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Sports fandom, like love, conjures emotions that can cloud, or completely bowl over, logic. Both inspire us to believe things we should know deep down are false.
Ms. Walsh says of a criminal investigator:
"I have never met Novitzky, have never seen him interviewed; I would never accuse him of racism. But given the outsize dislike Bonds inspires, it's hard not to wonder if such intense personal animus, wherever it springs up, might have a racial component."
Notice how Walsh sees the Bonds investigation as a personal vendetta, perhaps racially motivated? Notice how she seems to adopt the pat accusations of her sports hero, against all logic of responsible journalism? I suppose she has broken no actual libel laws, but you can see how irrational devotion, in love or in sports, can strip people of their intellect and even ethics.
I have never met Walsh; I would never accuse her of letting emotions overrule her logic. But given the outsize hero worship Bonds (and Clinton) inspires, it's hard not to wonder if such illogical tendencies might have a sports-obsession component, or is it just because she's a woman?
