10 Voices of Reason in This Crazy Sports World

The world of sports is a world full of opinions, debates and hot takes. The constant chatter can be deafening.

Fear not, there are voices of reason amid the chaos. Perhaps the most steady is San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who always can be counted upon for a simple yet wholly true response to an interview question.

For instance, of an off-shooting night in January, he told TNT's Craig Sager (who he seems to actually like), "Players play. You shoot, it goes in or it doesn't. What's the second question?" per Nina Mandell of For the Win. 

Other times, the clarity comes from an unlikely source, but even eccentrics like footballer Mario Balotelli can demonstrate moments of pure logic from time to time.

Reminiscent of Bryce Harper's "that's a clown question, bro," here are 10 recent sports comments that felt like a breath of fresh air—a voice of reason amid the crazy.

Cam Newton

AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez

When it comes to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, like him or not, at least he's honest.

Many criticized his glum attitude after the Panthers' loss in Super Bowl 50. He gave short answers and eventually simply walked out.

In an extremely frank response to the criticism of his behavior, Newton told reporters, "I've been on record to say I'm a sore loser. Who likes to lose? You show me a good loser and I'm going to show you a loser. It's not a popularity contest. I'm here to win football games,” per David Newton of ESPN.  

Mario Balotelli

AP/Fabrizio Giovannozzi

It might be a shock to see this name, but hold on, give it a chance.

A.C. Milan forward Mario Balotelli is not exactly a consistent voice of reason of the Popovich variety. Still, he had something uber-sensical to say about a fan who (presumably) got "Balotelli" tattooed on his back.

In January, the footballer posted a photo of said tattoo to his Instagram account with the caption, "@haza3f THANK YOU for the support but don't you think is a bit crazy?"

Micah Peters of For the Win pointed out @haza3f has a private Instagram account, so there is no corroboration on whether the tattoo is real or even his. Still, if it is, Balotelli had a point.

Katie Nolan

YouTube

FS1's Katie Nolan is not someone who shies away from speaking her mind, and that often involves tackling some of the tougher issues in sports today.

For example, she had a particularly poignant take on the hiring of Buffalo Bills special teams quality control coach Kathryn Smith in January.  

In response to anyone who questioned the motives of the hire, Nolan said on her show, Garbage Time, "What if they're just hiring a woman for good publicity? OK, and what if they only hired Rob Ryan because he's Rex's brother? People get jobs for a number of reasons—until they do something that proves they don't also deserve the gig, who … cares?"

Paul George

AP/David Zalubowski

In early February, the Indiana Pacers edged out the Los Angeles Lakers 89-87. After the game, Pacers star Paul George was asked how he managed to get by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

Per Nate Scott of For the Win, George simply replied, "Well, he is old."

For the record, George and Bryant seem to have a great deal of respect for each other. Yet, even though George's "old" comment was given lightheartedly, it doesn't make it untrue.

Bill Belichick

AP/Steven Senne

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might not be the most traditionally likable guy, but his sarcastic retort and blunt honesty at press conferences often reads like a breath of fresh air.

Ahead of a playoff matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in January, a reporter asked the coach how he planned to use defensive end Chandler Jones.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, via Ryan Wilson of CBSSports.com, Belichick said, "We'll find out Saturday. I could just Xerox you a copy of the game plan and you can send it over to Kansas City."

Sarcastic? Yes. A little rude? Sure. Then again, reason would dictate that a coach isn't going to reveal all his plans for an upcoming game during a presser.

Mike Golic

Invision/AP/Mark Stehle

ESPN's Mike Golic might not be the voice of reason on everything sports-related, but his take on the Cam Newton hate was spot-on. After yet another fan letter disparaging the Carolina Panthers quarterback's enthusiastic victory celebrations, Golic had had enough.

The letter concerned an incident following the Panthers' playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks during which Newton threw a Seahawks "12" flag to the ground. The author claimed Newton had been disrespectful. (The entire letter can be read on the Facebook page of KIRO 7 News.)

Golic said on Mike and Mike, via ESPN.com, "This is sports. Can't we enjoy it? Somebody hands him a 12 flag and he throws it, and this is what you take from it. … That all the sudden he's disrespecting the 12 and cancer patients. ... What's your problem? It's stunning how stupid, stupid this is."

Preach.

Buck Showalter

AP/Patrick Semansky

After the 2015 MLB season, Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis turned down a $150 million offer to stay put in Baltimore and tested the free-agency waters. 

Manager Buck Showalter spoke about the situation at a conference in January, and he had some very Skyler White-esque things to say.

Per Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, Showalter said, "How much is enough? I asked Chris during the season, 'Chris, when you walk into a Target store, can you buy anything you want? So, how much is enough?' I love Chris, but if that [his decision] makes or breaks our team, shame on us."

Davis ultimately re-signed with the O's for seven years and $161 million.

Adam Silver

AP/Alastair Grant

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appears to be one of the most levelheaded guys in sports. He has been diplomatic across the board, handling everything from Hack-a-Shaq to impending collective bargaining negotiations.

In early February, Silver appeared on the NBA A to Z podcast and talked about his focus on the improvement of basketball as a product.

Per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, he said, "Like Bill Clinton said it's the economy stupid. It's about the game stupid. Sometimes … maybe you start focusing too much on the business side of basketball."

Kobe Bryant

AP/Darren Abate

In January, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped 10 consecutive games, tying a franchise record. When reporters asked Kobe Bryant about the possibility of setting a new record with another loss, the guard replied, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN, "Honestly, it doesn't really matter. What, it makes a s--tty season less s--tty?"

He added, "The Navy SEALs have a way of taking guys to the bottom of the pool. Sometimes you've got to go to the bottom of the pool, man, and figure it out. We're almost there. Gasping for air."

Gregg Popovich

AP/Jim Cowsert

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is perhaps the most literal person in all of sports, and it's awesome. There must be hundreds of examples to choose from, but a perfect Pop-ism came during an in-game interview in February. 

TNT's David Aldridge asked Pop, "Pop, your impressions of the first quarter," per Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing.

Pop replied, "We're behind and they're ahead," to which Aldridge countered, "Why is that?"

Popovich's brutal honesty was in rare form after that. He replied, "They scored more than we did and we were pretty crappy on defense. It's been fun."