The Writer's Life 5/5

The sportswriter I respect most, Phil Mushnick, is under fire for comments he made Friday in his column in the NY Post. For years he has concentrated his criticism on the sports media, chiefly television, exposing the sins of the likes of Cablevision, which owns the Knicks and Rangers, Nike, the local pro teams ticket-gouging practices, the networks' transparent adoration of Tiger Woods, and much more. He has been fearless in taking on racial hucksters, especially Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. The column in question took on record mogul JAYZ, whom he has criticized many times through the years, saying, essentially, that he made his millions denigrating blacks and women. The only things I know about JAYZ's work is what I've read in those columns. I've never heard any track of his, so I won't comment on his work, especially since, as a writer, I deplore any form of censorship. In the column in question, Mushnick suggests the Nets, owned in part by JAYZ, be called the NY N_____(Mushnick used the dash in the column), the cheerleaders the Brooklyn Ho's, and that the logo be a 9mm Glock with shell casings all around it, words and images JAYZ has used frequently in his recordings. This unleashed a firestorm and has many calling for his termination. He is being dubbed a racist by many who have not called JAYZ to account for his use of such terms and images. To me, Mushnick is one of the few journalists who will cite the ugly truths that plague the black community. He will not look the other way. In reading his work, I often wonder if he would condemn my novels, Killing and Close to the Edge, because of what some of the characters say. The thought is disappointing, as I so admire his work. When I first started writing in 1975, I used profanity liberally. A decade later, weary of its overuse by Hollywood, I did a complete about face and eliminated almost all of it from my work, none of which, fortunately, had been published yet. In Killing I use what I call Brooklyn Sicilian, Italian words bastardized here in America, and include a 30 or so word glossary of them, hoping readers will find it artful. The only argument against Mushnick that gave me pause was one that mentioned if he would make similar remarks if Francis Ford Coppolla were the owner of the Nets. I immediately thought: Or Scorsese. Regardless, I believe it is perfectly legitimate to raise the issues Mushnick does, especially in light of the violence that plagues the black community, which dwarfs the murders the mob commits. Firing him would be a blow against free speech and integrity.

The forecast said sunny, temperature in the 70's. In the words of the late Rodney Dangerfield: "You're way off!" I waited in the car for a half hour, then set up shop when it looked like the mist had stopped. The floating book shop was open 15 minutes when the rain returned. Fortunately, Jack, my best customer, bought six thrillers before that. I also sold ET on VHS to a young mom I knew would buy it if she happened by. Thanks, folks.

I haven't seen Bad News Billy for a month. Jack, an employee of Chase, where Billy banks, hasn't seen him, either. I hope he's okay. He wasn't taking care of himself. Maybe he had hip surgery, which he'd mentioned he was considering.

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