someone forgot to give that memo to the mainstream media in regards to obama

And because of that, my attempt at humor may have seemed slighted, cruel, and even insensitive.

For that, I apologize. ”

It seems clear to me. Parker thought he was asking a funny question. He never considered what would happen if some folks didn’t get the joke. Once he considered how easy it was not to get the joke, he realized his attempt at humor may have seemed slighted etc., and apologized.

Lots of comedians have written jokes they thought were funny, only to see them bomb and then engender controversy. I think this is one of those cases. I see nothing wrong with Parker’s apology. I see plenty wrong with Marinelli’s nepotism. I mean, give that these are the Detroit Lions here, it was foreseeable that they would not be a good team even if the coaches were good. And there’s no way to objectively rate quality coaching without quality results: victories on the field. So I think Marinelli *should* have seen the probability that at some point this year, he might be put in the terrible position of appearing not to fire his son-in-law because of his daughter, or the terrible position of having to fire his son-in-law to protect his own job.

So IMO Marinelli, as soon as it became clear that a wedding was in the offing, should have told the son-in-law to find another job ASAP, given him a letter of recommendation, and sent him packing. It would have protected both of them. Yes, maybe the son-in-law is the best defensive coach in football, and Marinelli was right to want to keep him. But given that front office, what are the chances that even the best coach in football might be hamstrung by the players he had to work with?

“Over the course of one’s sports writer/broadcaster/reporter career, you’re bound to say something stupid or offensive at some point. You ask 5000 questions over the years and one is in bad taste… it’s gonna happen. ”

– absolutely true, and one reason my teaching career had its ups and downs…

However, there’s no way in the world he just pulled that line out of the air. He had that one in the holster ready to go, so while I can allow some slack for a Crime of Passion, this was clearly Premeditated Sniping.

Unfortunately I’m not sure the Geneva Convention permits a punishment more severe than watching the Lions year after year, so I’m guessing he’ll get off with time served.

Love your work, but I think your introduction to this column mischaracterized the Parker-Marinelli exchange leading up to his final question. As another poster noted, Parker had been pestering Marinelli the whole session with questions about the coordinator; when he didn’t get the reaction/answer he wanted, he went for the jugular and crossed the line.

Beyond that, it’s important to note exactly which question was asked — if he simply said “if he wasn’t you son-in-law would he still have a job”, to me that’s a legitimate and fair (if pointed) question. But to phrase it the way he did was nothing more than a cheap shot intended to pique Marinelli into exploding on national TV.

He deserves whatever criticism he gets, and then some.