What Happened to Mike Flanagan Should Give Us Pause

[Arkady Renko]

In addition to being a Bills fan, I am also an Orioles fan. I can tell you that when Mike Flanagan served as a sort of GM for the Orioles for most of the last decade he bore the brunt of the blame for why a once proud franchise had become a laughingstock. We find out now that while this was probably not the only reason, much of the reason it appears Flanagan took his own life was because he took the failure and the blame for what happened to the Orioles too hard. Having been on Orioles message boards and talking to Orioles fans I can tell you that some of the things that people said about Mike Flanagan crossed way too many lines. It appears that Flanagan was aware of much of this:

 

In a telephone interview, a pained Ken Singleton, the Yankee broadcaster and Flanagan’s onetime Baltimore teammate, said Flanagan had struggled in recent years with his failure to lift the long-downtrodden franchise as its general manager until 2008.

 

“He would read what people wrote on the Internet and take it to heart,” Singleton said. “He wanted so much to make that team a winner again.”

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/sports/baseball/flanagan-cherished-the-joy-of-new-life.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=sports

 

I am not saying that the fans should be blamed for his suicide, but maybe as sports fans we should try to take a step back and examine how we talk about people on here and elsewhere. This is not a private forum. Everyone's on the Internet including players, GMs, family members etc. I think we are being naive if we think that no one goes online to read what people are saying about them. I am trying to say that you should not criticize anyone, but the over the top dehumanizing stuff needs to stop.

[o.p. native]

Good point. Even if they are public figures, and even if they get paid tons and should have a thick skin, they are human beings. So are we. I agree, we should step back and put things into perspective from time to time.

[buffaloaggie]

Police determined it was more about financial issues that got to Flanagan.

 

Flanagan dead at 59

 

The only athlete I can think of that could not get over his failures was Donnie Moore.

 

Still, people do become desensitized and everyone's a big talker online, but if they were face to face, it would most likely be a different story.

[hondo in seattle]

In addition to being a Bills fan, I am also an Orioles fan. I can tell you that when Mike Flanagan served as a sort of GM for the Orioles for most of the last decade he bore the brunt of the blame for why a once proud franchise had become a laughingstock. We find out now that while this was probably not the only reason, much of the reason it appears Flanagan took his own life was because he took the failure and the blame for what happened to the Orioles too hard. Having been on Orioles message boards and talking to Orioles fans I can tell you that some of the things that people said about Mike Flanagan crossed way too many lines. It appears that Flanagan was aware of much of this:

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/sports/baseball/flanagan-cherished-the-joy-of-new-life.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=sports

 

I am not saying that the fans should be blamed for his suicide, but maybe as sports fans we should try to take a step back and examine how we talk about people on here and elsewhere. This is not a private forum. Everyone's on the Internet including players, GMs, family members etc. I think we are being naive if we think that no one goes online to read what people are saying about them. I am trying to say that you should not criticize anyone, but the over the top dehumanizing stuff needs to stop.

 

 

Good point. Compassion is perhaps the greatest of human virtues.

 

Disease, taxes, politics, injustice, bad luck, accidents, romantic failures, economic downturns, old age, football disappointments... We each get more bad sh*t in our lives than we really want. We ought not to add to someone else's already full load. We Bills fans (including players, coaches, etc) especially suffer enough as it is.

[Chilly]

The internet is serious business.

[Beebe's Kid]

What a joke!! Bills fans have justification to do whatever they want to, don't you know? We haven't been to the playoffs since 2000!!!!!!!!

 

Of course I am being sarcastic, and I believe that people should conduct themselves with consideration of their affect on others. That is, apparently, absurd notion. I go to games because I want to. If I were anywhere near as miserable as many people here, I would have quit a long time ago. It just isn't worth it. It becomes increasingly scary that although it was stated in plain English that Flanagan was deeply hurt by the feeling that he let down Baltimore, people will argue differently to justify being an !@#$.

 

If you want to be a dick, at least own it. At least take responsibility for your actions. If you are unable to be compassionate and put yourself in somebody else's shoes for a minute, don't be a complete douche and place the blame of the consequences of your actions on the victim of your misplaced aggression.

 

I am sure that is moral grandstanding, or too kitty, or whatever...and that's fine. I am not perfect, and I don't pretend to be, but I do try to do the right thing. If you have an inordinate amount of hate for a sports figure, I am willing to bet it really has nothing to do with them, but rather your pent up frustration with other aspects of your life. After all IT IS A !@#$ING GAME. If you think that the fact that you have a small dick, or your dog pushes you around, or that your boss **** in your lunchbox makes it acceptable for you to transfer your frustration to others and then justify the consequences of your failure to deal with the real issues in your life...we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

Defense of taking your frustrations out on sports players, who train hard and compete at levels your can't even dream of, because they "let your down" is pathetic. I don't care if you pay to see them or whatever other poor excuse gets served up. A rose is a rose, and an !@#$ is an !@#$, try to justify all you like, but you are still an !@#$.

 

Be careful tonight is the third preseason game. It still doesn't count, and it's kid's night, but that doesn't mean that the Bills can't ruin your life!!!

[Booster4324]

The internet is serious business.

 

It seems it can be. If I was a fan of Baltimore that had posted a bunch of negative stuff about what should be a hero of the team, I would be doing some serious soul searching right about now. My girlfriend is a big fan, but gentle soul that she is, never said a negative thing. So she is off the hook, but if our positions were reversed, not sure I would have been able to say the same. In any case, this should be food for thought.

