BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
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See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
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Thursday, August 05, 2004
MEA CULPA. Globe
sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy on Wednesday wrote
that he wanted to make it clear he'd never referred to Nomar
Garciaparra as a "cancer" on the Red Sox: "Nowhere in this space was
Garciaparra characterized as a 'cancer' in the Sox clubhouse. The
word 'polluted' was used (which admittedly may be harsher for some),
but you won't find 'cancer' tossed about casually here."
Now, I have no idea whether
Shaughnessy is a Media Log reader. But on Monday, I did
refer
to columns written by him and the Herald's Gerry Callahan as
concluding that Garciaparra "had become a cancer on the team." I did
not directly attribute the word "cancer" to either one of them; rather, I
meant it as a summary of what they had written. (And, in fact,
neither actually used the word.)
Nevertheless, it was sloppy and
insensitive of me, especially given that Shaughnessy's daughter,
Kate, is a leukemia
survivor. Referring to
someone who's a negative influence as a "cancer" is pretty common
usage, dating back at least to John Dean's warning to Richard Nixon.
It's also a lousy expression, and I'll try not to use it
again.
posted at 9:51 PM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
