Pat Forde's Piece on Rick Majerus

ESPN Writer Pat Forde has an interesting piece on the developing story about Rick Majerus and his expression of support for abortion rights at a Hillary Clinton rally.

One reason Harrogate has been following this story is that, as a lifelong sports fan, Harrogate has always been disappointed by the Social and Economic Conservatism freighting American sports culture. There are exceptions, like Dean Smith and Carlos DelGado, but on the whole the pattern has been pretty fixed for a long time. Same is true with sportswriting and sportscasting, again with exceptions.

One the whole Harrogate likes Forde's piece very much. It would have been nice had Forde ceded that ersatz social and economic Conservatism freights American sport, but hey, let's not be greedy.

Here's some good stuff:

Difference of opinion -- and the thoughtful discussion of those opinions -- is supposed to be part and parcel of a university community. Even at a university with a religious affiliation. A campus with only one school of thought and one slice of the American demographic sounds like a pretty dull place.

We know Tiger Woods believes in Nike and Michael Jordan believes in Hanes and Peyton Manning believes in Gatorade, but we sure don't know how they vote or how they feel about societal issues. Same with the vast majority of the coaches who have become the stars of college basketball, pockets lined with shoe money and other endorsements. With Majerus, we know.

With all his beliefs laid on the table in a deeply Catholic city, he will accept whatever response this controversy generates. He said he understands why the SLU president, Father Lawrence Biondi, cannot make a public show of support for him -- but he also does not expect any condemnation from the university.

And the Majerus quotes aint bad either. For example:

"I believe in ending the war. I believe in gun control. I believe in stem-cell [research]. I believe in pro-choice. I respect that women need to make the decisions that are right for them, and I think it's wrong for people to speculate what they would do in a gut-wrenching, agonizing situation."

You tell 'em, Rick.