 

I have not dogged out Ralph or any of the management, but I have dogged out my fellow posters. I have said some bad things about Trent Edwards and Rob Johnson. I imagine some of my comments affected the person I was speaking of, so that is a bad thing really. Something to think on.

 

Oh and if you disagree? !@#$ off.

[truth on hold]

In addition to being a Bills fan, I am also an Orioles fan. I can tell you that when Mike Flanagan served as a sort of GM for the Orioles for most of the last decade he bore the brunt of the blame for why a once proud franchise had become a laughingstock. We find out now that while this was probably not the only reason, much of the reason it appears Flanagan took his own life was because he took the failure and the blame for what happened to the Orioles too hard. Having been on Orioles message boards and talking to Orioles fans I can tell you that some of the things that people said about Mike Flanagan crossed way too many lines. It appears that Flanagan was aware of much of this:

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/sports/baseball/flanagan-cherished-the-joy-of-new-life.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=sports

 

I am not saying that the fans should be blamed for his suicide, but maybe as sports fans we should try to take a step back and examine how we talk about people on here and elsewhere. This is not a private forum. Everyone's on the Internet including players, GMs, family members etc. I think we are being naive if we think that no one goes online to read what people are saying about them. I am trying to say that you should not criticize anyone, but the over the top dehumanizing stuff needs to stop.

I hear what you're saying Johnny but at most you might get a few people to tone it down. That's just reality so the real adjustment lay with the targeted individual's learning how to deal with it.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Joe_the_6_pack

[HopsGuy]

William Somerset: Ernest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

[DC Tom]

So I have, what, a dozen bodies to my name, just from calling people idiots on the internet?

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

So I have, what, a dozen bodies to my name, just from calling people idiots on the internet?

 

The police are on their way.

[DrFishfinder]

So I have, what, a dozen bodies to my name, just from calling people idiots on the internet?

 

WAY low on the body count, DCT.

[Typical TBD Guy]

I hope Chris Kelsay doesn't read TBD.

[Nervous Guy]

So I have, what, a dozen bodies to my name, just from calling people idiots on the internet?

Talk about ego...you assume that people care what you say.

[bbb]

For those of you who don't know or remember, Bonas had a big recruiting scandal almost ten years ago. It had two tragedies to it - after many years of struggling, the team finally had become a perennial postseason team, and the future looked even better. Now, it's been a decade of horrible teams again (which is now finally over).

 

But, by far, the biggest tragedy was the suicide of Bill Swan. He was chairman of the board for the school. He was also CEO, etc. of First Niagara. When the scandal went down, he was working 30-40 hours a week at Bonas, and still running First Niagara. I was worried about what that would do to his health - I think sleep deprivation and tunnel vision can cause a lot of bad thoughts.

 

So, the scandal really had run it's course - the sanctions were handed out, etc. He wrote an article in a journal for college board members about how he handled it. The message board I go to almost as much as this one exploded in a bunch of vitriol towards him - because at one point the ball had been in his court to prevent the scandal and he had passed it back to the admin.

 

One person wrote that every time he says something he grabs a little more rope. That night, his wife gets home and says I see the idiots are really out tonight. The next day, she comes home and finds him hanging (with that rope).

 

The guy was a multi-millionaire who really turned First Niagara from a little hometown bank towards what it has become today. (I can't read a thing about them without thinking about him)........And, the thing that pushed him over the edge was vitriol on a message board.

[HopsGuy]

For those of you who don't know or remember, Bonas had a big recruiting scandal almost ten years ago. It had two tragedies to it - after many years of struggling, the team finally had become a perennial postseason team, and the future looked even better. Now, it's been a decade of horrible teams again (which is now finally over).

 

But, by far, the biggest tragedy was the suicide of Bill Swan. He was chairman of the board for the school. He was also CEO, etc. of First Niagara. When the scandal went down, he was working 30-40 hours a week at Bonas, and still running First Niagara. I was worried about what that would do to his health - I think sleep deprivation and tunnel vision can cause a lot of bad thoughts.

 

So, the scandal really had run it's course - the sanctions were handed out, etc. He wrote an article in a journal for college board members about how he handled it. The message board I go to almost as much as this one exploded in a bunch of vitriol towards him - because at one point the ball had been in his court to prevent the scandal and he had passed it back to the admin.

 

One person wrote that every time he says something he grabs a little more rope. That night, his wife gets home and says I see the idiots are really out tonight. The next day, she comes home and finds him hanging (with that rope).

 

The guy was a multi-millionaire who really turned First Niagara from a little hometown bank towards what it has become today. (I can't read a thing about them without thinking about him)........And, the thing that pushed him over the edge was vitriol on a message board.

 

Read the original post and thought to write something similar. Glad I didn't, because your post was much more articulate than anything I could have written. Well done, bbb. I still blame van Breda Kolff.

 

Andrew Nicholson is a beast.

[bbb]

Thanks. Yeah, I would put the lion's share of the blame on VBK. He was a real arrogant prick.

 

Nicholson really is the real deal. Easily Bonas best big man since Lanier - maybe the best player since him. He's got a good chance of being a lottery pick. And, with the great class of recruits, I'm thinking it's NCAA tourney time this year.

[DC Tom]

Talk about ego...you assume that people care what you say.

 

You hurt my feelings on the internet! I'm going to go hang myself now...