No Apology Necessary

The de-masculinization of America continues.  ESPN Television has issued "an apology" for comments Brent Musburger made about the attractiveness of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron's pageant queen girlfriend during the BCS National Championship game Monday night.  The Hall of Fame broadcaster made the egregious error of calling an attractive woman "beautiful"--setting off a firestorm of controversy in the world of social media.

But you have to ask: Who was actually insulted?  Katherine Webb--the "offended" party--went on the Today Show yesterday to say she had no problem with what Musburger said.  So to whom is ESPN apologizing--and why?  Brent Musburger was only saying out loud what every male fan watching the game Monday night was thinking: "Holy crap, that woman is hot!"  Besides, she goes to Auburn, so it's not like he could have said "Wow, what an incredibly intelligent woman" (BAZINGA!!)

Last night, my wife--blissfully unaware of the Musburger controversy--asked me at dinner if I had seen the Alabama quarterback girlfriend.  I answered that it was almost impossible not too--since she has been everywhere on TV and Twitter since she was shown on the screen the first time.  "Don't you think she is incredibly beautiful?" my wife asked.  "Why do you have to insult her like that?" I said.  "What do you mean insult her?" my wife asked.  "She is unbelievably beautiful."  So please, American women, accept my apology on behalf of my wife--she didn't mean to insult the rest of you.

And why is Musburger being singled out here?  He isn't telling the camera to focus on Katherine Webb.  If she had been shown just once and Brent made his comment and we never saw her again, there would have been no controversy at all.  But the director Derek Mobley kept going back to the "girlfriend and mom" shot over and over and over again.  So who was the one really obsessed with the attractive woman in the stands.

But if we have come to the point in our society where it is now an "insult" to call a beautiful woman "beautiful"--then we men may as well just all become eunuchs.  And as further punishment, I guess we men should all be forced to watch an endless loop video of Janet Reno, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Tammy Baldwin.

When I first heard ESPN was apologizing for on-air comments, I thought it was going to be to Robert Griffin III for comments made about him by commentator Rob Parker on First Take.

So if you are keeping track of what we guys can and cannot say anymore, "beautiful woman" is bad--"cornball brother" is apparently OK.