwing elbows, etc. I can see suspending her a bit. But losing your job? No.

Musing 7: I’m a huge admirer of Karine Jean Pierre, the White House press secretary, who’s pretty darn masterful at gliding through a fairly awful daily experience.

Musing 8: The winner of the NFL Draft wasn’t Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. Nope, nope, nope. The winner of the NFL Draft was Kyle Stickles, the 13-year-old kid from New York whose Make-A-Wish dream was to announce the Jets’ first-round pick. Stickles was diagnosed with bone cancer two years ago, and absolutely loves the J-E-T-S. If you didn’t watch, please do. It’s the best thing ever (he also got to meet his favorite player, wide receiver Garrett Wilson—photo below).

Musing 9: The new Two Writers Slinging Yang features Chad Finn, the Boston Globe’s exceptional sports media columnist and editor of a new book on the newspaper’s Red Sox coverage over the past century.

Quote of the week …

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.”

— William Faulkner

1. An important point: This isn’t strictly a conservative writer phenomenon. M-a-n-y on the left pull the same one-trick-pony bullshit, and it irks the fuck out of me. It’s why I never read Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post. Like Ashley, she’s a skilled writer. But I always know exactly what to expect.

2. And yes, Joe Biden is waaaaay too old to run again. It’s preposterous.

3. Why the generalizations? The left. The right. Seriously, is everyone on the left a muzzler? Is everyone on the right not? It’s stupid.

4. Both of whom deserved to be browbeaten. Seriously—I’m as liberal as it gets, and if we’re gonna be fair in this world we have to call out our own.

5. Sometimes it’s OK to sit things out.

6. Thanks, Christina Ruiz!