A JERSEY GUY: Give Me Liberty? No Thanks
News bulletin: Liberty University continued an unprecedented string of success by winning the national championship in men's college basketball, as well as carrying that triumph into the spring with national championships in baseball and lacrosse.
This, of course, is Fake News, which is somewhat appropriate here since Liberty U. in Lynchburg, Va. is run by Dr. Jerry Falwell, Jr. the Evangelical figure who is also a vocal supporter of President Donald J. Trump.
There were and will be no national championships awarded in men's basketball, lacrosse or baseball this spring simply because the NCAA universe basically shut down like the rest of the country because of the ever-growing destruction caused by the coronavirus.
Liberty made the news last week by RE-Opening after spring break, a move which drew reaction from dismay to outrage.
Presumably, the 2,000-or-so students who were enticed, ordered, (pick a term) to come back are now having second or third thoughts about the decision.
Not surprisingly, there already reports of multiple positive virus cases among the returning students.
But, for now, the school is open, which technically means that Liberty would be the only school in the NCAA with a chance to win an NCAA title.
That is a moot point, because there are no opponents who are still participating in those sports.
This, of course, is all nonsense.
It is also downright scary that Falwell ,the son of the late Southern Baptist pastor, Jerry Falwell Sr,. has the gall to do something like this--under any circumstances.
Considering that COVID-19 is a real threat, with a body count that could eventually top ALL of the casualties in every war in American History, it is an act of either stupidity or arrogance, perhaps both.
None of this bothers Falwell and Liberty, which has become a Halfway House for shattered athletic reputations.
How else to explain the hiring of a football coach from the University of Mississippi, who was fired because of "moral turpitude'.
Or how about athletic director Ian McCaw, who came to Liberty from Baylor University, whose athletic department had been ravaged by a series of sexual assaults, which also resulted in McCaw's dismissal.
With that track record, there may be hope for Harvey Weinstein landing a job in community relations if he should somehow escape from prison.