Centro's throat slit

runnerboy3musk wrote:

So if this is unsportsmanlike, then what do we do about Usaine Bolt celebrating 40 meters before the finish in Beijing? We call him a true showman who has brought much attention to track and field.

To Matt Centrowitz, killer race. Next time do a back hand spring after you blow everyone's doors off. I bet it brings T&F closer to the mainstream.

I don't think people are concerned with the celebrating. I think they are concerned with the manner of his celebrating. His celebration was directed at his competitors (I know, not literally "directed" since he wasn't facing them), rather than focused on his achievement. That's the difference. It can be interpreted as a lack of respect. If he did do a back hand spring as you suggest, then I don't think he would have received as much of a negative response. I don't know the guy and will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's a fun guy who got caught up in the moment. But, he should still be willing to accept the negative feedback he'll get from it. If being a BA has become synonymous with showing a lack of respect, then I don't think BA is what anyone should strive for. You should still be able to be a BA and show respect at the same time.

And for people who say "people complaining about this are why track isn't popular" have got to be kidding themselves. I agree, personality and spunk are needed in the sport, but there are a lot of ways to do that without doing something that can be viewed as disrespectful.

And if the lack of things like this are responsible for the condition of track's unpopularity, then I would say an increase in the popularity of these actions are responsible for the condition of our society.

I watched the race on TV and did not see the throat slit move. Does anybody have a pic of it to post? I am sure one has already been posted but I am out of the loop. I have never heard of the "throat slit" move for some reason. I have watched, ran, and coached a lot of track and have witnesses some poor sportsmanship over the years, but it has been rare. One time when I was at the Iowa high school state track meet held at drake stadium, a kid was so happy that he anchored the winning 4 x 440 yard (that dates me!) relay to a first place and his team had just sealed the state title that he threw the baton high in the air! His mile relay was disqualified and his team did not win the team title as a result! The kid was just excited and did not realize it was poor sportsmanship, but he found out the hard way!

Look, the fact of the matter is that centro did his little "throat slit" gesture and basically said F*** you to everyone else in the field. I'm ok with that because for 1- he didn't turn around and do it to everyone as they were finishing right in their face. 2- The rest of the field knows that they got pooped on and if I was in the race and heard about what he did I would say ok, yea there was nothing we could have done this time around. He massacred the rest of us. And 3- When you win a race you don't think, "oh man, the rest of the guys in this race I'm just so proud of all of them for how hard they worked. I wish everyone could have won today." You say, "wow I really just owned every single person in that field.

Don't hate on Matt because he just put his emotions out there as a part of who he is. Disrespect or not sometimes people come out of their shells and don't worry too much about what everyone will think of them. Love it or hate it that's the way it is

I have no problem with Centro celebrating his victory.And I don't even really have a problem if the celebration might "disrespect" the guys he just beat.But I do have a problem with anyone who chooses to celebrate with a gesture that mimics murdering someone. Especially in college athletics.I don't think it's all that uptight to say, "Celebrate however you want, but just leave literally killing people out of it."Having said that, it was obviously a heat of the moment thing by Centro, so I think an apology would be sufficient punishment. And perhaps an explicit statement by the NCAA that the throat-slitting gesture has no place in college sports.

Thank God, wrote:

I fully expected that this thread was about a murder attempt on Centrowitz.... Seriously, how is this offensive or inappropriate?

Don't you realize that you've answered your own question??

el bistec wrote:

Don't hate on Matt because he just put his emotions out there as a part of who he is. Disrespect or not sometimes people come out of their shells and don't worry too much about what everyone will think of them. Love it or hate it that's the way it is

I call huge bs. He did not put his emotions out there - I bet he planned that all season, if he had the chance.

That is why Bolt celebrating was cool - it was spontaneous. Carl Lewis once did a silly fake celebration after one of his golds - was embarrasing. This seems the same way - premeditated bad sportsmanship.

meant to say "figuratively" not "literally". my bad.

SomeActualData wrote:

I don't think it's all that uptight to say, "Celebrate however you want, but just leave literally killing people out of it."

I think we can all agree that human sacrifice has no place in college athletics.

Native American Lacrosse players would disagree! Off with their heads.

LWL... WAT?

This is definitely and generational problem. Anyone 25 and under think it is "cool" and he is a "badass" because that is the "look at me" generation, Older generations think it is "wrong" and he is a "dumbass". You never saw the greats do that, including his dad.

Sorry young ones this is not BBall or Cage fighting. It is track field. Just watch some clips of the great after they won.

I heard from a reliable source that Centro was paying tribute to his departed friend JC Bailey with this move. JC Bailey was known throughout his wrestling career to do a throat slit before delivering his finishing move. Bailey passed away last summer.

From Wikipedia...

The cutthroat gesture is performed by drawing the hand, or a finger or two, across the throat. It represents slitting the throat with a knife, and means that the gesturer or someone else is metaphorically being killed. It is rarely if ever used literally to refer to death, though it is occasionally used as a theatrical threat ("I'm going to kill you"). The gesture earned a great deal of national notoriety in the NFL during the 1999 season in which several players did the cutthroat gesture.

I like how most on here think they have a clue about the pressure and stress Centro Jr has been under this past year, or perhaps his whole career. Emotions come out in competition. I, for one, loved it. That's what I want to see, not some pansy @ss Bernard Lagat bugs-eye, "oh, yes, sir, it was a good race, quite tactical."

Good for your Centrocity. Congrats and love the emotion.

Finally

Under Ultra wrote:

Emotions come out in competition. I, for one, loved it. That's what I want to see ... Congrats and love the emotion.

Yup, emotions come out. And in Centro's case, the emotion he was apparently expressing was, "I equate winning a race with cutting people's throats."

So yeah, Centro gets to express his emotions. But we get to judge him based on what he expresses. If you love the equation of winning a race with slitting people's throats, okay, you're going to like Centro more. Those of us who think that murder gestures don't belong in college sports will like him less. That's how it works.

[Actually, given that he had just won a national title, I would cut the kid some slack for not thinking through the implications of what may have been a spontaneous gesture, so if he apologizes then I wouldn't hold it against him.]

I look at it this way. What if it were my kid? I know I would be gut-busting proud for winning his race, but then to see the throat-slit gesture? I would not be happy with him for that. Fantastic athletic performance yet he tops it off with a classless and disrespectful move. There is no way that was spontaneous. He planned it. If he gives an apology that should be enough to end it.

There are a lot of people in this thread who fail to understand the importance of acting like a huge jerk and rubbing it in everyone's faces any time you accomplish anything in life. That's why none of you will every accomplish anything in life and can only criticize those who do.

You guys are a bunch of bitches. Seriously. Huge bithces. If I ever get fast enough to win a big NCAA race, I'm doing it with the sole intention of pissing the haters off. Sorry that you never got to celebrate after a big race.

Young man celebrates in questionable taste during culmination of (at least) 8 years of training.

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