It deeply saddens me to see the allegations coming Bill Cosby’s way about his alleged misconduct during the past several decades. If true — and it would certainly seem like at least a large part of the allegations are, given the sheer number of women coming forward to speak out against him — it is utterly appalling, unforgivable, and devastating to the many who grew up admiring the man and his humor, myself included. As a kid, I spent endless hours listening to his albums over and over and to this day still have a majority of his routines memorized word for word. I marveled at his ability to tell a story in such an engaging, humorous, and relatable way to his audience. And one of the most incredible things about it was that he was able to do it with hardly ever swearing (if memory serves, he cursed once in all the routines I ever heard), no small feat.
I bring this up on the blog because the first two editions of my book “What to Expect When Starting Krav Maga” included one of Bill Cosby’s quotes (eerily, it was the section about Fear). The quote read: “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it“. Disregarding the source of the quote and the reasons Cosby is in hot water for the moment, I think it is a pretty good quote and appropriate to your mindset as you start, and indeed continue, your Krav Maga training. However…the source! Bill freaking Cosby!
I am all for one being innocent until proven guilty but given the seriousness of the accusations, the large number of people making them, and the court of public opinion being so heavily weighted against Bill Cosby, I couldn’t in good conscience keep this quote in the book. Regardless of what side of the fence you fall on, it’s jarring to see that quote in print and potentially distracts you from the book. I’m just not happy with that, especially for merely the use of a simple quote. I am even less content to have my book or myself associated with Bill Cosby in any way, shape, or form should even a single accusation be proven to be true.
I’m confident that this will sort itself out in the legal system over time and when the dust settles we’ll be left with a verdict and the shadow of Bill Cosby the man. In the meantime, the quote has been removed and replaced with another, even better one to start off that section. All Kindle downloads from later today onwards will have this new, revised quote. Any softcover books ordered from now on will also have the revised quote.
Happy training!
Krav Maga Journey 