Sports Night: “Mary Pat Shelby”

Date: January 29, 2021

Season 1, Episode 5

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: I will be back to Star Trek sometime over the weekend when my brain power comes back. I’ve spent a few days not feeling myself and Sports Night has been helping me. Did three-ish loads of laundry today (one was just a really big blanket, so I hasten to call it a fourth full load) and I’m so wiped.

Favorite Quote:

Casey: Now, when I say ‘yesterday’ I’m not speaking metaphorically, I mean it was YESTERDAY. What happened to your values?

Dan: I find that maintaining them is a lot of work. I take a day off every now and then.

Casey: You take a vacation from doing the right thing?

Dan: Yeah. I don’t loot store fronts or anything, but once in awhile when I consider the effort it takes to diligently adhere to a moral compass, I take myself out of the lineup and I rest for the next game.

Casey and Dan, talking morals.

“I’m asking you right now, this very moment, how much do you love me?”: This episode makes me angry, not because it’s a bad episode, but because it’s STILL FUCKING HAPPENING in today’s sports. I will say it’s not just men, but since men’s sports are what is most prominent in the news… it’s what we see the most. Michael Vick gets vilified for dog fighting (which was horrible, but he also went to jail and -I hope- learned from his mistake), other men smoke pot and get suspended, and then the guys who ASSAULT their wives or girlfriends get a slap on the wrist and a fucking fine. There was the kid who was caught raping a women, but because he was white and a swimmer, he only served MONTHS for violating a woman’s body. It’s the subject that incenses me and I absolutely love how this episode handles the situation.

At first, Dana and everyone are super excited… and then there’s the first bit where his lawyers won’t allow any questions about the woman for whom the episode is named after. Then Natalie is sent for a pre-interview and it’s later revealed that she’s been assaulted by the guy they’re about to interview. Everyone is so worried about protecting her and they all later realize “they did a big thing badly” and start to rectify the situation before they can’t come back from it. I’m not saying what they did was perfect, but it was real and it felt that way. This is such a powerful episode and I am pissed every day that the world, especially the sports world, hasn’t gotten their shit together. Just because a woman isn’t physically big enough to play pro football, for example, doesn’t mean she can’t love the game and comment on it or officiate it or coach it. This year’s superbowl has the first female officiant and two women on the coaching staff of one of the teams. The NBA has their first duo of female officiants. Yet the New York Mets just had to fire a man on their staff because he was sending dick pics to women who didn’t want them and told him to stop. I want to tell them all… SNAP OUT OF IT!

TA Out!