Sports media owes everyone a fair shake
Jeremy Heath

Jeremy Heath is the Dispatch Record's sports editor. His column appears Fridays. He can be contacted via e-mail at jheath@lampasas.com.

Hypocrisy abounds in the national sports media.

And there are times I'm a little embarrassed to be a sports writer because of it.

After stumbling through December, the Dallas Cowboys lost Sunday to the New York Giants and became the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the Divisional Round since the current playoff system was implemented in 1990. That's a pretty big story, but apparently not big enough to trump some manufactured drama.

During the post-game press conference, Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens shed a few tears and defended quarterback Tony Romo. He's been lambasted and even laughed at in the media for doing so. For the most part, his tears have been deemed fake.

I've never defended Owens or any of the behavior that marred his stays in San Francisco or Philadelphia -- places where he had public battles with quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb, respectively.

I'll reluctantly defend him here because of the hypocritical nature of the current criticism. Owens was demonized -- and maybe rightfully so -- for his public battles with his previous quarter- backs. Now, he's being attacked for standing behind his current quarterback.

I can remember my college journalism professor uttering one word more than any other: fairness. Offering an athlete a loselose situation is anything but fair. And fairness should apply to everyone, no matter how much money they make or how goofy they've acted in the past.

The thing is that whether or not those tears were fake is between Owens and God. Unless he reveals otherwise, tears are tears. While their existence is subject to criticism, praise or whatever, their nature is not subject to analysis.

And here's the kicker, Cowboys fans: The commentary you might have read online or in print regarding Owens' remarks might or might not have been written by a reporter who was actually at the press conference.

When I was with the Amarillo Globe-News, I was privileged to cover some Cowboys home games. During the post-game press conferences I noticed two things.

First, don't ask (then-head coach) Bill Parcells a stupid question because he's probably going to embarrass you in front of your colleagues.

Second, many of the reporters -- including some from major state and national newspapers -- never set foot in the press conferences. They stay in the press box until printouts of the post-game comments are made available to them. They use the comments as if they witnessed their utterance.

I'll guarantee you some of the pundits who analyzed the nature of Owens' tears fall into this category.

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Speaking of fairness, Lake Travis head football coach Jeff Dicus announced to his team Monday he is taking the head coaching job at Duncanville.

The coach originally denied reports he was leaving, and has received some flak from parents and Lake Travis alumni because of the denial.

Dicus, who guided Lake Travis to a Class 4A Division II title this year, is receiving unfair criticism.

Sometimes information gets leaked to the press or the public before major coaching changes are official. When coaches are questioned, they sometimes confirm and sometimes deny the reports. When they deny reports, it's typically not because they're trying to be underhanded or secretive. It's because they want to inform their players in person rather than have them find out through the press or the rumor mill.

Many coaches and athletic directors -- even those who are happy in their posts -- toss their hat into the ring for other positions almost every year. That doesn't mean they necessarily are interested in leaving, but it does give them an idea what their options are.

Most of us work hard to provide our families with just that -- options.

Dicus was given an option. He decided pursuing it is the best thing for his family right now.

He owes no one an apology for that.

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The Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday that former University of Texas Longhorns quarterback Major Applewhite accepted a position as running backs coach under his former head coach Mack Brown.

Applewhite, who was the offensive coordinator at Rice in 2006 and at Alabama in 2007, reportedly struck a deal with UT officials this week.

I love to see Applewhite back in Burnt Orange. I'm a Big 12 fan first and foremost, but I must admit I often rooted for the Longhorns when Applewhite was at their helm.

He's just one of those guys whose competitive nature appeals to me.