Randy Smith: Nobody Disrespects Pat Summitt

There is a video going around on social media that shows a young Georgia fan at Coach Pat Summitt's statue in Knoxville. The young man is making disparaging remarks and callous jokes about the legendary Lady Vols Coach and her battle with Alzheimers' disease. I've seen the video and the entire thing is totally disgusting. The person hits a new low when he is reading the inscription on the wall by the statue, mentioning her eight NCAA Championships. He asks, "Do you remember any of those championships? I guess not, since you have Alzheimers'. "

I certainly hope Georgia's fan base will find out the identity of this person and take appropriate action against him. Congressman Tim Burchett took to twitter Sunday evening saying, "Somebody needs a butt-kicking. Nobody disrespects Pat." 

This goes beyond bulletin board material. It is disrespect in it's lowest form. He also makes mention of Neyland Stadium calling it the new "Samford Stadium," obviously referring to the tremendous success the Bulldogs have had in football, while Tennessee has struggled in recent years. Believe it or not I have no problem with his references to football. However, the awful remarks about Coach Summitt and her battles with Alzheimers' are totally unacceptable.

How did we reach this low level of disrespect? To disparage a legendary coach who has had success unmatched on any level in sports is bad enough without mentioning anything at all about the terrible disease that took her life in 2016. But he did mention it and that makes him a total and complete idiot. The comments were hurtful beyond belief, especially to those who really knew Coach Summitt and how she bravely fought this awful disease, all the way to the bitter end.

Has our society lost all decency? Do people really feel this sort of disrespect is okay? I find it hard to believe that a majority of citizens in our country feel that way. If they do, we have failed as parents and grandparents, teachers and ministers. After all, in 2015 at a campaign rally, then candidate Donald J. Trump mocked and poked fun at a handicapped newspaper reporter. I found it appalling then and I still find it appalling to this day.   I hope that this is just an isolated incident, one that won't be repeated again anywhere. I fear that it will be repeated. Not in the same form as at Coach Summitt's statue but in another form, in another place and that's sad. Really sad.