Oh boy, this one’s a doozy. Deadspin, the company most known for going after Barstool, decided to run a hit piece on Adam Schefter the other day. What horrible thing did Schefty do to draw the wrath of a dying company? Well, let’s get into it.
The Day Comedy Died
Everyone has heard the song American Pie by Don McLean. If you haven’t, give it a listen, it’s pretty good. In the song, McLean references “The Day the Music Died.” This day is February 3rd, 1959, when Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. Why am I bringing this up? Probably an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder of some kind, but also October 13th, 2020 is the day that comedy died. A joke made about the NFL Trade Deadline, by an NFL insider, isn’t allowed? C’mon now, let’s calm down.
Quick disclaimer, these are my thoughts. I am not the authority on comedy, or what is and isn’t offensive. I come close to the line sometimes, so I’m not going to get mad at someone else for making a joke as innocent as this. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s break down Schefty’s Tweet.
It All Goes Down in Three Weeks
Three weeks from today is a hugely significant day, with potential ramifications for years to come.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2020
The NFL trade deadline.
The NFL trade deadline is in three weeks, on October 29th. With injuries rampant, players such as AJ Green involved in trade rumors, it’s a big deal and will impact teams for years to come. Deadspin’s issue with Adam Schefter comes from what is a few days after that, on November 3rd. That is the day of the election. Deadspin wrote a wonderfully worded blog about how important this election is and we need to… no I’m sorry it was a white woman yelling about minority issues. Caught up to speed? Okay.
My Thoughts
I understand that my thoughts don’t matter. I’m not going to get some holier-than-thou attitude about a white woman yelling about a white man and white male privilege. But let’s break down the pieces of this.
The Election
This is arguably one of the most important elections in recent American history. I understand where Deadspin is coming from. As a white man, Schefter doesn’t have to worry about this in a way that would drastically impact his life. He has that luxury, as do I as a straight white man. However, it’s a joke! He’s not belittling those impacted by this election, he’s not saying don’t vote because it doesn’t matter (side note: it does and you should). Why does it matter if Schefty made a joke?
The Blogger
Now look, regardless of who wrote this, it would have been an overreaction to a joke about the NFL trade deadline. As I mentioned earlier, it was written by a white woman. I partially made that clear so people didn’t think I was trying to dictate the feelings of someone who doesn’t not have a similar privilege to me. However, it feels king of “White Knight-y” to me. Regardless of race, if you see an issue, speak up about it. Racial inequality is still a problem in this country, and we all need to work together to fix it.
However, a Tweet about the NFL trade deadline is not the issue. Point to police brutality, the lasting impact of redlining, the disproportionate levels of representation in the legislature. Not. a. damn. Tweet.
Now, before you think “Kev, you’re hammering home this one point, what other issues did they bring up?” None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Adam Schefter is a vacuous turd who embodies male privilege because of that one Tweet.
Deadspin, leave Schefter alone, and focus on fixing your company.
There you have it. Why Deadspin called Schefter a vacuous turd, and why it was stupid. This is not usually what I write about, I like being silly, but I felt it had to be said. So, follow me on Twitter (@BellyUpKev) for some silliness.
