Keith Hernandez Puts Women In "Their" Place
Former NY Mets All-Star Keith Hernandez (if you don't follow baseball you might remember him from a funny old episode of Seinfeld) does color for the Mets TV broadcasts and this weekend he found himself in a tub full of scalding hot water for his comments during one Mets-Padres game.
The Padres have in their employ a young female massage therapist who sits in the dugout of most of their home games. After a Mike Piazza home run during Friday night's game, Piazza went into the dugout and high-fived his teammates and coaches--and the massage therapist, which drew the disbelief and ire of Hernandez.
"Who is that young woman in the dugout?," he asked on air. "What is she doing in there? The major league dugout is no place for a woman." He then went on to say something to the effect that he didn't believe a woman's place was necessarily in the kitchen, but he knew for sure it wasn't in the dugout.
Informed later that the woman in question was actually an employee of the San Diego Padres, Hernandez still refused to back down suggesting that people needed to "get a sense of humor" but that he was firm in his beliefs that women have no place in the dugout.
This is what makes baseball such a great, forward thinking sport. After all, it only took 45 years of modern major league baseball (72 years of professional baseball total) for African-Americans to be allowed to play. In 1986, Dodgers assistant general manager Al Campanis famously opined on ABC's Nightline that "blacks didn't have the necessities" to run baseball's front offices (the 1995 NY Yankees and 2005 Chicago White Sox both went to the World Series and both had African-American general managers. The White Sox won the championship). So it's not surprising that "an old school player" like Hernandez--who, incidentally has a history of drug use and run-ins with the opposite sex which makes one wonder about his qualifications at being the "face" of the Mets--would find the idea of women in the dugout so repulsive.
The NCAA isn't exactly known for it's wide-ranging, cutting edge policies, but look on the sidelines of almost any college football game and you'll find plenty of female trainers, assistant trainers and other medical personnel. Pro sports is one of the last bastions of boldface, fearless misogyny and sexism and I think Hernandez and those who feel like him should be pushed out of baseball--otherwise the sport will continue to die on the vine and be passed in popularity by sports like lacrosse and NASCAR. But in the meantime expect a lot of handwringing and back-and-forth about Hernandez' comments, but don't expect him to lose his job.
The 200-Word* Or Less Review: American Dreamz
The famous old quote is that satire is what opens on Friday and closes on Saturday. American Dreamz writer/director Paul Weitz, all too familiar with that quote, said before the opening of his new movie that the picture, "Is definitely a comedy." Sorry Paul--the box office is in and I'm afraid your movie is a satire.
Dennis Quaid is very good as the Bush clone, President Jack Staton, who reluctantly agrees to serve as "guest judge" on America's most popular musical variety show, American Dreamz, a thinly disguised parody of the American Idol juggernaut. Hugh Grant is perfect as the Simon Cowell-like host, a man who long ago sacrificed his soul for money, ratings and doting by semi-loyal sycophants. Mandy Moore is on hand as basically the Reese Witherspoon character from Election, but she assays the "singing sweetheart with a heart of coal" role well. The most ridiculous--yet curiously engaging--subplot involves, get this, an al-Qaeda sleeper operative (Sam Golzari) in Orange County who loves showtunes and gets chosen by his handlers to infiltrate the show and kill the President. Okay...
This movie deserved more than a $4 million opening weekend. No, it's not a great movie (it's a little too long, some of the supporting characters are set up but not well developed, too many of the best gags are frontloaded early in the movie), but it's smarter and funnier than most of the comedies Hollywood will cram down our throats this year and it makes it's satiric points sharply and fearlessly. If you can catch this one while it's still in theaters...for about three more weeks.
* If you're really counting the words in this review, it's close to 200 words, just slightly over. I know this. I say to you, please get a life...
Quick TV Thoughts
--Pleasant surprises this TV midseason: The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS), So NoTORIous (VH-1), Thief(FX), the riveting final episodes of The West Wing (NBC).
--Disappointments from the TV midseason: Big Love (HBO), the new cycle of America's Next Top Model (UPN), all the reruns for Lost and Grey's Anatomy, the return of Commander-in-Chief (or, How To Ruin A Promising Show in Half a Season Or Less - ABC), Pepper Dennis (WB).
Until later...peace!
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