As I sat at home over break and watched sports coverage, I was annoyed how much attention was given to a particular NFL player by the media: NFL’s bad boy Randy “I Play When I Wanna Play” Moss. If you followed football the past two weeks, you probably know of his actions. But if you were snowed in without TV reception, I’ll recap two particular events that made headlines.
Two weeks ago the Minnesota Vikings were losing to the Washington Redskins. With two seconds left, and the Vikings about to attempt an onside kick, Moss was spotted walking off the field into the locker room. His act bothered many players and drew outrage from the national media. Last weekend, Moss again drew the spotlight during the Vikings-Packers playoff game. After Moss scored his second touchdown, he went over to the goalpost and pretended to moon the fans and wipe his rear on the padding. Joe Buck, one of the Fox announcers, said, “That is a disgusting act by Randy Moss and it’s unfortunate we had that on our air live.”
To Buck and other Moss detractors, this celebration lasted around three seconds. He didn’t even expose anything. Tony Dungy, a respected minority head coach, even came to his defense. I don’t agree with leaving your team, even if the game was pretty much over, but Moss later said on national television that it was the wrong thing to do. It’s water under the bridge. I feel though that the national media only shows Moss’ negative acts and never the good things he does.
As a Minnesota native, and loyal fan of the Vikings, here is the “other” side of Moss. For some reason, the national media decided not to show this public defense of Moss that appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on January 13. A representative from St. Joseph’s Home for Children wrote in a letter, “…And while talking about and writing about you makes for great radio, great television ratings and newspaper profit, trashing you doesn’t feed a homeless family or comfort a frightened child. You know how to do this…You do not take credit or publicize your charitable efforts. Never forget, Randy, that your private kindness to others is the measure of who you really are…” This is the other side of Moss.
I bet you also didn’t see Moss during a preseason game unknowingly go over to punter Darren Bennett’s son who suffers from muscular dystrophy and twice hand him a touchdown ball he caught. He’s been giving kids his touchdown balls all year at home games. I bet you also didn’t know that during Moss’ rookie training camp in 1998, he met a two-year-old girl from South Dakota. Moss and this young girl named Kassi became fast friends. The following year, Moss got her and her family field passes and ate lunch together in the cafeteria several times. In 2000, Kassi was diagnosed with leukemia. Moss took the time to send birthday presents and visit her in the hospital. Kassi and her family have been Moss’ VIP guests to every training camp since, even with her illness. The only thing Moss asks in return is a kiss on the cheek. So while the media likes to shine light on his field antics and his run-in with a traffic agent, just remember that Moss really grows out of the sunlight.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual writer and are not necessarily held by The Poly or the sports department.
