A Better East Texas: Sports need to recapture their appeal

EAST TEXAS (KLTV/KTRE) - Sports have lost much of their innocence and maybe even much of their appeal. We are currently in a lull on sports activity across the nation.

While some are preparing for March Madness, some sports are licking their wounds – many of which are self-inflicted. Professional baseball is facing a lockout over a labor dispute, so the pro baseball season will probably be much shorter than normal. Horse racing recently stripped the title of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit because of a failed drug test. In college hoops, Michigan coach Juwan Howard has been fined and suspended for starting a fight with a coach from Wisconsin.

But wait there is more. The NFL is facing a cloud of legal action surrounding racial struggles at the head coaching level and we have just finished up the winter Olympics where doping allegations seemed to be the one constant in discussions about the games.

So, yes, this is a low point for many sports, and it is a sad commentary on how far some will go to have an impact in their respective sports.

And there is now pressure on sports as an industry due to sports betting that has become commonplace around the nation.

While it is not yet legal in Texas, it is probably not far away.

So, the sports industry has established a new identity and in general, it is not a good one.

We need to recapture why sports are appealing – the human journey of competitiveness and achievement. Without that, sports are just another group of program offerings on TV.

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