The Aftermath of the ESPN Article

It's always good to have a day to reflect on something that stirred you up inside.

Yet when you have a blog, your first instinct is to defend and react!

I am referring to the ESPN article that was published this week. It can be found on-line and contains little if anything good about junior hockey in Swift Current.

But after a few days of reflection, my stance hasn't changed.
My biggest complaint is not necessarily with what was said, but more so with the deception that the writer used in getting the story.

The deceived were the Swift Current Broncos organization.

From what I gather the reporter told the Broncos that he was coming in late December to do a piece of the 20th anniversary of the bus crash.
Fine!
Great!
He made no reference to Graham James, and that a good portion of the article would contain the damage he inflicted on the players and the community that trusted him greatly.

For the benefit of the doubt maybe the writer wanted to do a piece on the anniversary of the crash, yet it didn't live up to a good enough story?
He was looking for public anguish and sorrow and didn't find enough of it at the Civic Centre on the night of December 30th?
So he took it a step further by going the Graham James route, which would provide for a better read.
You have to admit it he accomplished his goal!

There is no denying some portions of the article are true, and you still need to question those in the community during James' tenure as coach, that they must have seen something strange from a junior coach that was extremely tight with his players.

Looking back, I saw some things that today would make me go 'that's weird'.

Yet my senses have been heightened because of what Graham James did.

I remember in my early 20's being in the lineup outside the twin theatre in Swift Current only to see Graham James with Joe Sakic and Sheldon Kennedy just a few people back, all smiles as they waiting patiently to get tickets for the latest flick.
While some may find that odd, I didn't second guess it considering I knew that James was single and was likely going 'out on the town' with a couple of players to watch a innocent movie.
Hey he's new to town, how many people does he really know?
He knows the players pretty well, so instead of going alone, he hooked up with them.

I even heard that James took Sakic and Kennedy down to Mexico. While I found that odd, it didn't trigger anything considering the three of them made the trip. Now had it been just James and Kennedy, alarms would have likely gone off.

People often ask me how could no one in the community not have known or seen what James was doing?
Graham James was a great manipulator, but no one caught on because the team was winning.
Even if he had unorthodox ways with his players, people wouldn't question it because the team had success.
If it ain't broke - don't fix it would apply here.
At the time James philosophy on hockey was abnormal, as he preferred the skill game over the intimidation style of play in the mid 80's.
So if he did things a little differently than the rest, no one questioned his antics because it was producing wins and ultimately championships.

It's like a marriage where both partners are smiling every time they are seen out in public. Nobody questions on whether they love one another or are committed to each other.
The same holds true in sports.
If you are winning, and things look good from an outsider, any of the dark things going on behind closed doors are not questioned.

Even as a young reporter I often heard he was gay, but like others I just took it with a grain of salt.
People were likely jealous of his success is what I and others thought.
You see it all the time.
It's human nature to attack those that have success. How many people slash Donald Trump about his hair?
People suggest he's wearing a toupee, when he likely has bad hair!
I remember the big joke with my buddy's in our late 20's was if you weren't married by the time you turned 30, you were gay!
So any reference to James being gay also triggered the response 'whatever'!

The negative spin the article took about the city of Swift Current likely hurts the most. The Broncos mean so much to the community, and is a tremendous sense of pride for everyone.

When the team played their first game following the bus crash in 1986, I was there as a fan in the North end of the Moose Jaw Civic Centre.
As the Broncos came out of the tunnel for the pre-game warmup wearing the familiar blue-green and white colors with the horseshoe and the bucking Bronco logo on the front of the jersey, a sense of pride took over as I applauded 'my' team - a team that represented my community - the place where I live.

The City of Swift Current will always have a black eye over what James did, but the knockout punch that the ESPN writer delivered this week has the community gasping for air on the canvass.

But like anything you care deeply for, you fight for it.
You protect it.
When a sports writer comes into a city where you grew up and attempts to drive it into the ground you don't turn the other cheek, you defend it.

The truths in the article shouldn't be hidden, but the negative spin throughout has this former resident of the city of Swift Current standing up and defending it's honor.