On so many levels, this incident seems incredibly unbelievable but let's unpack this. On the night of July 31, 2019, Saluda County, SC police arrested Georgia Southern University (GSU) quarterback, Shai Werts, for speeding and cocaine possession. As Werts's arrest was picked up and publicized by mainstream media, he was suspended from the GSU football team.

Now, the incident should be an open and shut case, but no. Werts did not deny speeding. He did insist that the white substance police saw on the hood of his car, was not cocaine as the police said it was. Werts said it was bird poop. The police said the substance tested twice for cocaine. Werts explained that he tried to clean the poop from his car. For some strange reason, the unidentified police officers saw nothing odd about a significant amount of possible cocaine residue on the hood of a car. Really? The hood of a car. Let that sink in. Who does that?

Initially, Werts did not pull over when police turned on their siren. It's a sad sign of the times. Werts was reluctant to pull over for police in a dark, isolated area. He had the where-with-all to call 911 to alert them to what was happening. Werts asked the dispatcher to notify the cops following him that he was not trying to escape, he would pull over at a lighted area. That was a smart move on his part.

While enduring the humiliation of arrest and suspension from the GSU football team, it was later determined that the substance removed from the hood of Werts's vehicle was, in fact, not cocaine. There was not confirmation that it was bird poop but it was not cocaine. 

The Saluda County Sheriff's Department should be highly embarrassed by this incident. The manufacturer of their drug field test kit should also investigate the false-positive results generated. As ridiculous as this situation appears, it is a blessing that Shai Werts was not injured or killed.

Retired FSU football coach Bobby Bowden endorses Donald Trump for President of the United States.

So, at a rally in Tampa, Florida last Monday evening, legendary Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden formally endorsed Donald J. Trump for President of the United States of America. Greeted by the crowd with the FSU tomahawk chop, it was both sad and disappointing but not at all surprising. It was a surprise that so many people, particularly Blacks, are surprised that Bowden endorsed a narcissistic, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, emotionally unstable, sexual predator to lead this nation.

Just add Bowden's name to the list of famous athletic coaches that are on the Trump train including Bobby Knight, Mike Ditka, Rex Ryan, Mike Leach, and Lou Holtz. These coaches can be pleasant, even charming when recruiting young black men to play sports for them. They sometimes refer to young black men as "son," but the athletes are never seen as more than tools to win championships. Thus, the low prioritization of academic achievement and personal development of the athletes beyond the football field. The athletic championships can translate to obscene amounts of money for everyone else except the athlete unless he manages to make it to the professional level.

Rumors of Bowden being racist have persisted for years. His endorsement of Donald Trump, even under the guise of religiosity appears to confirm those rumors and gives rise to more concerns about how he views women also. One would be shortsighted not to wonder about the current culture at Florida State and its football program. These negative perceptions didn't develop overnight and won't change quickly either.

Florida's capital city, Tallahassee, is also the home of Florida State. It would also be prudent to believe that elected and business leaders in Florida who endorse Trump share his perspectives on ethnic minorities, women, and immigrants. It is what it is, let's not kid ourselves.

Sadly, at the end of the day, for the love of money and dreams of fame and fortune, many Black parents will still entrust (pimp out) their young sons to the likes of Bowden and other coaches who share his white supremacist and misogynistic perspectives. Are the majority of American voters with Bowden on the Trump Train? I don't think so. We will find out November 8.

The Ryan Lochte Rio Olympics scandal continues to be prominently featured in the media with the latest news of two of his major sponsors, Speedo and Ralph Lauren, severing ties with the athlete because of his shenanigans in Rio.

US swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger leave Rio.

For sure Lochte, his teammates - Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and the local people involved know what really happened during the athletes' night out in Rio even if the rest of the world can only speculate. What we do know for sure is that Ryan Lochte’s recounting of what happened changed a few times. We also know that the guys out on the town with Lochte disputed key elements of Lochte’s story. Yet there was also agreement that guns were drawn on them during the encounter with men who may or may not have been security guards who were also robbers. 

So, it is entirely possible that Lochte and Rio locals both embellished…over-exaggerated…lied about what actually happened. That $11,000 donation to charity that Feigen had to make before he was allowed to leave Brazil, seems an awful lot like a shakedown. I’m just saying. 

US swimmer Jimmy Feigen leaves court after his passport was returned. He had to pay a fine of almost $11,000.

Even if it is proven that Ryan Lochte is not the only person that lied regarding this incident, he will be remembered for not owning up to his lies and other mistakes. He will be remembered for his apology that was actually a non-apology. He will be remembered for leaving his teammates in Rio while he hurriedly returned to the United States. He is already the brunt of jokes and subject of social media memes. 

