Cowboys scout Rich Behm is permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He is the father of an eight year old boy, a six year old boy and a seven week old daughter. Yet the focus in Dallas today was not the damage done, but damage control. Jerry Jones reportedly met with attorneys. The president of the manufacturer flew to Dallas.
The Cowboys will blame the builder, the builder will blame the weather. The city of Irving says there is no inspection report for the new roof installed in 2008. Summitt structures was found negligent in a case when one of their buildings fell in 2003. There is plenty of blame to go around.
But the most telling reason may be in the lead sentence from the Associated Press article on the matter. It reads: “Government investigators began sorting through the Dallas Cowboys' flattened practice facility Monday, trying to figure out why fierce winds sent the tent like structure crashing down.”
Is that not the answer right there? Fierce winds? Tent like structure? I'm no expert, but I've been camping. If it's fierce winds vs. tent. I'll take the fierce winds every time.
This is not new. August 2008: 75 mph winds destroyed Arizona State's eight million dollar practice bubble.
Didn’t we learn this at age four? The story of the three little pigs? When the house is built of straw, because it's cheap and easy, this is what you get. So I guess the shock shouldn't be that this happened, but rather that inspectors and engineers allow these things to be built.
So now it's more than a story - and who's the big bad wolf? Everyone involved. They will huff and they'll puff and they'll pass blame around.
That's my point, let's hear yours. Email me at
DonHarris@woaitv.com.
