Racism & Sport
I just got finished reading a post by JohnnyP5379 titled "Barry Bonds and the Syringe". I read all the comments and I was gonna comment myself. My comment was going to basically say that people are treating Bonds like he is guilty until he somehow proves that he is innocent (eventhough, he has not failed a drug test given by Major League). As I was typing my comment I realized that there is a bigger issue at hand. That issue is racism.
Don't worry, I'm not about to go a rant about how everyone that hates Barry Bonds is a racist. I am however going to go on a rant about how racism still exists in sports. Since I've been talking about Barry Bonds that's where I'll start.
I have to ask the question, if Barry Bonds weren't about to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time homerun list, would this still be an issue? I honestly feel that if Bonds didn't have to pass Ruth on the way to Hank Aaron's record there wouldn't be talk of putting asterisks next to the record. When Aaron was passing Ruth he received hate mail and death threats. The same thing is happening to Bonds as I type this.
People will argue that this is all about steroids and nothing more. I'm arguing that steroids have been around for years and people knew. Now that a black man is about to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time homerun list, everyone seems to be up in arms. Nevermind the fact that steroids weren't illegal in baseball until recently. I'll ask this question: If it were Mark Maguire who was about to pass Ruth, would there still be all the uproar? I know everyone reading this would say of course there would be. But, i think deep down there are some people who wouldn't care if it were Maguire.
Enough about Bonds and baseball. Let's talk football. Football is a mixed sport in terms of race. I'd be delusional if I didn't recognize that certain positions are dominated by certain races. Even knowing that you never here the media talk about the white running back or the black kicker. The media never mentions race when talking about any position unless it's the quarterback.
In the NFL there are quarterbacks and black quarterbacks. Why is this? I'll say it's because the quarterback position is the holy grail in football. For some reason when black people make it to the top their race all of a sudden becomes relevant. This is the fault of white AND black people. When a black quarterback doesn't succeed, white people mention the fact that he is black. When a black quarterback does succeed, black people are quick to mention that he is black.
Now let's talk basketball. Basketball is probably the easiest to talk about. I'm going to come at it from a different angle. I want to talk about the fact that ESPN.com recently ran an article about college basketball's two best players. I know this sounds normal, but the fact is college basketball's two best players are white. The fact that an ESPN (the worldwide leader in sports) writer was compelled to write an article about this fact is relevant. It was kind of like this may never happen again so we had better document it.
I could have written a lengthy post about each one of these sports. I also could have spent some time talking about the situation going on at Duke University. My point is we all like to watch sports and comment on them. It is in these comments that the racism starts to come whether we think so or not. Sometimes I think people don't realize what they are saying can off as racist. The fact that they don't know it's racist doesn't dismiss it. It just means they need to think about what they are saying.
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racism in sports
Let's not forget the hate mail that Tiger Woods recieves. I have to agree with you that the jury is stil out on the Bonds issue of Steroid abuse. Thereore, no one should be too quick to judge the outcome. I brought up the fact that Arnold used steroids to pump himself up years ago.....but the forum was silent.
The Williams sisters dominated their positions, and women's tennis somehow became boring during the duration. It just didn't have the grace and beauty that the world was used to seeing.
It's fascinating what the outcome might have been for the American psyche if Joe Louis or Jesse Owens had not triumphed in their day.
Good Point Moorishprince...
You might have made my point better than I did. It seems that when a person gets to the top of a sport it seems like people seem to find something wrong.
The Williams sisters used power to dominate and the game got boring. Tiger got to the top of his game and all of a sudden they started "tiger-proofing" courses.
black. white. quarterback.
Its funny that you should mention the racial cmponent involved in evaluating the quarterback position. I recently wrote a blog that mentioned the fact that the Tennessee Titans are disrespeting my favorite quarterback, STeve McNair who just so happens to be black, But does not just so happen to be my favorite because he is black. I love Tom Brady almost as much. That is love in the most manliest way possible. McNair was recently told to leave the Titans premises because of a contract dispute by a trainer. He is owed a lot of money and they do not want him to get injured while working out and be on the hook paying a large sum of money for a player who is injured. So let me get this right. They want him to go work out at the local YMCA...? Before McNair how many Super Bowls had they been to. Zero. During the PAtriots dominance, the Titans were really the only team that actually threatened the Patriots with a team quarterbacked by one Steve McNair. If Drew Bennett does not drop a wide open pass on the left sideline, both his and Tom Brady's legacy might be different. I am straying, but I am trying to run through this man's credentials. He is a former league MVP. HE has played through numerous injuries. He has gone through a season where he was too injured to even practice and yet he played on SUndays. I do not think the general public, media or players thinks this was the corret way to handle the situation, however it still happened. Maybe Weezy is right, Maybe I am making his skin color relevant to this discussion when it should not be. I'm just waiting for the Green Bay Packers management to tell Brett Farve he is on longer allowed at the facility until he gives the team an answer on his status for next year.
