My first thought when I heard about several MSU faculty and players being upset with Coach Leach for tweeting a reference to a noose when making a joke about the potential for tension in a marriage during this shelter-in-place thing going on was something my high school speech teacher tried to teach us: communications is a two-way street. Yes, the speaker should try to know who his/her audience is, but the audience also has a responsibility to understand the speaker’s comments in proper context. The wisdom of my HS speech teacher was again brought home to me a couple weeks ago when I watched an interview between Rep. Ben Crenshaw (R-TX) and comedian Bill Maher during which Maher commended the Congressman for how he handled a SNL joke about the loss of his eye while in the service of our country. Rep. Crenshaw refused to become offended by the joke and accepted the comedian’s apology, commenting at the time that while each of us should “try hard not to offend; we should try even harder not to be offended.”

I still remember my high school speech teacher telling us while it’s important for the speaker to know his audience, it’s also equally incumbent on those in the audience to open their minds to understand the illustrations, analogies, figures of speech, jokes and so on in the same context as presented by the speaker. It's obvious to me Coach Leach wasn't trying to make a veiled reference to lynching or even an older style of capital punishment. It was just humor directed at the state marriage. Goodness, I've heard my aunts say I love my husband but there are times I'd like to strangle the idiot. No one called the cops. No one thought she was serious. We all took the statement in context as just a humorous reference to the certain stressful situations that crop up in marriages. All adults within hearing range identified and had a good chuckle. The current virtue-signaling craze infesting our society is another pandemic I’d like to see go away.

Afew random thoughts on what about to unfold in Starksville: The offense will be fun to watch. 75+ plays/game, two-thirds+, of which, will be passes. A good AR QB will complete around 70% and will be among the national leaders in passing stats. The RB position will generally lead the team in touches. Most of these serve as running plays - pitches and passes to the flat instead of the traditional handoff - but are recorded in the stats as passes. It will take the media awhile to understand that running plays don't have to start with the traditional handoff we're all used to seeing. A quick pass to the flat serves the same purpose. Just a different way to get the ball into the RB's hand. A balanced attack in the AR is all five skill positions targeted equally. It takes a little getting used to seeing five receivers in motion. Lots going on with each snap. Get ready!