aNew York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito rose to prominence in the NFL last month, sparking a wave of appreciation for Italian-American culture across the country.
From the widespread worship of DeVito “My finger was caught” At the touchdown celebration, long associated with Italian-American culture, DeVito expressed his gratitude for his mother’s Italian food and homemade chicken cutlets, ushering in a renaissance of Italian-American pride. DeVitomania has overtaken her NFL, especially the New York metropolitan area.
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DeVito’s success is truly an underdog story. He was a local kid who grew up near the Giants ballpark. He went undrafted but became the team’s starter after the team’s two other quarterbacks were injured. DeVito added a spark to a dismal and disappointing season for Giants fans, leading his team to three wins. All of it was great, clean, heartwarming and fun, destined to be the plot of a future Disney movie. Naturally, then, the NFL and New York Giants began pushing negative stereotypes of Italian Americans to celebrate DeVito.
As DeVito’s popularity grew, the team began performing theme songs for Mafia-inspired shows. the sopranos, as his entrance song. It was supposed to be a benevolent nod to his ethnicity. Because nothing says more about Italian-American pride than a show about murder, organized crime, drug use, adultery, and corruption. In reality, this is a vile stereotype that Italian-Americans have had to deal with for over a century, and the NFL just adopted it without a second thought.
This was followed by many other sports talk shows, radio shows, pundits, and other hacks who repeatedly cited cultural references to the mafia, gangs, and other organized crime to disparage Italians when discussing DeVito. . This was absolutely disgraceful and came to the attention of Robert Allegrini, president of the National Italian American Foundation.
“Every Italian-American should rejoice in Tommy DeVito’s success and be proud of his emphasis on Italian heritage,” Allegrini told me. “The attached bibliography is godfather, soprano singer and jersey shore It’s a frustrating cliché that Italian Americans have come to expect, but they’ve learned to overcome through confidence in the greatness of their culture, which lies at the very heart of Western civilization. ”
Consider the great influence Italians had on civilization. Italians ushered in the Renaissance, marking the transition of humanity from the barbaric Middle Ages to the more civilized and sophisticated modern era. It was the contributions of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo that paved the way for scientific discoveries that helped shape humanity. Great Italian explorers like Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci forever changed the course of Western civilization with their discovery of the Western Hemisphere and the Americas.
Moreover, Italians are also the ones who inspired the country’s form of government. The Founding Fathers envisioned a national government after the Roman republican model. Italians are definitely part of this country’s roots and are known for more than just the Mafia, all of which may have been hinted at when talking about DeVito. Instead, everyone opted for references to the mafia.
“This is not to excuse the fact that such references reveal a kind of cultural laziness, if not outright ignorance, on the part of the sports journalists who support them. For example, ‘The Sopranos Since the final season of “The Sopranos,” I’ve seen media quotes about how Italian pride in New York and New Jersey has never been higher. Really? Allegrini said, “If the author knew any history, he would have said, “Ever since soccer’s highest award was named the Lombardi Trophy in honor of Italian-American Vince Lombardi, ‘Pride is at an all-time high’ would have been far more appropriate and far less offensive.”
Allegrini makes a great point. In addition to the many important contributions to human civilization mentioned above, Italian Americans have also helped shape the legacy of the NFL. In addition to the aforementioned Lombardi, two of the greatest players in football who happened to play the same position as DeVito, quarterbacks Dan Marino and Joe Montana, are also Italian. Bill Parcells, the former legendary coach of the New York Giants, was also Italian. All three are in the NFL Hall of Fame. None of them belonged to the mafia.
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Additionally, the NFL should be wiser than to reinforce negative Italian stereotypes when it comes to DeVito, especially given the tenacity with which it preaches about diversity and tolerance. No other footballer glorifies their ethnicity by constantly mentioning negative things like murder and other aspects of organized crime. Only Italian Americans are troubled by such metaphors.
“These journalists need to learn more about history than Hollywood while showing the same cultural sensitivity toward Italian Americans that they would do toward other ethnicities in 2023,” Allegrini said.