OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | MAY 22, 2022
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Suns coach displays more soul than governor hopefuls BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
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ew things in life reveal character more than heartbreak. Given that Phoenix Suns basketball coach Monty Williams has faced more than his share of adversity, including the death of his wife in a head-on collision caused by a driver sky-high on meth, perhaps we should not be surprised by how gracefully Williams handled the Suns shocking Game 7 implosion against the Dallas Mavericks. Williams’ candor and eloquence, coupled with his willingness to accept responsibility for that miserable 123-90 blowout, impressed me even more than his team’s best-in-the-NBA 64 wins during the regular season. Truth be told, Williams is also more impressive than the three Democrats and five Republicans currently running for governor of Arizona. The man exudes perspec-
tive, dignity, moral strength and leadership – qualities in short supply in politics today. On a Monday Zoom press conference hours after the Mavs’ onslaught ended, Williams explained how he’d spent the night reflecting on the season past and talking it over with his family and coaches. He spoke about his own high expectations, now dashed, and the many steps forward the Suns have made under his leadership. The NBA’s reigning Coach of the Year also talked about the gut-twist losing brings and what he’d told his locker room afterward. “(I) wanted them to understand that we accepted the praise when everybody was talking about us and we were winning games and guys were accomplishing things, and now we have to accept this,” said Williams. “This is going to help us grow in a way that last year didn’t allow for us to grow. These are the adverse times that help you.” You could see the sadness in the man’s eyes as he acknowledged what could
have been. “It is a huge sting to end this way,” he said. “But it’s just part of it. It’s part of our journey. We have to accept it and embrace it and try our best to grow from it.” When was the last time you heard a political figure speak that articulately, that intuitively, in such a soul-crushing moment? I have written thousands of talking points for dozens of candidates and office holders – none of those words as authentic as Williams’ thoughts – and I would walk through walls to work for a human being with such emotional intelligence, should that person decide to run for office. Tossed a softball by a reporter asking what went wrong – a question perfect for deflecting blame – Williams would have none of it. Of course, this is a man who missed two seasons of college basketball at Notre Dame because of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a rare and potentially deadly heart condition. By comparison, this latest professional heartbreak perhaps seemed less
life-shattering. “You know, I could sit here and make some excuses about stuff. I’m not going to do that,” the coach said. “I think everybody is somewhat tired this time of the year. I think teams are dealing with bumps and bruises. We just weren’t as consistent as we had shown during the regular season.” Come October, the Suns will begin another long grind of a season, led by Monty Williams once more. I had lost my passion for this team because of their legion of front office troubles, but Williams has a way of making you believe. He has been tested in ways most of us will never understand, this father who had to raise five children on his own, this husband who lost his wife of two decades in an instant, this gentleman who has an unshakeable faith and a steady hand with people. Maybe next year for the Suns. Though I wish Monty Williams had better things to do than pace the Phoenix hardwood come Election Day 2022. ■
If success is further championed as government intervening via “public health” and “public education” to usurp the traditional role of parents in the family… If success is typified by acute shortages of baby formula for American families, but plenty of it for the infants of illegal aliens, who enter our country unlawfully… …then (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy), you might just be a “Biden Backer!” But wait…there’s more! If you define success by shutting down domestic sources of energy, and believe it’s better to purchase oil from Iran and Venezuela… If you count as success the resulting higher-and-higher-and-higher prices at the pump, leading to higher prices for everything… If success to you is forcing Americans to abandon the freedom of family cars for the uniform control of movement found via
mass transit… …then you probably are a “Biden Booster.” If you interpret as success the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, leaving hundreds—perhaps thousands— of our fellow citizens behind… If you deem it successful to allow thousands of Afghan refugees into our country, unvetted, and undocumented, and put them on a “fast track” to citizenship… If you score it as a success to abandon billions of dollars of military equipment to the Taliban… …then you are undoubtedly a “Biden Believer.” And finally… If you think success is found in subsidizing drug abuse in our inner cities by providing taxpayer-funded crack pipes, then denying the presence of those pipes in socalled “safe smoking kits…”
If you determine success as transforming our justice system into a system of “just us,” freeing or refusing to prosecute violent criminals, then empowering those same criminals to again take to the streets in what you call “mostly peaceful protests…” If you believe future success will be built upon the erasure of our national borders and the continued illegal invasion of our nation… …then you are in a distinct minority! An NBC News Survey conducted in mid-May found that 75 percent of American adults believe our country is on the wrong track. That means that the meager 25 percent still insisting that things are great must possess a blind faith in Joe Biden. A more realistic view, shared by threequarters of the public, can be found in this
Why Biden supporters comprise a minority BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
Y
ou may have entertained this thought—perhaps in different words or at an earlier point— sometime over the past 18 months. It appeared recently in the form of a question found in an email…but the fact that it was posed in “game show friendly” form does nothing to detract from the genuine jeopardy we all now face: “Are there any examples of the Biden Administration proposing policies that ‘might work?’” In the tradition of Bill Clinton’s infamous utterance, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” If success is defined as decreeing by government edict and “cultural consciousness” that there are more than two genders, regardless of the principles of biology…
see HAYWORTH page 22
