Kain Colter is the star witness in the CAPA hearing at the local National Labor Relations Board. Therefore, his testimony is the most interesting moment by far of the three day hearing. This case, and it’s presentation in court are simultaneously the most important and interesting thing going on right now, but also the most boring and dull, at the exact same time.
Sounds contradictory and paradoxical, but it’s true. Kain Colter made a statement yesterday comparing training for football operations to training for military operations. It did not go over well. I was one of the very few pundits to defend Kain Colter yesterday, and if you study the history of football, you’ll see that the deep connections between the two institutions supports the analogy that Kain Colter made.
Kain Colter answered his critics in a series of six tweets:
Yesterday’s comparison to Navy Seals’ was given, and described, to myself and others by ACTUAL active Navy Seals on numerous (1/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
occasions. These courageous men compared their mental preparation heading into a mission with our mental preparation heading into a (2/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
game, and pointed out all the similarities. We played this last season with an active Navy Seal on our roster and we were taken (3/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
through Navy Seal workouts conducted by the Navy Seals themselves on multiple occasions. I would never undermine their amazing duty (4/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
to protect this amazing country not would I compare the game of football to going to war. I am sorry if this offended anyone but (5/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
the comparison was told to me by the amazing men themselves. (6/6)
— Kain Colter (@KainColter_2) February 19, 2014
Win or lose, day one of the CAPA testimony was an interesting look behind the curtain at NU, but in big time college football in general. What should be an athletes versus NCAA fight is actually turned into a Northwestern vs Northwestern battle.
In case this isn’t clear, Kain colter burned some bridges with NU athletics yesterday. This really has turned into a family fight.
— Rohan Nadkarni (@Rohan_NU) February 19, 2014
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)