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The Unknown Parent is a series of musings for Sports360AZ.com from an anonymous parent of athletes. The parent is an Arizona high school sports fan from their time involved in education, coaching, and athletics. Want to have your questions or comments featured in future articles? Email TheUnknownParentAZ@gmail.com.
To read last week’s Q & A with Brad Cesmat, CLICK HERE.
I spent the last week thinking about the strange, muted reaction to Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon hitting RB Emari Demercado after Demercado fumbled against the Tennessee Titans as he was crossing the goal line on a 70+ yard run.
Jonathan Gannon was fined $100,000, and he apologized to the team, saying, “It’s not really who I am (or) who I want to be…”
But is anyone else as surprised as I am that it wasn’t a bigger deal?
I have a theory, and it’s that letting the ball go before you cross the goal line is one of the dumbest things anyone does in all of sports, and deep down, people wish that someone would smack any player that does this upside the head to re-set the wiring of their brain, much in the same the way that us Millennials used to smack our Super Nintendos to get them to work properly.
I think a lot of people actually liked what Jonathan Gannon did to Emari Demercado.
I fully understand that Emari Demercado is a grown man and not a child… but as a parent, part of me believes that if this happened on a high school sideline, someone is ending up in handcuffs. If not the coach, certainly one of the moms I sit next to in the stands on Friday nights.
At the same time, the coaching staff at my kids’ school get after it. They yell. They curse. They get in players’ faces. In a game earlier this season, a position coach had to be held back by other members of the coaching staff because he got a little too upset at a lineman that kept making mental errors.
When I thought about what I’d do if it was my kid on the other side of the tongue lashing, I shrugged. I trust these coaches just want to get the best out of our kids, and if they’re good coaches, they know that everyone is motivated differently. Some need a loud voice. Some need a soft push. Some need a clear goal. Some need encouragement. All of them need exposure to the type of adversity that breeds toughness and resilience.
None of them need to get punched in the stomach. Especially not when they’re already hanging their head on the sidelines, filled with visible regret, and fully grasping the gravity of the situation.
I didn’t know much about Emari Demercado before this. I had to look him up. He was a California high school running back who went to Junior College, and performed well enough to get a scholarship from TCU. He spent five years there, earned multiple degrees, and was TCU’s leading rusher in the blowout national championship loss. He’s an appreciative son of a hard-working mother. He made the Cardinals roster as an undrafted free agent. He’s a father. He’s been around Jonathan Gannon as his head coach going on three years.
There’s never been a single story about Demercado being a knucklehead. By every visible account, after the fumble, Demercado was as upset as anyone.
Had Jonathan Gannon recognized any of these things in the moment, and not been clouded by the emotions toward Demercado’s mistake, he probably doesn’t give in to his desire to physically punish one of his players.
If you watched Gannon in the immediate aftermath of hitting Demercado, you can see his testosterone spiking. He clenches his fists and marches away like a UFC fighter who just landed the deciding knockout blow. Gannon’s demeanor was a stark contrast from the thoughtful, even-keeled persona he usually displays- including the apologetic and self-reflective tone he took with his team and the media the following day.
If you grew up around men who lose their temper- you probably recognized both the puffed-up reactionary Gannon, as well as the resolute, apologetic Gannon. As a parent of boys, the entire ordeal is filled with teachable moments.
Whether it’s “finish what you start,” or “control your emotions,” or the importance of apologies and making amends- there’s something in here for everyone.
My hope is that parents are taking the opportunity to have those conversations.
-The Unknown Parent
