Few Topics Are Off Limits, Dan Hampton; Hurricane Katrina's One of Them

It's too late now, but somebody needs to send Dan Hampton a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Broadcasting." The chapter on apologizing might still come in handy.

Hampton became the latest idiot with his analysis of Thursday night's NFL opener between the Saints and Vikings.

"The Vikings need to go down there and hit that town like Katrina."

Nice job, Brownie. I mean Danny.

The Hall-of-Fame defensive tackle is now a talking head with Pro Football Weekly's syndicated TV show. At least he is pending the inevitable announcement that he's been suspended or fired.

Look, I know we're all tired of these Babble-gate stupidity plays. You know the routine.

Announcer says something offensive. Firestorm ensues. Al Sharpton threatens to picket. Announcer apologizes. Jesse Jackson offers sensitivity training.

I hate to play the role of media scold in this, but geez.

Katrina?

Didn't Hampton's mom or producers ever tell him there are some things you just can't joke about? At least not for another 75 years.

That's about the statute of limitations on most disaster references. The Johnstown Flood was in 1889, and nobody used it as a sports metaphor for decades. Same with the Titanic after it went down in 1912.

It helped that there was no TV or radio for a lot of those years. Commentators had to write their lines. Between coming up with something clever and telegramming it back to the office, a red light in the brain had time to start flashing.

WARNING -- 2,000 PEOPLE DIED THERE. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK, YOU MORON.

Now the filters are gone. It's unfair that a person can say four billion words, and then have their career ruined by one slip of the tongue.

It's unfair, but everybody knows the game. They know we live in a hypersensitive politically-correct world, where innocent asides can get you strapped into the Don Imus Electric Chair.

This wasn't one of those comments that could be misinterpreted. Nor was it said by some unsuspecting schlub who suddenly had a microphone thrust in their face.



Hampton was probably quoted 10,000 times in his 12-year NFL career. He's been an analyst for NBC and called XFL games. He's seen broadcast colleagues get roasted for saying impolitic things.

The guy's not Bob Costas, but he should have been better prepared when asked for his prediction on the game. Maybe, he was. The show is highly scripted. Could he possibly have come up with the Katrina line beforehand and thought it was too clever not to use?

Only Hampton and his joke writers know for sure. One certainty is that an apology is forthcoming. He will say he regrets his poor choice of words, he's sorry he offended the fine people of Louisiana, blah, blah, blah. (Update: Hampton issued an apology Monday night on ProFootballWeekly.com)

I don't think Hampton should be fired. He doesn't have a history of bloopers, and I'd be willing to give him a mulligan if this wasn't such a blatant case of stupidity.

But who cares what I think? What should matter are the feelings of people in and around New Orleans.

They just marked the fifth anniversary of the most destructive storm in American history. Almost 2,000 dead; $81 billion in damage; a city all but wiped off the map.

If you spent days on rooftop waiting to be rescued, I don't think anyone would accuse you of being oversensitive if you found Hampton's remarks worthy of more than a wrist slap.

He could use the down time to brush up on "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Broadcasting." I don't know if such a book really exists, but it wouldn't be all that complicated.

Katrina. Space shuttle disasters. Child abductions. The Holocaust. 9-11.

It should go without saying that some topics are off limits. The amazing thing is somebody will still come along and say them.