I hope Bill Buckner’s death Monday makes everyone take just a moment to ponder a few things. I know I did – things such as perspective, fairness, cruelty and the insidious power of a narrative to take on a life of its own.
It’s especially important now, because in the era of social media it’s easier than ever to disrupt, or even ruin, athletes’ lives just because they didn’t perform well enough to satisfy fans. But that power has always been there, and Buckner paid the price to a greater extent than most.
Just a few weeks ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told Bill Simmons that many players in his league are “genuinely unhappy” because of the ill-effects of social media.