A few weeks ago, the athlete formerly known as Bruce Jenner told Diane Sawyer he wasn't discussing his transition to a woman for publicity.
"I would never do that, Diane," he said that Friday night on the two-hour ABC special. "(This) is going to do some good. We're going to change the world. I firmly believe that we're going to make a difference in the world with what we're doing."
It was powerful stuff, maybe hugely important stuff for the transgender community, especially its young people so painfully confused by the messages their minds and bodies apparently send them.
And had the 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon -- "The World's Greatest Athlete," as he/she was once proclaimed -- stopped there, or taken his/her story to schools and churches and public forums, his claims of changing the world would certainly have carried much weight.
Especially if it truly made life more comfortable and acceptable for transgender people the world over.
But then he/she had to go and cheapen it, as only a Kardashian -- if only through marriage -- could. First came Monday's release of an upcoming Vanity Fair magazine cover of Jenner as his/her new self -- Caitlyn Jenner, for which he/she was reportedly paid $1 million.
Hours after that came the more shocking and somewhat disturbing news that ESPN has named Jenner the winner of its Arthur Ashe Courage Award, which will be presented to Caitlyn at the July 15 ESPYs.
And, of course, there's that upcoming E! network reality show, "I am Cait," to which we're all supposed to excitedly proclaim, "I ... can't ... wait!"
Publicity? What publicity?
Thankfully, what has followed is the kind of backlash you might not expect from a country that has only recently begun to show a wee bit of fatigue with reality TV. Crusades have sprung up across the land for at least two folks who are seemingly far more deserving of being linked to Arthur Ashe than Caitlyn Jenner.
The first, Iraq war veteran Noah Galloway, lost most of an arm and a leg in the service of his country, yet now competes in extreme sports and recently finished third on this season's "Dancing With the Stars" competition. (OK, so perhaps there's no way to escape reality TV.)
Then there's the female I certainly would have honored above all others this past sports year -- the late Lauren Hill, the 19-year-old basketball player from Mount St. Joseph University who lost her fight against cancer on April 10 after raising more than $1.5 million for cancer research. If anyone over the past 12 months defined courage, it was Hill.
It also probably hasn't helped Caitlyn in the public eye that when told she'd won the Ashe, she tweeted: "What the (heck) am I going to wear?"
No wonder this later tweet appeared supporting Hill's ESPY candidacy: "Elective surgery isn't courage or bravery. Fighting brain cancer with grace and dignity at 19 is. Lauren is most deserving."
Even an initial ad for Caitlyn's upcoming reality series doesn't exactly paint the picture of a new woman in tune with what it's forever been like for women living in a man's world. While putting on lipstick, she observes, "You start learning the pressure women are under all the time about their appearance."
Too bad he failed to mention the pressure they're under giving birth, often raising a family alone, far too often receiving inferior pay than their male counterparts for the same job, facing menopause, breast cancer and heart disease, and the fact that men so often judge a woman's worth solely on her appearance, though that might be why Jenner has apparently opted for breast implants. (Writer's note: Try explaining that last fact to your impressionable 8- and 10-year-old daughters.)
Yet anyone hoping to shame ESPN into replacing Jenner with someone else is probably wasting time.
Said the network in a prepared statement: "The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is meant to honor individuals whose contributions transcend sports through courageous action ... we are proud to honor Caitlyn Jenner for embracing her identity and doing so in a public way to help move forward a constructive dialogue about progress and acceptance."
It's easy to blast ESPN for choosing the sensationalized over the merely sensational (Hill, for instance), but the transgender issue is a serious one. Just ask local clinical social worker Suzanne Kent, who often counsels transgender youth.
"From a mental heath perspective, I like to see people take pride in who they are, which Jenner is doing," Kent said Wednesday. "In that sense, the whole situation is raising awareness, which is a good thing.
"What worries me is that most people can't afford the cosmetic changes Jenner has been able to pay for to change his appearance. Beyond that, I think there should be a real concern of people who aren't sure who they are watching someone like Jenner and committing to do something (medically) they can't change."
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable. The Youth Suicide Prevention Program estimates that more than 50 percent of transgender teens will attempt to commit suicide at least once before their 20th birthday. Almost all surveys place the attempted suicide mark for transgender people of all ages above 40 percent.
So help is clearly needed. And given that it took the 65-year-old Jenner more than 40 years to publicly admit he was happier as a woman, courage isn't a bad word to describe his coming out, regardless of the money, celebrity or narcissism involved.
In fact, in an interview released on one website this week, Jenner eloquently said, "Bruce always had to tell a lie. Caitlyn doesn't have any secrets. As soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I'm free."
Nevertheless, wrong and insensitive though I may be, I cannot tell a lie. I hope we're all free of both Bruce and Caitlyn Jenner sooner rather than later.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.