Deford tells it like it is

Sportswriter speaks mind at Chautauqua Institution

By CRAIG HARVEY
Frank Deford has captivated millions of readers throughout his career as a sportswriter.

On Monday, the six-time U.S. Sportswriter of the Year captured the audience's attention at Chautauqua Institution with humor and the cold hard facts of the role sports plays in one's life.

Deford is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, author and commentator. He has been a member of Sports Illustrated since the 1960s and has his own radio show for the National Public Radio's Morning Edition.

He is a member of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and his accomplishments include twice voted Magazine Writer of the Year by the Washington Journalism Review, National Magazine Award recipient, winner of a 1988 Emmy Award for his work during the Seoul Olympics, Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism in 2003 and many other awards.

It would be an understatement to say every sportswriter aspires to be like Deford.

See DEFORD, Page B2

Deford opened by saying he was aware of the distinguished speakers who have spoken at the Amphitheater.

He then quoted former college basketball coach Bobby Knight who once said, "The best time in every sportswriter's life was the three years he spent in second grade."

"Thank you very much for letting me come here and lower the standards," Deford followed.

In November 1981, Deford was assigned to cover the University of Alabama's legendary college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant as he was chasing the all-time wins record of 315.

In one of Deford's articles, he wrote something that upset many people in the state of Alabama.

"One petition with 1,000 names was sent to my editor demanding I be fired," Deford said. "Most appropriately, it was written on toilet paper. ... The best letter of its kind was from a Methodist minister. And I give him credit for writing it on church stationary. It was direct and to the point. 'Dear Mr. Deford, whenever your parents would like to get married, I would be delighted to do the ceremony.' You don't mess with sports heroes. We do love sports so much."

There are double standards in sports and Deford pointed out several examples.

"A stupid football player does something naughty. What do you hear?" Deford asked rhetorically. "Oh my god. He let football down. He let sports down. When a rock star does the same kind of thing you don’t hear, 'Oh he let entertainment down. He let Hollywood down.' "

Kobe Bryant said a few years ago, 'If I woulda gone to college I woulda gone to Duke.'

"Though his grammar is horrible, do you think Duke would have turned him down?" Deford asked.

Then he made the comparison to a tenor in a musical choir.

If there was a person with a great voice but had been to jail several times, do you think the school would say, 'We just have to have that person in our choir?'

Probably not.

Sports captures the interest of youth. However, it also captures the lives of adults which Deford called upsetting.

"Failure of so many boys in the classroom in this country is because they concentrate so much on sports by adults who should know better," Deford said. "There are more college students in this country majoring in sports management than engineering. We have cock-eyed priorities in this country because of college sports."

An interesting point in the lecture was the fact Deford believes college football and basketball players should get paid to play.

"They entertain and support the athletic budget," he continued. "They make all the revenues in sports, why aren't they the only ones that don't get a share in the revenue? It's grossly hypocritical."

Deford said there are two myths in college sports. First, he jokingly said, "Next year soccer will try and catch on." Secondly, with no joke intended, "Next year college presidents will finally clean up college sports. It won't happen. A college president once said, 'I just closed my eyes and hope nothing bad would happen.'"

Deford also pointed out the positive side of sports for young men.

"We learn to do things together on teams," he said. "Guys learn to care about each other. They take that into their adulthood. Boys almost need teams to learn team care and working together. Sports embraces us all. It may be the what links the world together."

Deford even compared sports to sex.

"For most men, sports is even more important than sex. Certainly this is true with golfers. I don’t play golf myself," he said. "In a survey, 81 percent of golfers interviewed said they would rather shoot par than spend a night with the most beautiful woman in the world. What a terrible revelation."

Shortly after the lecture had concluded, it was only fitting the church bells filled Chautauqua Institution with the sounds of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game."