Chris Duel's BLOG

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Chris Duel's BLOG

LINK To Chris Duel's Blog at MySanAntonio.com

JUDGE NOT? Steve McNair, Michael Jackson and Us July 6, 2009

It was Saturday. The Fourth of July. And America learned of another high-profile celebrity death.

This time it was former NFL quarterback Steve McNair. McNair was nowhere near the superstar that Michael Jackson was (who is?). But followers of pro football and the community of Nashville knew him well.

Like so many of the Spurs players in San Antonio, Steve McNair had a squeaky clean persona. In an era of bad apple athletes, McNair was known for his accomplishments on and off the field. On the field he was the 2003 NFL co-MVP, made the Pro Bowl three times and a trip to the Super Bowl that left his Tennessee Titans one yard shy of overtime and a potential championship. Off the field, McNair was a community leader, giving back to underprivileged kids though his foundation, monetary donations and football camps. By all accounts, he was a happily married father of four.

McNair's life, and perhaps his all-American image, came to an end in the early morning hours of July 4th. Reports suggest that the 36-year-old McNair was shot twice in the chest and twice in the head by his 20-year-old "friend," Sahel Kazemi, who then apparently turned the gun on herself.

It will almost certainly be revealed that McNair was romantically involved with Kazemi, who was a waitress at a Dave & Buster's restaurant that McNair's family frequented.

Like the rest of humankind to varying degrees, Steve McNair was not perfect. Already he is being judged for his apparent affair with the young woman.

A typically harsh judgment was written on my Facebook page by a man named Jay:

"Uh, the guy was most probably cheating on his wife. With a Dave and Busters waitress. No pity for him."

When others on Facebook protested Jay's lack of pity, he responded:

"Only someone who is a cheater would support someone who ran around on not only his wife, but his kids. He deserved what he got."

"No pity for him?" "He deserved what he got?" So much for the Biblical admonition, "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

A similar reaction took place days earlier after the death of Michael Jackson.

On our ESPN 1250 radio show, my co-host Jason Minnix and I cited the many positive contributions the King of Pop made to the world. We were chastised by some for "glorifying a pedophile." One e-mailer said he would never listen to our show again because of our positive words about Jackson.

(To be fair, we did frequently discuss the numerous allegations against Jackson during our radio coverage, but we also pointed out that he was never convicted of those charges.)

Clearly, Steve McNair and Michael Jackson were not perfect human beings. While some contend that they committed sins that are unforgivable, I would ask those who sit in such scornful judgment of these men to take a look in the mirror.

What does the intensity of your reaction to these men after their deaths say about you?

What is it about them and about you that makes even the thought of forgiveness so inconceivable?

To all of you who judge Steve McNair, Michael Jackson or any person so harshly, it is my sincere wish that on the day of your death you will not be judged by those who believe the worst of you, but that you'll be loved and forgiven despite your earthly flaws.

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"Ease his pain" -- The Voice, from "Field of Dreams" May 13, 2009

My favorite movie of all time is "Field of Dreams." It's a 1989 film starring Kevin Costner as a character named Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who hears a voice from beyond.

Ray meets the spirit of his father in "Field of Dreams"

When Ray hears the voice for the first time at dusk in his corn field, the words "If you build it, he will come" send him on a life altering journey.

Ray is inspired to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his corn field, which ultimately brings long deceased baseball players to his Field of Dreams.

Along the way, a subsequent message from The Voice is "Ease His Pain." At the time, Ray doesn't know whose pain he is supposed to ease. But he eventually discovers that he is actually easing not only the pain of his father, who died years earlier, but his own pain as well.

At the end of the film, Ray plays catch with the spirit of his father. A poignant moment combining the love of fathers and sons and the heart of the quintessential American game.

There are many reasons why I love the film "Field of Dreams." Among them: I never played catch with my father. After a tour in Vietnam, he died when I was four years old. I've seen "Field of Dreams" a hundred times, and I still cannot watch the final scene of Ray playing catch with his father without tears.

While conducting an interview on the radio Tuesday, I couldn't help think of "Field of Dreams" and of the words from The Voice, "Ease His Pain."

Jason Minnix and I were interviewing author S.L. Price, who has written the new book "Heart Of The Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America." Unlike "Field of Dreams," "Heart of The Game" is a true story. A brutally true story.

It is the story of two men chasing their baseball dreams, on a collision course one July night in 2007.

On July 22, 2007, 35-year-old San Antonian Mike Coolbaugh was killed in the 9th inning of a minor league baseball game in Little Rock, Arkansas. The first base coach, Mike was struck by a line drive hit by Tulsa Drillers catcher Tino Sanchez. The sudden impact of the speeding baseball hit Mike's neck, severing his vertebral artery, causing almost instant death.

Mike Coolbaugh

In San Antonio, many of us knew or were aware of Mike Coolbaugh. A multi-sport star athlete at Roosevelt High School in the late-Eighties, his future seemed limitless as he turned professional. He spent over a decade in the minor leagues, before realizing his major league dreams with the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

By 2007, Mike was out of the game, but accepted a job as first base coach with the Tulsa Drillers. He had only been with the team three weeks on that fateful July night.

I've been privileged to meet many members of the Coolbaugh family in the aftermath of Mike's death, including his wife Mandy and their children Joey, Jake and Anne Michael. Mandy was pregnant with Anne Michael when Mike died.

"Ease his pain."

Tino Sanchez, with Mike Coolbaugh's jersey behind him

I never met the man who hit the baseball that killed Mike that night. His name is Tino Sanchez, a catcher from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Tino has been tortured ever since his swing of the bat that balmy July night. Yet few people think of his pain and few remember his name.

From "Heart of The Game"...

After a game that Tino played a few feet from Mike's brother Scott, Mike's sister Lisa and Scott's wife Susan approached Tino.

Susan led the way down to the railing near the field, Lisa trailing behind. "I couldn't breathe, she says. "I didn't know if I could talk."

A teammate tapped Tino, pointed to the two women. He walked over just past the on-deck circle. Most of the fans had gone. He didn't know their faces. Susan said her name and said she was Scott's wife. Tino's eyes suddenly stung; he took off his hat and reached out his hand. Susan shook it and Lisa, knowing the attention would shift to her now, felt her throat thicken. Tino turned and put out his hand, but she ignored it and found herself falling through her own tears toward him and the two clutched each other. It was near 10:30 p.m.

Lisa began talking. She told Tino that the family was doing well. That he should feel no guilt. That it's part of baseball, that Mike was proud of how you and he worked together. She cried again, and Tino nodded, two strangers touched by mercy on an obscure Texas ballfield. The stadium lights went dark. For the first time since Mike died, Tino felt lighter.

"Field of Dreams" is a work of fiction.

"Heart of The Game" is real.

Mike Coolbaugh's legacy lives on, and the heart of his family not only eases the pain of Tino Sanchez, but the rest of us who are touched by this tragic, yet sublime story.

S.L. Price will be signing copies of his new book "Heart of The Game" at The Twig Book Shop (5005 Broadway) on Today at 5pm. Mike's wife, Mandy, and other family members will be there as well.