Random Rant #2483: Michael Wilbon is a Jerk
While listening to PTI tonight, I couldnāt believe what I was hearing from Mike Wilbon (although I kind of could). During the session about the most important story since the moon landing, Lochte & Companyās bathroom stop at a gas station, they discussed lesser known swimmer Jimmy Feigen having to pay $11,000 to retrieve his passport from the least corrupt police force since [insert some shitty communist countryās notoriously corrupt police force], just so he could leave Brazil. Frank Isola, a New York Daily News columnist and real person, understood this for it was, flagrant, exorbitant extortion (it was originally $30,000, then over $40,000, then negotiated down to aĀ āreasonableā $11K).
However, Wilbon, who apparently only understands the currency of fame, could not get past the fact that Jimmy Feigen is not Ryan Lochte or Michael Phelps or Lebron James, in other words, someone rich and famous whose picture he could readily identify. He refused to acknowledge that Feigen got hosed, instead he repeatedly asked what he had lost, unable to grasp the glaring fact that he lost $11,000, or get past Feigenās lack of fame, which, in Wilbonās corrupt view, seems to be the only thing of value someone can lose. Finally, after his nonsensical, completely out of touch rant, Frank had to repeat that Feigen did, indeed, lose what 99% of Americans would consider a significant sum of money. Incredibly, Wilbon doubled down by dismissively saying he should make Lochte pay it, which would beĀ āeasy enoughā (because after the week Lochte has had, Iām sure heās itching to part with eleven grand).
The entire exchange was painful to behold and a dark extension of a consistent line of jokes between Wilbon and Kornheiser on PTI (which I listen to everyday, out of habit), about how much money they have. Hardly an episode goes by when one of them doesnāt crack a joke about how many houses they have or what 1%er golf courses they play. I suppose anyone who goes from a high five figure columnist gig to a multi-million dollar TV job canāt help but bask in their newfound wealth. But I hope one day a producer tells them to cut it out, that nobody is watching them to hear the equivalent of Scrooge McDuck diving into his vault of gold coins, and that they should act like the professionals they used to be.
