One of the nice things about the journalism business is the opportunity to be the voice of the downtrodden.
I have a forum to speak up for those people who often don't have an avenue to express themselves, even when all the world seems to be against them.
To that end, I am here today to talk about a group that just can't catch a break in life. These people have been unjustly dragged through the mud, particularly in the world of sports lately.
I am talking, of course, about the Kardashians.
Often the butt of jokes on late night television, in recent months the sisters Kardashian have become just as infamous in the sports world.
As news broke Monday of ex-Laker Lamar Odom, husband of Khloe Kardashian, being let go by the Mavericks after an embarrassing 50-game stint, it was Khloe who was vilified more than Lamar.
“Ever since he married that Kardashian, he's been horrible,” was the popular sentiment on the Internet, always a bastion of cogent discussion.
But let's be real. Odom was a head-case long before reality TV. He was the master of the 31-point, 13-rebound night followed by 4-point, zero-rebound effort.
Never described as mentally tough, the mere mention of his name in trade talks before this season meant his broken heart couldn't possibly suit up for those back-stabbing Lakers again. Just trade me, he pouted, and off to Dallas he went.
The highlight of his Maverick tenure was the rarest of basketball feats. On March 21 against the Lakers, Odom turned in an amazing triple single — in 24 minutes, Odom had one point, one rebound and one assist. Not easy to do. Why the extreme downturn in production? Blame Khloe. How dare she?
But alas, Khloe isn't the only Kardashian to be belittled by sports talking heads.
It was the queen of all Kardashians, Kim, who had a brief marriage to current New Jersey Nets big man Kris Humphries. You know Humphries, right? He's the guy you never knew and were never going to know until he married a Kardashian.
The two lovebirds rushed into matrimony, and realized too late they weren't meant for each other. The result was a 72-day marriage.
Humphries is having his best year as a pro, averaging 13.6 points and 11 rebounds. Kim also dated Reggie Bush, who won a Super Bowl soon after; and Miles Austin of the Cowboys who followed with the best year of his career. The moral is, if you're a pro athlete, don't hate Kim, date Kim.
Of course, high-profile athletes hanging around the Kardashian compound (or is it Kompound?) is nothing weird, since Olympic icon Bruce Jenner has been there all along.
Side note: Imagine being the guy dating other sister Kourtney Kardashian (I'm pretending I don't know his name is Scott Disick). You look around the Thanksgiving Day table and the other men are an NBA champion, a Super Bowl champion and an Olympic champion. Yikes. That will test your manhood.
Anyway, the point is, let's stop blaming the Kardashians and forerunners such as Jessica Simpson, Giselle Bundchen, etc. And let's start putting the blame where it should be, on the undisciplined, easily distracted athletes that fall for them.
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