WATCH: You Won't Believe How Soft Kids Are Today After Watching The Locker Room Speech From This Kentucky High School Basketball Coach Whose Players Recorded Him
Lexington Herald - Lynn Camp High School’s boys basketball coach resigned Wednesday after a pair of videos surfaced showing him cursing at players more than two dozen times in about a minute and a half.
The videos of now-former coach Tyler Wagner berating players inside a locker room have been viewed nearly a million times and shared nearly 3,000 times since they were posted on Facebook last Friday.
In a statement Wednesday, Wagner apologized, confirmed his resignation, and said the videos were from last fall, his lone season leading the program. “The language that I used in this video is not acceptable in any manner. I allowed the competitive environment to get the best of me and for that I am truly sorry,” he wrote. “I have fully accepted that what I did was not right, and I pledge to be better.”
Wagner was hired as head coach in May 2023. His resignation comes about a month before Lynn Camp’s first regular season game this year.
The pussification of America continues indeed.
Well, this one's a doozy. We've got a high school basketball coach in Kentucky, Tyler Wagner, who just got canned for… wait for it… cursing at his players. You read that right.
Cursing.
In a locker room.
Where the air is usually thicker with sweat and four-letter words than a dive bar or truck stop. For crying out loud the term "locker room talk" exists for a reason.
And if we’re being honest, on a scale of 1-10, in terms of flying off the handle, that was like a -3. Coach remained pretty calm and composed for a guy coaching a squad who only mustered 14 points in the 1st half.
I don't know who is more at fault here.
1- Parents today for raising such pussies for children.
2- The children themselves for not being able to do or experience anything even slightly controversial without whipping their phone out and filming it. (Triple the points for the loser who filmed this hidden discreetly then showed his mom).
or 3- All of us for allowing the loud minority to scream and stomp their feet while we stay silent and take the easy way out by just firing these types of people and publicly shaming them, rather than saying, whoa
hold on a second everybody. Calm the fuck down. Let's consider what happened in context. This wasn't a guy walking down the street accosting young children swearing and threatening them for no reason. This was a high school basketball coach. Trying to mentally prepare his teenage athletes for life's hardships. Everybody relax. The kids will live.
But instead, the outrage police can't wait to size up Coach Wagner's crime. And let's discuss his "crime". Dropping a few F-bombs and telling his players to get their heads out of their asses. You know, the kind of stuff that coaches have been doing since the invention of the leather ball. But in today's world of participation trophies and safe spaces, that's enough to get you crucified in the court of public opinion.
These kids today, they're softer than Roseanne's son. They've been coddled and pampered their whole lives, and they can't handle a little bit of tough love. Back in my day, if you got an earful from the coach, you sucked it up and dreaded the car ride home because you were going to hear it ten times worse from your parents. And guess what? You learned from it. There was none of this "my kid is more important than the other kids and therefor deserves special treatment" bullshit that is for some reason so prevalent today.
Now, they run crying to mommy and daddy, who then proceed to unleash their inner lawyer on anyone who dares to raise their voice.
And don't even get me started on the parents. These helicopter moms and dads are hovering over their precious snowflakes, shielding them from any and all adversity. They're so worried about their kids' self-esteem that they've forgotten to teach them about resilience, hard work, and the value of a good ass-chewing.
And trust me, it's not just evident in how sports have changed today. Ask anybody who hires and/or manages this younger generation coming out of college today. It's truly like living in bizzaro world. There is absolutely zero sense of reality that exists within them. There is no such concept as "paying dues", "putting in the work", or "working ones way up a ladder". The only thing interesting them is how to cut corners, whats the fastest shortcut, and a healthy "work-life-balance" that still pays commensurate with somebody who has 10 years experience.
This whole situation is a microcosm of the pussification of America. We've become a nation of whiners and complainers, where everyone's offended by everything. We've lost sight of the fact that sometimes, you need a kick in the ass to get you moving in the right direction.
Can you imagine if Bobby Knight or Bill Parcells were coaching today? They'd be thrown in jail before they could even draw up a play. These legendary coaches were masters of motivation, and they weren't afraid to use a little colorful language, or physicality to get their point across. But in today's world, they'd be labeled as abusive and toxic.
So, here's to Tyler Wagner, the latest victim of the pussification of America. He may have lost his job, but he's still got our respect. Because at the end of the day, he was just trying to do what coaches have always done: teach, motivate, and inspire. And if that means dropping a few F-bombs along the way, then so fucking be it.
I will end with a story I think is fitting, that involves Tim Tebow, and also a great monologue from Sly Stallone about how we'd better stop kidding ourselves and start realizing that life is a fucking tough game and the world is a nasty place. And fucking quick.
Despite being a second-year player who faced considerable doubt and criticism, Tebow stepped up to inspire his team. He chose to share a verse from Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
Tebow went on for almost 10 minutes, holding the entire locker room's attention the entire time. He elaborated on how tough circumstances create tough men. How we are always being tested and that only by "answering the bell" are we able to improve or to truly achieve greatness.
This message of mutual encouragement and support resonated with the Broncos, including veteran players like Willis McGahee, Brian Dawkins, and Champ Bailey.
Rookie linebacker Von Miller later confirmed the impact of Tebow's message, stating, "He said iron sharpens iron and men sharpen other men. And I think that’s totally true. He gave us a great speech. We came out for the game fired up. I’ve never seen a human who can will himself to win like that.”
p.s. -
H/t - big Tom