The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!
I love all you loyal readers—you have my absolute appreciation. Last month’s issue regarding Team USA and the discussion of equal pay received a lot of feedback, overwhelmingly positive. Glad to know Middle Tennessee still has common sense. Some of you disagreed and sent me scolding emails. I also absolutely, positively have appreciation for my haters! If you’re reading this now, haters, you’re keeping me relevant.
Two issues ago I did a piece on my disgust towards transgender athletes. Just a little forewarning: at the end of this article I have another example of the ridiculousness that results when biological men compete professionally in sports with biological women. Why bring this up so often, Z-Train? The simple answer is that it bothers me. I wish to shed light on this with the hope that it ends before it becomes prevalent. We already have trans athletes breaking world records, and soon we won’t have any natural born females holding any.
Many of you would be standing around in the future saying “how did this happen?” and I will say “I tried to tell you, over and over. I brought attention to numerous stories and examples.”
Footy football is just around the corner. The level of excitement this brings me can’t be put into words. Football is perfect, it is family, it’s friends, it’s good food and it is simply a way of life. I mean, my motto is the 5 Fs—Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends!
Next issue we will get in depth with a 100 percent Tennessee Titans-only preview, so I am excited for that article. But for now let’s just keep it simple with a little Titan talk, some ESPN shenanigans, and we’ll wrap it all up with a transgender bow. So, let’s get into the beef of this enchilada.
I want to first discuss Taylor Lewan. Lewan failed a drug test and is now being suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season. He violated the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy after, supposedly unbeknownst to him, taking the banned substance. He put out a tearful video apologizing to the Titans and the team’s fans. In one segment he says “I want everyone to know that I’ve never taken this supplement knowingly, and I’ve never cheated the game and I never will.” He also released the results from a polygraph appearing to back up that claim.
Lewan will dispute the test results in an appeal that will probably do him no good. The fact remains they found ostarine in his urine sample, purposely ingested or not, making it very unlikely he will win an appeal. I believe Taylor Lewan’s claim and yet I have zero sympathy for him. As former Titan safety Bernard Pollard said, “I can care less about a polygraph test. You mean to tell me you are a multimillion-dollar athlete and you don’t know what the freak you’re putting in your system?”
Harsh words, and they ring true for me. Coach Vrabel even stressed that players who aren’t positive about taking new supplements should always bring them in for strength and conditioning coaches to double-check whether they’re approved. Instead, Taylor put his trust in an unnamed nutritionist who probably worked at GNC. Taylor just got paid a huge contract and now he is leaving Marcus Mariota less protected.
The Titans open the season vs. the Browns, Colts, Jags and Falcons.
I love Lewan’s fiery passion. He is one of the best offensive linemen in the game. He passionately protects his quarterback and he is feared by opponents. Being honest, I don’t care if he took them by accident or not. I only care that he gets on the field as soon as possible so that his $80 million contract can be used helping the Titans win games!
Alright, that was depressing, but necessary. Next issue, it’s all Titans talk, and it will be 90 percent encouraging.
Dan Le Batard
Just a few issues ago I wrote about how the current ESPN president announced the network would stay away from discussing politics. Recently Dan Le Batard ignored the network’s stance on avoiding politics on the air. Dan went on a rant, criticizing President Trump for his comments on a few female congresswomen. Dan also criticized ESPN’s political policy as “cowardly,” putting the network and ESPN President Pitaro in a no-win situation.
Pitaro met with Dan shortly after the controversy and, by all accounts, Dan won’t be punished. The left applauded Dan and can’t wait to see if he once again undermines his network and boss. Go watch the clip on YouTube, it’s so awkward. The other analyst on the show seems uncomfortable. My go-to channel from age 16–25 was ESPN. It was always on my TV, even when I wasn’t paying attention. My go-to channel these days is the Weather Channel. That’s right! I love watching live radars. ESPN better wake up; it is still one of the most expensive cable channels. Many pay a monthly bill so they wouldn’t know what each individual channel costs, but ESPN charges nearly double what the next-most-popular channel costs.
I learned a few things from this. Dan doesn’t respect his boss, and President Pitaro is weak. He made a rule, it was broken, and he should have fired Dan. Instead Pitaro feared facing a leftist backlash. I thought Pitaro was a man of strength after announcing the network would cease political noise. He proved me wrong.
Laurel Hubbard
I told you we would end on the topic of transgender athletes. Laurel Hubbard, I have written about Hubbard many times in the past. Hubbard suffered a gruesome arm injury lifting last year, considered at the time to be “career ending.” Hubbard, who was born a man named Gavin, was on track to represent New Zealand in the 2020 Olympics prior to the injury.
Out of nowhere, Hubbard is back in the news and winning. Hubbard recently won two gold medals and one silver in three heavyweight categories at the Pacific games. Samoa’s Prime Minister is appealing to the council stating “This man should have never been allowed by the Pacific Games Council president to lift with the women. I was shocked when I first heard about it. No matter how we look at it, he’s a man and it’s shocking this was allowed.”
Hubbard beat hometown favorites, two impressive looking natural born Samoan females who finished second and third. The online backlash was strong, and why not? This is not fair play.
Former Olympic medalist Sharron Davies summed up my thoughts perfectly after Hubbard won. “It will take female athletes being thrown under the bus at Tokyo 2020 before changes are made to transgender rules.” Hubbard can become the first transgender athlete to win Olympic gold with the new IOC rules. Davies is also positive the rules will change after natural born women lose in the Olympics to a transgender athlete. Why have we allowed this madness? The 41-year-old who was born Gavin transitioned while in his mid-30s and is once again on track to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
What’s the answer? Do we force individuals to compete with their biological gender? Do we create a transgender league? Do we just agree to believe men and women aren’t different, and have one unisex league? Imagine the feminists then! How many women would be represented? Not many.
I very much enjoy watching women compete in the Olympics. I have been glued to the last two decades’ worth of Olympic games. I respect them as athletes and women, as well as their history books and records. Grab your popcorn for the next few years of female athletics, folks, because it’s about to be a historic circus of bad decisions. I agree with Davies—the world will wake up after transgender athletes start winning on the big stage. It’s a shame we can’t wake up right now.
Choo-choo! The Train Daddy is rolling into the station. I have one word of advice for people who play standard league fantasy football: always use your first two picks to take the two best running backs available. I am the 2018 Train Daddy Mafia Champion after all. I can’t wait for them to hand me my trophy at this year’s live draft.
If you learned anything this issue, I hope it was this: enjoy football this season with family and friends while enjoying some delicious food. Make memories. Don’t take drugs unless you know what kind of drugs you’re taking. And regarding sports, society has agreed men and women aren’t on a level playing field. We have gender leagues for a reason, and separate leagues take nothing away from the success of one or the other genders. To my loyal readers and haters, peace!
