With friends like these...

Last week I read a newspaper story composed by someone named Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post. I wondered what exactly her intent was. Presumably she sought to give a “larger than life” character a human face. If that was her intent, for me she badly misfired, turning her subject—who she helped write an autobiography—into a rather unpleasant, unsympathetic character. The following passages were the ones that stood out most starkly:

“When the first neurologist told her she had symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, she almost dropped him with one punch. When a second advised her to retire immediately, she said, ‘Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?’"

“She told her doctors, ‘You don't know me. You don't know what I'm capable of.’"

“Asked to count backward from 100 by 7s, she froze. Next, she was asked, ‘Do you know today's date?’ She has never known the date. She deals with dates strictly on a need-to-know basis.”

“She performed less strongly on the neuro-psych exam, which evaluated her mental status, and problem solving and spatial abilities. She was led into a small white room by a stranger who promptly began firing math questions at her — and math has always been a sore subject with (her). Her college sorority sisters at the University of Tennessee-Martin had to do her homework for her.”

"’They didn't test for leadership,’ her son says. ‘They didn't test for relationships. They didn't test for basketball IQ. None of those things are on the test; it was just math problems. They asked questions she wouldn't know on a regular basis. So I don't think the test applies to what she does as a coach’”

This, however, was contradicted by an earlier passage:

“After several instances of forgetfulness last season, she says, ‘I lost my confidence.’ She became increasingly hesitant, and withdrawn. She avoided meeting with players one on one, afraid she might say something wrong. There were days — not many, but a few — when she couldn't bring herself to go to the office at all, and stayed home, ‘just to be around the house, and be in a safe place.’"

My general impression is a person who is easily crossed, perhaps verbally abusive, prefers excuses to explain away faults, and cannot function outside the safety of supporters. Not someone I would have much respect for.

Of course, I’m cherry-picking here from a lengthy story, but once a bad impression is made, it is the one that sticks in the mind. The subject of the piece was Pat Summitt, coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols for near four decades, and along with Geno Auriemma, is probably the only coach who has ready name recognition in women’s basketball, professional or collegiate. She had won her first two NCAA titles when I was there, although I don’t recall ever seeing her on campus, or having the impression that anyone accorded her the star status of the football coach. One thing that I did notice over the years that she tended to recruit mostly black players, when other schools were importing Europeans with questionable amateur status. I read somewhere that some white female coaches did not feel “safe” recruiting in black neighborhoods, which explained why their squads were mostly white. But Summitt, who had a reputation as a trash-talker with a blue streak, probably preferred black players because they had a greater tolerance for such verbal antics, when sensitive white players might run and cry to mommy. She might not be the Bobby Knight-type who throws around chairs and punches players, but she was obviously someone who didn’t take fools gladly. In a way, I admired all of that.

Maybe I’ll give Summitt a pass, this time, and blame my negative impression on an overzealous zealot trying too hard to turn her “hero” into a put-upon Prometheus, and instead turning her into some delusional General Patton, who unfortunately did get carried away with his emotions in rather unpleasant ways. With a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the last thing she needs is “friends” making excuses for her; there will come a time when she needs support more tangible and grounded in reality. Where will they be then?