US swimmer Ryan Lochte's non-apology apology.

Many in the mainstream media will be remembered for providing cover for Lochte by trying to convince the world that the incident was just a juvenile act. I see you Billy Bush. Many in the mainstream media seem to have forgotten that Ryan Lochte is 32-years-old. Far too old for the foolishness and lies about what happened in Rio.

As far as the end of his endorsement deals with Speedo and Ralph Lauren, it is not likely the deals would have been renewed anyway. Lochte performed admirably during the games but his individual performance was not spectacular.  The endorsement deals would likely go to other athletes a la Michael Phelps….Simone Biles…Katie Ledecky…etcetera. 

I don’t know Ryan Lochte personally but I'm willing to bet that the worse part of this horrible situation is the fact that he lied to his mother. Sure, he was the center of an international incident but disappointing and embarrassing his mom is a probably a much bigger deal. 

While the incident in Rio overshadowed the magnificent athletic accomplishments of Team USA at this year's Summer Olympics, as time passes and Ryan Lochte completes his punishment and attempts to redeem himself with gold medal winning individual performances in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, America will salute his story of perseverance and redemption. 

Related Links:

Sports investigation raises questions about Rio cops, Lochte incident

U.S. swimmer Gunnar Bentz apologizes for gas station incident, says video footage missing

Lochte’s Teammates Say This Is What Actually Happened That Night In Rio

#LochteGate: Best Ryan Lochte Robbery in Rio Memes & Tweets

The truth about Tiger Woods’ early morning automobile crash is still elusive as public curiosity escalates. It seems that Tiger Woods and his team (including his wife) are set on keeping the real story about his accident private. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality when you are a public figure.

Inarguably, the circumstances surrounding this incident are questionable at best. Woods’ rumored infidelity with Rachel Uchitel and the expected confirmation and denial by those involved add fuel to the gossip fire.

Tiger Woods is one of those squeaky-clean celebs that one does not expect to hear anything negative about. He has managed to avoid that spotlight until now. No matter what is known publicly and the speculation by insiders, Woods, and his wife know what happened. Once the incident occurred outside their home and public property damage resulted, that was all she wrote, the media would certainly grab it and yeast it up as if it was a major international incident.

If Woods wanted to do damage control, he should have spoken to the public on Saturday instead of allowing Paris Hilton, TMZ and media outlets to make this situation a major story. Now that Tiger has refused to meet with police a third time, it really doesn’t look good for him in his desire for privacy.

Could Tiger have had an affair? Sure, he’s no different from anyone else. His celebrity status makes him even more desirable and folks don’t care that he’s married with children. If we just think about our lives and people that we know, it’s easy to imagine the challenges Woods and his wife have to endure. I see how women push up on men without Woods' wealth and status; his marriage has to be super strong to last.

Then there is the business aspect to this situation. Tiger has made gazillions from endorsements. In addition to his supernatural golfing talent, there’s his image --- and it’s not of a philanderer. Sponsors will drop him like a hot potato is his image is tainted. Ask Kobe Bryant.

My unsolicited advice to Tiger: come clean and do it now. While you may want to control this situation, you can’t. Talking now is much better than feeding the media frenzy later.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

I just watched a moving tribute to Marie Olbermann, mother of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on his show Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Sadly, Mrs. Olbermann passed away.

She was quite a lady and well-known for her love of major league baseball. I have not been a Keith Olbermann fan long enough to know of her getting beaned by Chuck Knoblauch and the subsequent celebrity to follow. She seemed to be quite feisty and a lot of fun to be with.

My prayers are with Keith Olbermann, his dad and the rest of Marie Olbermann's family, friends and loved ones. Ashe'.

Read Keith Olbermann's tribute to his mom here.

Ignorance is bliss. After watching the CNN special, Buddha's Warriors, I know that I will not watch any of this year's Olympic Games. All that I do not learn about The Games from news reports or through communication with others, I just will not know and don't feel the least bit bad about it.

Some folks say that politics and the Olympics should not mix. Some folks say that the athletes should not be denied the right to compete against other athletes in purity of their sport. Well, you know what? That all sounds well and good but I find it unfathomable to justify supporting a government that is so cruel to peaceful law-abiding people. Where is the outrage on the part of our government?

I know that I've posted about the situation in Tibet previously. I know that I've seen some of the videos on YouTube that readers have directed me to. CNN investigative reporter Christiane Amanpour provided great objective perspective on the crisis in Tibet and its impact on the people especially the Tibetan monk. I strongly encourage you to watch it in re-broadcast.

