Reporter, offended by disrespect of fishing acquaintance Nick Saban, pens gushy screed

Promoting elitism is never a good idea, especially when it’s cloaked in stupidity.

[glares at Rick Karle]

For those who don’t know, Karle is a longtime local reporter in the state of Alabama.

He’s been covering sports at ’Bama ever since I, a man born and raised in Alabama, can remember. He’s had a good career in local broadcasting and obviously can appeal to his audience.

Usually.

Today, he failed miserably with that. Karle went on social media to take a shot at reporters who called Alabama Football coach Nick Saban “Nick” or “Saban” instead of “Coach Saban.”

Aaaaand Twitter proceeded to roast Karle like Tater Tots in a brand new air fryer.

Karle tried to explain his reasoning in a long Facebook post that just sounded like he was trying to get Saban to say yes to going to prom with him. He tried to explain that you must call Saban “Coach” as a sign of respect, and implied that just because he coaches a college football team he’s better than other reporters just trying to do their jobs.

First, it makes no sense for the media to call Saban “Coach” because he is not THEIR coach. He coaches the players on Alabama, not the media and not the rest of the world. The media doesn’t have to acknowledge him as “Coach” because they are simply NOT ONE OF HIS PLAYERS. Could they? Sure. Must they? Nope.

Second, Karle’s posting was dripping with so much elitism that it made me sicker than a Four Loko. “Some reporters call the coach “Nick” in hopes that the coach perceives himself and the reporter on equal footing,” said Karle. Yes, that’s literally the point. We ARE all equals and everyone is here to do a job. Most people in the media are not frothing at the mouth to get a signed autograph from Saban, they are just trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities the same way Saban tries to do his.

Karle doubled down on this point and then completely contradicted himself. It was like reading a transcript of a Donald Trump Press conference. Karle said that some people get to call him “Nick” like his wife, his assistant coaches, and OTHER media members. The point was so unbelievably stupid that I thought I was reading an excerpt from a Seth Rogen movie.

In the end, Karle even got caught for having “Nick Saban” in his Twitter bio instead of “Coach Saban.”

Although Karle’s statement was incredibly idiotic, the mindset that he displays here highlights a huge problem in our society.

People get treated differently just because of what they do as an occupation and how good they are at it. In actuality, none of these “social metrics” mean anything. We are all equals no matter what we do or what is happening in our lives. Last time I checked, a person’s worth isn’t dependent on how many National Championships they’ve won.

It’s a shame that so many people have to be reminded of that.