The Frank Clark Conundrum
I was always a big fan of Frank Clark when he was at Michigan but, the reason for his departure was awful. Admittedly I was much younger then and I don’t remember how that all played out (with the charges, I know he left the program). I was curious if most were happy he is now a Super Bowl champion or if there is a general indifference towards it?
Either way I’m glad Andy Reid finally won one.
February 3rd, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
Instead of casting stones at Kanye in his presser, he should have worn a picture on his shirt that showed him with his girlfriend he beat up with a reminder to everyone to never forget.
Don't worry Frank, we won't.
February 3rd, 2020 at 11:25 AM ^
More so than Frank Clark, I'm happy for the Chiefs but disappointed that them keeping well known scumbag Tyreek Hill on their team has been abundantly rewarded. They probably aren't winning this Super Bowl with him and his domestic abusing hands. Teams will be further encouraged to keep people like that around now because it clearly pays off
February 3rd, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
I cannot bring myself to root for Frank Clark. Wish he wasn't a Michigan player.
February 3rd, 2020 at 11:46 AM ^
I'm not happy about Frank Clark. I believe in second chances - I don't think he should be blackballed from the NFL or anything - but he doesn't appear to have learned much from his violent past, and I'm not excited to celebrate terrible people.
Seeing guys like Clark and Tyreek Hill be able to celebrate and win a championship is also a reminder that the NFL is generally fine with violence and misogyny in its ranks, but obviously isn't fine with players taking certain social stances. Stuff like that, along with the growing concerns about severe head injuries, is a big reason I've more or less stopped watching the NFL.
February 3rd, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
How or why the fuck is this being downvoted? Frank Clark isn't a good guy. I mean wtf? Do people just put on blinders because he wore the winged helmet? Fuck that and fuck anyone who thinks like that.
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
For real. I haven't seen anything to make me think the world is a better place with him in it. And that goes for most people that think it's ok to victimize those weaker then they are.
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:04 PM ^
Honest question though, what would it take for it to "appear like he has learned from his violent past"?
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:13 PM ^
Honestly, I am not sure I can tell you. I don't follow his career or read anything about him in the NFL. I merely remember him at Michigan, and everything that happened prior to him being drafted. If Frank Clark truly did change for the better, that's great, but I still don't have to like him. I guess donating time/money to charitable causes for domestic assault/abuse would be a really good thing to do, and honestly, he may have already done that, idk. I just don't like this idea that, because Frank Clark went to Michigan, how is everyone feeling about him winning a Super Bowl? Him going to Michigan should mean very little, but I know there are factions of fans who are going to continue to cheer for players/people who do, not so good things all because they went to Michigan.
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
Maybe not get political by asking people to remember the Trump Kanye friendship.
Doesn't show he's the type to move on so why should his detractors?
February 3rd, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
The OP poses a conundrum that doesn't really exist. There's no reason to cheer for an ex-Wolverine who brutalized a woman. Period.
February 3rd, 2020 at 12:32 PM ^
Domestic violence is horrible and I would never condone such behavior.
But. I don’t give a shit about players’ personal lives anymore than any other stranger’s. If they commit horrific crimes, let them face the consequences (which, unfortunately due to their wealth/status, is mostly nil). But I’m not going to stop watching a sport or a team in that sport because of bad things in some of their players’ personal lives. It’s really none of my business and it has nothing to do with the product I consume.
February 3rd, 2020 at 12:50 PM ^
You can do almost anything in the NFL and get away with it... except for kneeling ala Kaepernick. That is where the nfl and fans cross the line.
February 3rd, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
It's not a "conundrum" for me. I don't feel compelled to emotionally identify with every Michigan athlete simply because I'm a UM alum and fan. I don't live vicariously through their exploits. Recognizing somebody's athletic accomplishments doesn't require me to endorse their off-field behavior.
To look at it another way: it's not a secret that more than a few of the most accomplished geniuses in music were—or are—awful people in their personal lives. I'm a huge fan of Miles Davis's music, but he was a real asshole with a pronounced misogynistic streak when he was alive. Does listening to his music make me complicit in abuse of women?
Classical composer Richard Wagner was an anti-Semite who wrote frequently and very negatively about Jews—does the enjoyment of listening to the Ring Cycle imply endorsement of his views?
February 3rd, 2020 at 1:11 PM ^
hes a scumbag... just like lewan. no one can change my mind by winning a "Game".
February 3rd, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
I mean, I don't like Frank Clark. He seems like, well, not a great human being. You can be a fan of a team and not a specific player, and vice versa. Being a fan of, and rooting for someone because of the college they went to is all fine and good, but at a certain point, if you're a shitty person, you're a shitty person and I'm not going to like you.
February 3rd, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
But just because you ride a high horse in a blog doesn’t make,”YOU” a good person either. People are comfortable throwing stones without showing their own lives. You can stay up there but in the grand scheme of things it amounts to absolutely nothing...
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:04 PM ^
Oh for sure. But the question posed in the Board was "I was curious if most were happy he is now a Super Bowl champion or if there is a general indifference towards it?" So the question presented, is a personal one, which is why I gave my own feeling about it. I mean, it isn't like Frank Clark got busted for not paying parking tickets or traffic violations. He, allegedly, attacked his girlfriend. So, to me as some random 30-something living in Metro Detroit, I find it incredibly easy to not attack or hit any person, let alone a girl I was dating. I think I'm a good person, of course you have no idea who I am, what I do, or anything really about me. You can choose to believe me, or not to, it is your choice that I have no control over. Kind of like me choosing to dislike pieces of shit regardless of where they chose to attend college. This idea some Michigan fans have (not saying you're one of them) where they just choose to defend someone simply because he played at Michigan is just pure fucking bullshit.
February 3rd, 2020 at 3:04 PM ^
It's kind of frustrating to see/hear
February 3rd, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
This shit gets old.
February 3rd, 2020 at 9:04 PM ^
I was compelled to get on board with this forum today, I’ve read it for years, never threw my hat in the ring until today. Frank Clark should be ashamed of himself, he had the chance to right the ship for his many wrongs, and he went directly down the rabbit hole given the opportunity. He doesn’t represent integrity, and it’s a shame he chose to make the comments he made. He had a platform to give his coach mad props, his qb, his boys in the trench that got it done, but he took the low road, and it’s regrettable. No need to be angry or spiteful, enjoy the spoils of the greatest victory in all of professional sports. We’d give our left ball for that frank. GO BLUE!