She also showed the emergence of a new generation of monks not as willing to allow Chinese rule without protest. These men, while still peaceful, have been tortured and tormented by the Chinese military. The Chinese military have killed many protesters and forced many to flee all without real condemnation by the United States. Let's not even get into the Chinese connection in the genocide in the Sudan.

While atrocities are being committed everyday and have been for many years in Tibet, I couldn't care less about the Olympics, any world records or any of the wonderful human interest stories that are used to sell the event. Ignorance is bliss. The truth can be a hard pill to swallow but it is what it is.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2008/08/dalai-lama-talk.html

http://one-just-world.blogspot.com/2008/07/letter-to-hu-jintao.html

Protests of the Olympic Games have been successful in disrupting the international run of the Olympic torch. There are some people who say that politics has no place in the Olympic Games but how can that be when human beings are participants in the Games.

It is disingenuous and short-sighted to focus only on the athletic completion without considering the human factor. China is a terrorist country. Their treatment of the people in Tibet and role in the genocide in the Sudan must be addressed by the world community.

It is highly disgusting that the International Olympic Committee selected China to host the Games anyway; shame on them.

There have been calls for President Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies. That's all well and good but he should boycott the Games. Period. The statement is not strong enough by just boycotting the opening ceremonies. China has been showing its collective behind to the US and the rest of the world when it comes to human rights. How our government can participate and thereby condone such behavior is beyond me.

Because of China's economic stronghold on the U.S., it's not likely that President Bush will show any signs of protest. Let that be a lesson to all of us as to the priority of human rights in the grand scheme of things.

In the meantime, prayerfully, the peaceful protests will continue to shine a light on China's human rights violations in Darfur and Tibet.

In a subsequent post I'll highlight the sponsors of these Olympic Games; some of them may surprise you. It may be time to put them on blast for participating in such human rights atrocities but I'll save that for later.

According to reports from The Miami Herald, Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, is a loose-cannon. The latest comments attributed to Williams are particularly controversial in light of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright drama of late.

In an interview with the Deccan Herald while in India for the Bangalore Open, Papa Williams said, ``The white man hated me all my life and I hate him. That's no secret. I'm not even an American, it just so happens I was born in America. People are prejudiced in tennis. I don't think Venus or Serena was ever accepted by tennis. They never will be. But if you get some little white no-good trasher in America like Tracy Austin or Chris Evert who cannot hit the ball, they will claim this is great.''

OK. Let's see who goes on the next national apology tour after those statements. In spite of the rest of the quote, you know white people are more ticked that he referred to Chrissy Evert as "little white no-good trasher."

Is Richard Williams on medication? I can't imagine what he was thinking when he went off like that. Some of what he said about the treatment Venus and Serena endure is true but was personalizing Evert and Austin necessary? Venus and Serena had better prepare to denounce, reject, repudiate or do something for damage control in this situation.

There is truth to the saying that ignorance is bliss. One of the upsides or downsides of this whole internet thing is becoming aware of what's going on in the world. My personal epiphany regarding the 2008 Olympics in China and that country's involvement in related atrocities around the world have literally given me a headache.

I visited the official website of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece is scheduled for March 24. The Olympic Torch Relay is expected to last 130 days. It's not likely the Games will be moved anywhere else with the August 8 start date only months away. It is, however, not too late to boycott the games themselves and reach out to their sponsors.

Get this, the theme of the OTR is "Journey of Harmony" and its slogan "Light the Passion, Share the Dream". Harmony? Dream? What dream? I'm not making this up, folks. I was so outraged when I read that. How insulting!

There's also an OTR website. The information in the box below is taken from the site verbatim.

You should know that Coca-Cola, Samsung, Lenovo are listed as partners of the OTR.

Chinese officials have said that a boycott will not be successful and they could be correct. I have not been able to find a real coordinated protest to address this issue. The recent massive protest in Tibet has focused international on the plight of the people there. All of the rights violations must be packaged together and shared with citizens everywhere.

OK, I watched the last 35 seconds of the Super Bowl. I really wasn't that excited about the game and I surely wasn't going to choose to watch over other things I needed to do. So, why didn't I know about the Manning-Manning QB connection? Dang, my football watching was definitely off this year. Too much HGTV!

Anyhoo, the Giants didn't give up and pulled off the win in the last few seconds of the game. Congrats to the Giants and their MVP QB Eli Manning. Peyton last year and Eli this year. Can you imagine the conversation around that family's dinner table?

The collective sigh of relief you heard was the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team. Too bad this year's team was so horrible.

I am a bit disappointed that I missed the commercials; they are usually a riot. If anyone had a favorite commercial or there was one that sucked big time, let me know here.