Bad Apple Proverb: There's One in Every Bunch

Are you of the same opinion as I that coaches have a responsibility to ensure their teams maintain a semblance of appropriate demeanor and decorum when representing an organization, a team, especially their nation? There are reasons why I ask this prosaic, better yet pedestrian question. In recent days, I, like many sports fans have expressed revulsion at some of the unpatriotic and dare I say, subversive behavior displayed by a few members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. I am betwixt as to where the majority of fault lies. Is it with the players, their progenitors, the coaches or a combination thereof?

Co-Captain Megan Rapinoe made headlines by taking a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with disgraced football player Colin Kaepernick; A game later, Rapinoe protested by refusing to sing or place her hand over her heart; furthermore, during the same World Cup play, Rapinoe addressed a gathering of reporters, fans and bystanders about President Trump in a profanity laced tirade. To make matters worse, moments after their championship game, one of Rapinoe’s classless teammates deposited the American flag on the field of play. This flagrant act demeans those men and women who served and the thousands who died serving this nation and were laid to rest in a flag draped coffin. There is little doubt Rapinoe is only one of a few halfwit knuckleheads who took it on themselves to show their asses and true character for all the world to see. Do I assume most players on the women’s soccer team are reflective of the inappropriate behavior displayed by Rapinoe and her minions? By no means do I think that. As circumstance would have it, one bad apple did not spoil the bunch. Team member Kelley O’Hara’s quick reactions saved the flag from further desecration. Thus, earning her merited praise on social media and a big thank you from all of us who love America, her flag and all it represents. Is not Kelley O’Hara’s response to further defilement of our flag proof enough that decorum and patriotism still exists, despite the Rapinoe’s within the sports world?

Why Rapinoe and some of her teammates chose to use the Women's World Soccer Cup venue as a platform to make a political statement deserves condemnation. One can only assume Rapinoe and a few others of her strain are infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome and issues of expression and association. If I may, allow me to use the analogy of maintaining a healthy fruit bearing apple tree to that of sustaining appropriate propriety on a sports team. Agriculturists tell us we are to avoid removing too many leaves and we should not prune away more than 25 percent of the leaf-bearing crown of the apple tree. Likewise, if a sports team, in this case, the USA’s Women’s World Cup Soccer Team have more than a few Social Justice Warriors who use the venue for political, feminine or LBGTQ rights as an excuse to be rude, condescending, and with hints of vehemence for the purpose of relieving their frustrations or validating their sense of unwarranted moral superiority, a tree trimming to remove the blight may be the order of the day. This being the case, why did the coach not prune his rooster of the bad apples? Could it be that sometimes, it is hard to tell whether an apple is just bruised or whether the apple is rotten and needs to be thrown away? As for me, it is time to prune the tree of its rotting fruit. The pruning process should begin with Rapinoe and her coach. Rapinoe's behavior and her coach's indifference and lack of oversight had a negative influence on some of her teammates, thereby influencing them to engage in unfortunate, ill-advised and regrettable anti-patriotic behavior.