Magic’s Isaac enters Bud Light transgender debate; UCF’s Plumlee shares NIL money | Commentary

Running off at the typewriter …

The Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac actually challenged Charles Barkley after Barkley’s profanity-laced rant in support of the LGBTQ community went viral earlier this week. Barkley was playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe when he targeted the “rednecks” and “a–holes” who are boycotting Bud Light after the popular beer brand partnered with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year.

Barkley then said that he wasn’t “worried” about getting canceled.

To which Isaac responded on Twitter:

“What does this even mean? No one with human decency wants trans or gay people dead or without rights … God bless them all … but it’s 1000% valid as a parent or adult to be concerned about the observable movement to influence children. Is that hateful? … It’s insane that in order to be the primary influence on your children you have to go to war against influencers, the media, movies, multimillion- and billion-dollar corporations, and good people like Charles who choose to fall in line with empty politically correct statements and narratives. Nothing Charles said would get him canceled and it’s wild that he thinks it would.”

I give Issac a lot of credit for being unafraid to stand up for what he believes on controversial topics and doing it in a diplomatic non-confrontational way. In fact, we literally saw him stand up for what he believes in the NBA bubble three years ago when he was the only Magic player who refused to kneel for the national anthem and would not wear a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt.

Now that Isaac has exercised his right to stand up for his beliefs, here’s hoping he can just stand up — period — without getting hurt this season. …

SHORT STUFF: And speaking of standing up for what he believes, let’s hear it for UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who left a boatload of NIL money on the table so UCF’s collective — the Kingdom — could spread it around to his teammates. As Plumlee related to me, he had heard during the offseason that some veteran players might leave UCF, so when he was approached by Kingdom representatives about a lucrative NIL deal, Plumlee told them, “Let’s give it to the guys that need it. Let’s reward them.”

As SJ Tuohy, the executive director of the Kingdom, told On3.com: “He [Plumlee] came and said … ‘I’m good. Take the money you’re going to pay me and use it on offensive linemen and a receiver.’ He wants to win in the Big 12. And he said, ‘I’ll be fine.’ … For our quarterback to tell us to put that money elsewhere, that put us in a really flexible position.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is called being a team leader. If you’re a UCF fan, JRP has a new meaning: “Just Real Proud.” …

Best line of the week came from Jamie Seh of News 6 WKMG after NASCAR star Martin Truex Jr. took the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and won the 22-pound live lobster that serves as the first-place trophy. Seh cleverly referred to the prize as a “Racin’ Crustacean.” Where I come from in the sticks of North Florida, we simply to refer to it as “supper.” … Remember the old Brady Bunch episode where Jan gets jealous because sister Marcia is getting all of the attention at school? Finally, Jan screams out in exasperation: “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!” I’m thinking that’s how Orlando City feels about Inter Miami — “Messi! Messi! Messi!” … Speaking of MLS, league commissioner Don Garber says he’d like to see those teams that play on artificial turf install softer, safer natural grass to accommodate Messi. In related news, existing MLS players responded: “What have we been all these years — chopped liver?”

Hard to believe no major college football team since Minnesota from 1934-36 has won three straight national championships, but Georgia has a chance to do it this season. Wow, if it happens, that means Kirby Smart will have done something Nick Saban, Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno never did. This certainly lends credence to my contention that Smart is the greatest college football coaching hire of all time. Why? Because former Georgia AD Greg McGarity fired a Hall of Fame coach (Mark Richt) who was averaging 10 wins a season at Georgia to hire a career assistant (Smart) who had never been a head coach before. McGarity, it seems, has more nerve than the trucker who orders Waffle House coffee at 3 a.m. …

Jon Rahm is my new favorite golfer based upon his answer to a question earlier this week when he was asked if golfers like himself who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour (and declined the huge amounts of money offered by LIV Golf) should be compensated in some way since the two entities have formed a partnership. Replied Rahm: “I understand the PGA Tour wanting to do something for those players who helped and stayed on the PGA Tour, but at the same time — and I’ll be the first one to say — I wasn’t forced into anything. It was my choice to stay. I just stayed because I think it’s the best choice for myself and for the golf I want to play. Now, with that said, if they want to do it, I’m not going to say no.” I love Rahm’s take. In fact, I love anyone who takes personal responsibility for the decisions they make. …

Professions that deserve higher salaries: (1) Police officers, (2) Teachers, (3) Fire fighters, (4) Janitors, (5) NFL running backs. … SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this week that there is an “urgent need” for Congress to get involved and enact a national standard for name, image and likeness. Really? Seriously? I’ve got a better idea: The NCAA already has rules for NIL. How about enforcing them instead of asking the government to do your work for you? … Why did the Orlando Magic trade three future second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for a 2026 first-round pick swap they might not even use? Because the Magic are betting they will be vastly improved by 2026 while the Suns will have imploded after the Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker experiment fails. … Tyreek Hill says he will have 2,000 receiving yards this season and his Miami Dolphins will win the Super Bowl. Hill’s nickname might be “The Cheetah,” but he’s starting to sound more like a yapping chihuahua. …

LAST WORD: From David Whitley of the Gainesville Sun: “Inter Miami will pay Messi between $50 million and $60 million a year. That’s more than the combined team salaries of Orlando, Salt Lake City, New York, Montreal and St. Louis … though it doesn’t quite match what Jeremy Pruitt wanted to spend on Tennessee’s 2018 recruiting class.”