WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

One of the many home training virtues my parents gave me was to act like you got some sense when you go to someone else’s house. Another was don’t wear out your welcome. As I grew older, I understood more what those two expressions meant. They have served me well.

I believe, rather I know, that Snoop Dogg could have used the same advice. You see, Snoop Dogg acted up in somebody else’s house. Recently, he was invited to the University of Kansas to provide some entertainment for a basketball-related event. It seems as if both the men’s and women’s teams wanted an event to celebrate their upcoming season.

So, the powers that be decided to invite Snoop. Some would say inviting Snoop Dogg to Lawrence, Kansas, was an interesting choice. Others would say, why not? Reports say that the University of Kansas officials gave his representatives specific and clear instructions about what type of show they wanted from him. Kansas wanted a show that was without profanity and without the other elements associated with his performances.

Well, it seems Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (Snoop Dogg) either didn’t get the message or didn’t adhere to it. So, Snoop puts on a profanity-laced show complete with a fake money gun with his face on $100 bills and ladies carrying on suggestively. All of this is happening in Lawrence, Kansas. Man!

Can you imagine the folks in the stands and their reactions? In my opinion, they were in shock and disbelief. Many were probably sitting there not able to move. All of us have had nightmares at one point or another. The nightmare allows us to wake up from it. The people at the Allen Fieldhouse on the Kansas campus were living the nightmare. It was happening in real time before their very eyes.

The feedback on Snoop’s performance was immediate. University of Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said, “We strive to create a family atmosphere at Kansas and fell short of that this evening.” I can only wonder if Jeff Long was ever involved in the pre-Snoop discussions about the event. A companion question is whether he had taken the time to preview a Snoop Dogg performance? I would opine if he had, maybe he would have had a change of heart.

Since it was a basketball-related event, Bill Self, men’s coach said, “That’s not the direction that anybody at our school would want that to go at all.” To highlight Snoop’s appearance, there was a video of Coach Self wearing a chain and an Adidas shirt. Can you picture Bill Self wearing a chain and having swag? Maybe you can, but I can’t. By the way, the NCAA has begun an investigation about Kansas’ men’s basketball, so the water is getting a bit hot in Lawrence.

The event headlined by Snoop Dogg was called Late Night in the Phog. This event, which kicks off the basketball season, has been going on for 35 years. Now in years past, they have brought in entertainers like 2 Chainz and Lil Yagthy. I suspect they had to sign contracts about what their performances would be. Obviously, they adhered to their contracts and there wasn’t any negative feedback.

Snoop, because of his high profile, simply did his thing wearing a Kansas basketball jersey, no less. That’s a lot of nerve in my opinion. Having pole dancers in Phog Allen fieldhouse! Will the arena ever be the same? Can it recover its sense of normalcy?

I am not a fan of Snoop Dogg. His lyrics are a bit much for me. I am grounded in the old school. I grew in a musical era when profanity wasn’t in music and women weren’t degraded. So, we’ll have to wait and see who the University of Kansas invites to next year’s event.

For sure, it won’t be Snoop Dogg.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator and can be reached at ewers.jr56@yahoo.com.