Losing My Perspicacity, September 23, 2025

Good morning and Happy Tuesday! Thanks for starting your day with me.

One of the first things I saw upon opening social media yesterday morning was this post:

That’s right. Tom Brady, the man who took out a PPP loan during the pandemic and bought a yacht shortly thereafter, eschewed masks during COVID, and stumped to bring Antonio Brown to Tampa, where he continued to rack up allegations of violence against women, is coming out of retirement to play in a flag football tournament put on by Saudi Arabia — the country that murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and is tossing women in prison for the “terrorist” crime of feminism.

Awful Announcing’s piece is about the league telling players they don’t have to participate in the event, but not because anyone in sports is adverse to taking the Saudi’s blood money these days. No, the league’s out for players is to prevent them from getting injured. Other NFL players who have committed to playing are CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Sauce Gardner, Tyreek Hill, and Maxx Crosby.

The AA piece does not address the ethics of playing in a tournament for a country with a history of trying to whitewash their way out of voluminous and credible allegations of human rights violations, including possibly providing assistance to the 9/11 hijackers, and beheading members of the LGBTQ+ community. If I had to guess, no one in sports media has even bothered to ask about it.

Here is what Human Rights Watch has to say about the Saudi’s sportswashing:

Some of you may know that my initial foray into media was through sports talk radio, and I get asked frequently why I don’t cover sports like I used to. This kind of thing is why. Sports have a huge impact on how America frames societal and political issues, and how we work through a fair number of our cultural concerns, like sexism, racism, and homo/transphobia. Don’t believe me? Look at how Riley Gaines and her army of TERFs have spun the issue of trans women in sports, or how the WNBA flipped the Senate in 2020. As I always say, MLB integrated before the rest of the country did, Muhammad Ali brought opposition to the Vietnam War into people’s living rooms, and Billie Jean King was and still is crucial to the fight for equal pay.

So when Cubs’ infielder Matt Shaw misses a game to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral, or Andy Reid’s kid gets a pardon from the governor after severely injuring a child while driving drunk, or Tom Brady aids the Saudis in sportswashing their legacy, someone should be there asking about it. Unfortunately, asking those questions is not popular in sports media — not among the bros who cover it, and not among the men in charge. I learned early and often that women allowed into the space were expected to keep their heads down, laugh at all the sexism, and not delve into uncomfortable subjects like “Why is this athlete playing this week after being arrested for domestic violence over the weekend?”

Everyone covering sports is supposed to preserve the bubble in which a certain segment of the population exists. Reminding people that sports have an effect on the real world, and vice versa, is frowned upon.

With the blurring of the lines between sports media and sports leagues, this problem is only getting worse. Once great media outlets, like ESPN, now have “insiders” instead of reporters. Insiders aren’t held to the same ethical standards as journalists and exist as PR mouthpieces for the leagues they cover — in exchange for tips and breaking news. Worse, ESPN is buying a stake in the NFL, further muddying the water between reporting and public relations. Reporters like Bob Ley and Kate Fagan have been replaced by no-substance talking heads like Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee, neither of whom has two brain cells to rub together.

Further, there is no infrastructure in sports media to protect voices from “the left.” By “the left,” I mean people who actually recognize and care about the effect sports have on marginalized groups. While Pat McAfee allowed Aaron Rodgers free time to promote MAHA propaganda every Tuesday (and paid him $1 million to do it), Stephen A. weighs in on politics on FOX News, and NFL on FOX partners with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy (despite his long and well-documented history of racism and sexism), nothing is counterbalancing the right-wing propaganda. For crying out loud, 26 NFL teams had moments of silence for Charlie Kirk, despite the league being populated by 70 percent Black players. We’re subjected to displays of military might before every NFL (and a fair amount of MLB) games, and players who refuse to wear LGBTQ+ gear on Pride nights are treated like incorrigible children by their teams. “What can you do?”

There simply isn’t anything of equal volume and force coming from the left. The few journalists who did ask the important questions, like Jim Trotter, Kate Fagan, Bomani Jones, and Pablo Torre, have been systemically sidelined by media outlets, teams, and leagues, or are out of the game altogether. And the online harassment that comes with espousing progressive views in sports is something that media outlets perpetually seem unprepared and unable to handle.

So Tom Brady and a whole bunch of NFL players will go to Saudi Arabia, the Saudis will continue to lure golfers with LIV money, the Kingdom will host the World Cup in 2034, and their long history of human rights abuses will be, eventually, forgotten.

There is simply no one asking the right questions anymore.

Today: Disney capitulates over Kimmel; The ACLU is suing Ball State University; NVIDIA eats its own tail; and The High Note.

Let’s go.

With stock slumping, Disney capitulates

After trying to appease subscribers by releasing a new Star Wars trailer yesterday morning, Disney announced yesterday afternoon that Jimmy Kimmel will return to the air tonight.

And look, I am a sucker for Mando and Grogu as much as anyone else, but I feel that Mando, more than anyone, would want me to resist tyranny in all its forms, including by streaming services. He has lived under a fascist regime! He knows political upheaval! His people have been driven underground!

Here’s Disney’s milquetoast statement:

In a huge coincidence, Disney’s decision came after 400 celebrities, including Mando himself, Pedro Pascal, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and a fair number of others who have starred in Disney movies, signed an open letter backing Kimmel.

But just because ABC is putting Kimmel back on the air doesn’t mean you’ll see it. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns more than 150 ABC affiliates across the country, said it will begin “preempting” Kimmel’s show and replacing it with “news” shows.

Now let’s do CBS/Paramount.

The ACLU to the rescue

Last week, I shared the story of Suzanne Swierc, the former director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State University, whose face was blasted out to the masses by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita for her extremely mild and reasonable take on Charlie Kirk’s death. Swierc was subsequently fired by Ball State (so much for the marketplace of ideas). Now, the ACLU is suing the school on her behalf.

I’ve never cheered on a lawsuit so hard in my life. Go Suzanne!

NVIDIA says … something

I don’t think I’m a stupid person, but I’m also a big liberal arts person, meaning my eyes glaze over at anything that looks technical or potentially involves math. That said, see if you can figure out what this press release is saying:

If all of that wasn’t confusing enough, consider that this is what’s actually happening:

Thank God people are able to put it so succinctly, because the circular logic of this deal made my head hurt. I was pretty sure that was the gist of it, but I’ll give credit where credit is due: Whoever wrote that press release mastered the art of saying a lot while saying nothing. Are any of these companies actually making/creating anything?

This was the best analogy I saw about this deal:

But remember, AI is the future! BTW, if you want to know what’s actually happening with all these AI “geniuses,” make sure you’re following Ed Zitron on social media.

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

Shoutout to the Italians, who pulled together a 24-hour general strike in solidarity with Gaza.

More than 75 cities saw protests — they shut down the whole country!

Hey, survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down!