Today, Peyton Manning, one of the greatest football players ever, retired from the NFL. I’ll give him his due.
But there has also been swirling news accusing him of sexually assaulting a female trainer when he was in college.
He was asked a question about it today at his retirement press conference and his answer was shameful. He sidestepped the question and quoted Forrest Gump…
It’s not like Peyton just called her a bad name (which, by supposedly calling her a bitch, he did as well), he is accused of sexually assaulting her.
That’s a serious question that deserves a serious answer.
I get it. It’s hard to hold him accountable for something he did twenty years ago. Though the testimony from the case begs otherwise.
Instead, lots of fans railed on the female reporter that asked the completely legitimate question on what was supposed to be Peyton’s grand day.
In these situations, why do we, as fans, always rush to defend the superstar athlete, and not the victim?
There are often cover-ups and we always seem to let things slide when they fit our impression of the player (in this case, Peyton’s squeaky clean image). If you’re part of the good old boys club, the good old boys club will protect you.
And we as a society, more often than not, just let it go. And not only that, we enable it.
It’s the superstar standard.
That’s unfair and so misguided. As I grow older, it becomes more and more glaring.
I’ve been helping out with phone screens and interviews at my startup and I’ve learned that when you’re really committed to a company and vision, you really want to protect it.
I’m not taking the gatekeeper role lightly, though it’s exciting and validating to hear people interested in us and wanting to join in.
In college, I think I felt some of this when I was running Camp Kesem Berkeley as well, but it’s definitely magnified this time around.
There’s no settling for wishy washy or so-so candidates. We only want the inspired and those that believe in what we’re doing as strongly as we do.
After all, we’re building something to last.
Twitter as a company has been struggling recently.
But no matter how it ends up, I do really think it’s cool that they pioneered the hashtag.
That was brilliant and it will remain a lasting symbol for a long time. It’s hard to innovate something that has such a meaningful impact on how we communicate as people… but they did it.
Also kind of funny cause #Twitter was trending today, for the wrong reasons.
Last year, I felt that I was plateauing and settling at being content. But I wanted to get back to my desire of creating change.
So this past year, I made a big move.
I had applied to and didn’t get into business school. That knocked me down but not out.
It helped push me to get out of limbo and make my move.
After three years and nine months of living in Madison, Wisconsin, I moved back home to the Bay Area. I had a lot of good times and a lot of good friends in Madison, so it was tough to say goodbye. But a few factors combined to make it the right time to go.
The move itself was pretty fun, as I got to road trip across the Northern part of the country with my brother, exploring a bunch of national parks and cities along the way. This reminded me of all the natural beauty out there and how nice it is to just hike. I’m hoping to hit up more national parks in the coming year.
Adding to the massive life changes, I moved from the corporate giant Epic to a tiny healthcare tech startup called analyticsMD. It’s been great so far and I’m really excited to be a part of building something great.
Travel this year was dialed back due to the career transition, but will probably pick up again soon:
- 19 trips (25 trips last year)
- 81 days on the road (153 days last year)
- 46,185 miles (77,180 miles last year)
Upon returning to the Bay Area, there was no hero’s welcome. That was wishful thinking on my part, though it’s been nice to be home and close to many family and friends.
Weird stuff’s been going on in the world too, with cops murdering citizens and Trump running for President. It’s as if we’re in a generational shift, with the new guard battling the old guard and it’s old ideas.
My guess: the new guard will eventually win, but the old guard will put up a damn good fight.
The new me won out this year too.
And that reinvigorated me.
Let’s see what this new energy brings in the new year!
Ran across this quote the other day that resonated with me:
“Not all your friends need to be ‘forever-friends’, some people are just meant to be your friend for that particular time in your life.”
I don’t really know what I expected when I moved back from Wisconsin recently. Some part of me thought, probably unrealistically, that things would be just like they were when I left: same friends, just like old times. I would be welcomed back with a parade of open arms.
But for the most part, people have moved on with their lives.
And that’s okay. We were good for each other during that time.
I knew when I made the move to Wisconsin, that I was leaving family and friends behind. It’s tough to stay in touch when you go so far away and for so long.
Sometimes, it lasts though.
My best friend from high school just came back from a peace corps stint in Cambodia and even though we hadn’t seen each other in two and half years, we haven’t missed a beat. It was so great to see him and we were back to our old jokes and reminiscing about good times.
With some people, it just clicks. He’s a forever-friend, that’s for sure. No doubt in my mind.
But that’s not everyone.
To the friends who came and went: thanks.
I appreciated your friendship during that time in my life. Maybe we’ll run into each other again someday.