It’s not very often you hear someone covering the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team so completely and thoroughly disrespect head coach John Cook the way Omaha World-Herald writer Sam McKewon did earlier this week. It’s a safe bet that McKewon’s claims that Cook barely coaches and just lets the players do the work is some of the most inflammatory rhetoric surrounding a Hall of Fame coach of any sport in years if not decades.
And yet, there was McKewon, appearing on Hurrdat Sports Radio offering up a take that, to their credit, hosts Ravi Lula and Damon Benning found so ridiculous that at several points -when they weren’t trying to get him to stop doubling and tripling down - the incredulousness in their voices was impossible to hide.
The issue started when the trio began talking about the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team beating Wisconsin in straight sets to advance to the Final Four while Creighton lost in five sets to the team the Huskers will play, Penn State. After singing the praises of Bluejays head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth as “the best coach in the country” McKewon turned his attention to Cook and fired off a take so hot, it likely melted the microphone he spoke it into.
Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball head coach John Cook torn down as nothing more than ornamental
“When you have 14 5-stars you can sit on a folding chair and you know, point at people. They do so much of the work themselves,” McKewon spat, stuttering a bit, perhaps out of saltiness that Creighton had lost and NU had won.
Before the Nebraska beat writer had even finished his thought, Benning interrupted with “Oh, I don’t know about that Sam,” clearly wanting the other man to know that he wasn’t going to find agreement with that sentiment. But McKewon was undeterred responding “I do.”
As Benning tried to convince McKewon that Cook had made a ton of tough decisions - a claim the writer responded with a sarcastic “ehhhhhhhhh,”- the Hurrdat host then decided perhaps McKewon was simply trying to troll them and wasn’t being serious.
The question seemed to be a kind of liferaft thrown out to McKewon who wasn’t having it, tripling down on his scorching hot, and quite silly, take.
Eventually, McKewon seemed to realize that he had gone a step too far, though he couldn’t quite pull himself all the way back, or admit what was the most likely factor behind his comments - that he was upset about Creighton losing - and tried to throw Cook a bone by comparing him to Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden. But then had to throw in that Wooden also just sat on a chair and pointed. To which Benning once again had to respond, “I don’t know about that,” in an almost defeated manner.
Nebraska Cornhuskers fans can listen to the entire exchange here but McKewon’s claims were some of the most bizarre comments about John Cook that have been spewed by anyone in sports media. Let along someone who should know better, having been in such close proximity for so long. It’s not that the comments were incredibly disrespectful towards John Cook. It’s that they were not based in reality.