Is it me, or has this entire nation gone completely cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?  First, Clarence Thomas is accused of harassing a former legal aide, Anita Hill,  and is almost kept off of the Supreme Court because of vicious lie.  Then Bill Clinton sexually harasses Monica Lewinsky and is impeached for lying under oath about having an affair with an intern.  Of course he lied about it.  I would not want to face Mrs. Clinton either if I had done what he did.  Then there is Isaih Thomas, who was under fire for sexual harassment.  The Knicks have been gracious to Thomas and have not fired him yet.  Now Harold Reynolds is accused of the harassing a woman that he gave a hug too and has been fired.

The problem is that sexual harassment is too loosely interpreted today by both employees and employers.  Recently, I had to go through sexual harassment training, a requirement in CA for all employees of companies over a certain threshold.  The training was a joke.  We paid thousands of dollars for an attorney who specializes in sexual harassment to come and sensitize us to the folly of sexual harassment.  By the way, no longer is it only a male that can harass a female, but a female can harass a male, and a male can harass another male and vice versa.  The thing is, if a hot lady whistles at a guy or gives us a look, we enjoy it.  Men are built differently than women both physically and mentally.  Call it nature or the way God made us, the fact is the male of almost any species is out to attract the female and when she gives him attention it drives him crazy.  

I don’t know this woman that Harold hugged, but unless he forced her into a corner or stalked her day in and day out, I am going on record and saying he just got hosed to save the company a dime.  I am willing to bet she participated in this to some degree too.  Either with a casual glance or an email, but I just don’t believe that Reynolds went over and fondled this woman without some provocation.  It is not like Reynolds has the same power that a former president has over an intern.  Many women would jump at the chance to sleep with a sitting president, but a baseball analyst?   

That does not mean it is right, but in this litigious society we live in, companies are instructed to have zero tolerance for sexual harassment while tolerating drug and alcohol abuse.  I personally think that is too funny given that if someone has an alcohol or drug related problem you have to help them find treatment and be extra careful before firing them for that.  What about due process?  What about innocent until proven guilty.  Whether or not I like Isaih Thomas, I was glad to see his employers stand up for him and not buckle to the pressure of this woman who accused him of sexual harassment.  I just wish ESPN would do the same.  If Reynolds is proven guilty of something, then fire him.

SoCalSportsFan