A closer look

So I thought we should probably take a little closer look at recent events from a more honest perspective. There are always more than one side to an issue, and often there are even more perspectives to each side of an issue. Let’s try to understand why someone would try to draw a comparison between Mr. Murray and the leadership he has shown as the owner of Murray Energy and the leadership of a soccer coach in Jason Kreis? Did anyone who was not directly related to the coal mining in Utah know who Bob Murray was before the collapse at the Crandall Mine? So if no one knew anything about him, how could you compare him with a person who had dozens (225 results for a search of Jason Kreis on the desertnews website) of quotes, articles, and interviews in the local media in their brief coaching tenure, still under 4 months on the job? I know you find someone who the national media has portrayed as a loon, someone trying to respond to a tragedy in which he is at the center of and you compare them to someone you dislike. Yup, that is what you do when you have an agenda, when you have a bile filled hatred of someone or something. Sure enough that is what was done.

Is Bob Murray a saint? I don’t know? I can not pretend to understand someone based of media coverage of them over a 20 day period, to say that I understand him or how he leads his company would be a lie at best. I do know this that under great pressure, people respond in strange ways. Was Bob wrong to say that the mine collapse was a natural disaster? I don’t know because I was not given the information he was, it seems that the experts do not believe it was a natural event, but only time and research will truly tell us what happened. Was it his leadership that directly led to the safety violations at the mine? I don’t know, I am not a mine safety expert, and I would not try to determine where fault lies in something I know nothing about. I did take the time to look at their safety record for the last couple years and based on real data, their record this year was going to be the best in over 5 years, and below the national average for this type of coal mine. So in a time of crisis and tragedy most organizations public or private will have one main spokesperson, that person in this case was the co-owner Bob Murray, does that mean that he had intimidated other workers into silence, no I have read many articles and seen interviews with workers, family members, government officials. The next point from the cynic is that he is too optimistic, yes he should have come out on the day of the collapse and said “I’m Sorry they are all dead, we will make no effort to rescue them”, my god if you are going to be a critic of someone who holds out hope, and is willing to do everything they can to try and make a horrible, painful situation a little easier on the families, then go for it. I call that low and vile.

Now let’s take a look at Jason, and how the cynical view holds up. So how many of you have taken a new job in your life? How many of you were just out of school or working at a different job, without what many would consider the skills to fill the new position? Yes, it happens to almost everyone at some point in your life, now how many of you have had every word you utter, every action you take, and every facial expression examined while you were on that job? How many of you did it take weeks, months, and maybe even years to become an expert at what you do? Oh wait, a sports coach is different than that. Was Jason the best choice, I don’t think so. I would have loved to see a coach with years of experience, who had won major championships, who could with a roster of medium level talent do extraordinary things; does anyone know the name of that coach? But if the owner of the team has confidence that Jason Kreis can lead the team, then I have to respect his choice. It is his money on the line, it is his organization, and it was his decision. I can be critical, but to be cynical of someone from day one will never accomplish anything. Has RSL reduced it’s salary cap, yes, but it has yet to prove that it knows what to do with the available funds. Has RSL become a much younger team, yes they have, and while youth comes at a price (inexperience) it is critical for long term success. Look at how Houston built their championship team, get young players that everyone believes are talented and then let them develop into a powerhouse team. We can only hope that RSL will get to taste a sample of the success that Houston has over the past few years. So when was the last time that a NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or MLS assistant coach held a press conference? Do they get interviewed? Yes, not as often as a head coach but they do, and yes the RSL staff has been interviewed. Does a coach who is taking over a team that has struggled, simply state on his first day ” Well we lack talent, desire, heart, and drive on this team, so we will just forfeit the rest of our matches this season” No, they hold out hope that their team can rebound.

Are Bob Murray and Jason Kreis clones as far as leadership, no, and to try and find a way to tie them together is simply deceitful, dishonest, sad. If you claim you know all there is to know about Bob from the last 20 days of press coverage, then you are simply a liar. If you think you know how Jason will end up as a leader after less than 4 months in charge, then you have a mighty good crystal ball.

For RSL fans this has been a very tough season, play on the pitch has been less than expected, public image has been tarnished, and cynics, critics, and haters abound. Yet, still 10-12,000 people show up to support their team, the stadium is moving forward at an incredible pace, and we have seen some bright spots from several of the new players on the roster. The future is not a rose garden, but it also is not a compost heap.

OFF MY SOAPBOX

This entry was posted on August 22, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.