WALSH COLD-COCKED IN CASINO

Pompous old codger finally pops-off to wrong guy, gets fat lip; his version casts punch as unprovoked

July 6, 1998 -- Bill Walsh, the smug and contemptible former coach of the 49ers, had a slight karma check last Wednesday at Harrah's Lake Tahoe. For years, we've heard how Walsh is a "Genius" and how everyone respects and loves him. For years, we've watched Walsh appear on our televisions with his arrogance painfully obvious; he truly believes the hype that everyone loves him and that he's the greatest coach in NFL history. Well, reality may have finally punched him in the face -- literally. But like all things 49er, its hard to find the truth in what really happened.

According to Mr. Kurt A. Lewis, Walsh was seated playing blackjack with Lewis standing behind him, watching Walsh play. Lewis jokingly gave some playing advice to Walsh, which irritated the self-anointed Genius. Walsh waved his hand to shoo Lewis away, saying, "Do you know who I am? Get the (expletive) away from me." Walsh's hand brushed Lewis' shirt. In response, Lewis punched Walsh in the face, flooring the old man. The resulting swollen lip caused Walsh to miss an appearance at a celebrity golf tournament.

Naturally, in the great 49er tradition, Walsh has a different version of the events, and he wasted no time embarking on a "Bay Area" media circuit to get the word out. He appeared on local AM sports-talk radio stations to give his one-sided tale, painting a picture of an innocent guy simply playing some cards when all of a sudden a boorish brute, with no provocation whatsoever, hammered him unexpectedly. "I've never said that to anybody in my life," said Walsh of the expletive attributed to him, "I don't know how long (Lewis) was standing there, but he sounded very hostile . . . All I said was, 'Who are you and what do you want from us'?'" It was then, according to Walsh, that Lewis hit him out of the blue.

So what are we left with? A case of "your word against mine"? Not exactly. As much as we'd like to believe Walsh is as pure as snow, his claim that he's "never" said those words to anyone is a page right out of the Mark Furman handbook, and evidence is gathering to the contrary.

One witness, the casino dealer, backs Lewis' version of events. The dealer says she saw Walsh and Lewis talking when another card player suggested they calm down. The dealer says Lewis only punched Walsh after Walsh grabbed Lewis' shirt. In fact, the stories at the scene were so conflicting that despite Walsh's pleas to have him arrested, Lewis was only cited for simple misdemeanor battery. Also, at the scene, Walsh told police that he was being crowded, and extended his arm to create space (read: pushed Lewis away), and then was hit.

In short, once again we have a 49er getting into trouble and a jumbled mess of conflicting stories that seem to suggest he isn't being totally forthcoming. Lewis disagrees with Walsh's version. The dealer disagrees with Walsh's version. Even Walsh is contradicting himself. So does the media take a hard look at the acts of Walsh that night? Ha.

BAY AREA MEDIA "KNOWS BETTER"

Naturally, the "Bay Area" media quickly took Walsh's version of events as gospel and cast Mr. Lewis out as a villain. One host, Gary Radnich of KNBR radio, declared he "wouldn't touch" the story of the Walsh incident, reasoning was that he knows Walsh personally and there was no way Walsh could have done such a thing as to provoke the violence. In sum, it's a waste of time for us to be talking about; there's no story, because however Walsh wants to say it happened is obviously the correct version of events, right?

If all there was to the story was Walsh's word against Mr. Lewis' word, we could understand why the media would side with their friend and excuse it as simple bias based on ignorance. However, all the evidence gathered thus far favors Lewis' version, making the media's reaction blatant deceit. How many incidents of the exact same pattern have to happen before the media wakes up? Eddie DeBartolo is accused of sexual assault but the media is quick to accept his denials. Jerry Rice is caught in a suspected brothel and the media accepts his fabricated excuses. Now Walsh.

Walsh exhibited the most extreme narcissism and vanity to actually say to someone, "Do you know who I am?" There's a real story there. But, alas, it is beneath the honorable Radnich and the rest of the Bay Area media to report on a story concerning violence against Bill Walsh. Just as it was beneath them to consider the possibility that Rice was in a whorehouse. Yet, as soon as the next Dallas Cowboy hits the gutter, you can bet the media's supposed integrity will be right there rolling in the gutter next to him.

The Moral

A couple morals to this story: First, don't go around punching people, even if it is a jerk like Walsh, because you'll get prosecuted and violence is wrong. Besides, there are more effective ways to combat the 49er problem (like this web site).

Second, don't be a pompous ass, because what goes around comes around. Don't actually believe you're god's gift to the planet just because ignorant people call you "Genius" or "Professor" because you like to throw 2-yard slants every play. Don't expect people to respond too kindly when you ask them, "Do you know who I am?" because their answer will sometimes be just what it was; a knuckle sandwich, saying, "Yes, I know exactly who you are, and here's what I think of you..."

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