Richard Hyatt: Sports reporters enter unfamiliar territory

The first time I entered a court of law it was to report on a federal case involving professional golfer Jane Blalock.

This was a foreign land for a newsman trained to write about quarterback sneaks and hitting behind the runner. What I knew about a courtroom I learned watching episodes of "Perry Mason." I was used to talking with semi-clothed defensive tackles and now I was interviewing a lawyer in an expensive suit.

I was just as inadequate reporting on a University of Georgia quarterback who got into a late-night scrape at the Krystal or the Georgia Tech quarterback whose sudden departure from the team inspired a protest led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Times have changed. These days there are as many stories on the sports page about off-the-field shenanigans as there are articles about hurry-up offenses or whether Florida should change quarterbacks.

Over the past few weeks, we read about an NFL running back who punched his wife in the head in an elevator, another who severely whipped his child with a switch, a player who head-butted his wife before hitting his baby with a shoe, a quarterback who addressed an opponent with a racial slur and others charged with spousal abuse.

That's hardly a complete list. It does not include the Heisman Trophy winner who screamed inappropriate terms on campus and was suspended for a big game only to show up on the sideline in full gear ready to mug for ESPN cameras. In the end, the exiled quarterback got as much screen time as his innocent replacement.

Pity the media. Reporters need law school as much as journalism school, and if they're going to write about the effects of head injuries on football players, a few courses in medical school might be needed.

When I was a kid I learned to read so I could check out the sports section.

I skipped the front page and went right to the baseball standings or to see what my favorite columnist had to say about a coach's goofy decision on the one-yard line.

The first time I remember the sports pages dealing with more than a game was in 1961. It was the fourth quarter at Legion Field. Georgia Tech's Chick Granning was fielding a punt when Alabama defender Darwin Holt hit him in the face. The result was a concussion, five lost teeth, a fractured jaw and a broken nose.

For weeks, it was Atlanta versus Birmingham. Furman Bisher versus Alf Van Hoose. Bobby Dodd versus Bear Bryant. I met Granning years later and immediately noticed that he still talked out of the side of his mouth.

Darwin Holt was mean. But as far as we know, he never beat his wife or injured his child.

-- Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: Sports reporters enter unfamiliar territory."