McNair & Favre
What we have here is a case of Mr. Champion trying to goad me into an argument about who is the better quarterback Steve McNair or Brett Favre. I'm not gonna get into that argument. The fact is I agree with his point (this has been happening way to often recently). Steve McNair has been the face of the Tennesee Titans for like the past ten years. The reason the Titans & McNair are in this predictament is because McNair tried to help to team by deferring his contract on numerous occasions.
While I will acknowledge that the Favre situation is a little different in that the Packers won't be on the line for as much money as the Titans will be. I do think that if Favre were in the same situation as McNair then the situation would have been handled in a much different way.
A little of both
Great topic and post. I both agree and disagree with points you make, but they are made well and these types of subjects lend themselves to rational discussion well when people behave....so on to what I had to say:
First, I think I am about 50/50 on what you say about Bonds. First, I do think that the Aaron record is what will cause the most uproar. THat is the one that is the holy grail of sports records and that is the one for which people will boo the most. At least I think.
Second, while there may be some underlying racial tensions, part of the problem with Bonds and this whole thing is his abrasive and manipulative behavior. It isnt fair that the world is this way, but when you shun the media and public, you pay in the court of public opinion.
Third, the information in the Book of Shadows book is not only very damning and well reported (I havent finished it), but it was also a weird thing that Bonds and his lawyers went to court for use of illegal sources and not regarding anything being incorrect or inaccurate. Where is the lible suit?
If he handled things differently it may change. Last year, a story came out that Bo Jackson was a user. He IMMIDIATELY filed a lawsuit that resulted in a retraction and basically a newspaper BEGGING to be let out of it with apologies. Bonds has either ignored or given snide comments.
I think McGwire has been damned, though not as much. Partly probably because he is white....partly because he is no longer in the mix. Had this come out during "the chase" I think he would have been crucified.
As for the ESPN article...I read it too. I didnt have a problem with it, but then again Im white. When I used to play ball at the downtown Y in indianapolis, it was often pointed out that I was "the token white guy." I thought it was funny, so did the guys I played with......In all honesty, I mean is it NOT unusual that the two best players in college basketball are white?...though you could argue if they are truly the two best.
Anyway dont get me wrong...race is DEFINITELY an issue in sports. Look at coaching, look at quarterbacks (like you said...dead on correct), and look at front offices. It is definitely an issue. It is, though, hard for me to say if what is going on with bonds is or isnt because its so clouded with everythign else. Its like he wants the chaos around him....there are records, rumors, reality shows, books, blogs, and websites in this thing so it gets hard to tell what is going on.
Later
First off thanks for the
First off thanks for the comment and the compliment. Now on to my response. Let it be known that I've said on this site that I now think Bonds did steroids. I've yet to read Book of Shadows and I agree that if Bonds was gonna sue then he should have sued for libel.
I agree people will boo when Bonds approaches Aaron. I just think people are booing really loud now that he is about to move into second place on the homerun list. I think this loud booing can be attributed directly to the fact that Bonds is about to pass Babe Ruth. I really don't buy the fact that Bonds is abrasive as reason for the way he is treated. There have been abrasive athletes since the media started covering sports.
As for the ESPN article, I didn't have a problem with it either. I actually thought it was well-written. You are right it is abnormal for the two best college players to be white. I don't think this will continue to be such an anomaly but right now it is the case. Why not just write an article about college basketball's two best players? Why point out and concentrate on the fact that they are white?
The answer to the first question is because that has been done numerous times before. The answer to the second question is because like I said it is an anomaly. The issue I have is the writer felt that this particular anomaly was newsworthy. Obviously he notices race.
Stretching a little
Okay we can agree to disagree on the specifics of bonds....and I think that is pretty much what people all over are doing ha ha.
I will say this, though. You said that "obviously he [the writer] notices race." Of course he does. If you dont then yu are either literally blind or lieing. When someone looks at me, they see a white guy....I have had this discussion a number of times with my friend Rob. Now I wont sit here and tell you I have a bunch of close black or minority friends, because that would be a lie. I grew up in a small town that was almost all whtie...went to a college that is almost all white...and then now I work in a school that is almost all hispanic and black (Im as shocked as anyone that im a more effective teacher in that environment, but go figure HA HA). I dont think it does anyone nay good to ignore differences or race....the key is to acknowledge those differences, be comfortable talking about them, and learn to understand them. Granted most of the black/white differences are surface only, but a culture in many cases has become apparent on both sides. I guess what Im getting at is that the article had a little bit of a tongue in cheek tone to it. It would be like if suddenly the best basketball player in the world was Korean, that would get attention, would it not? What if hte best Hocky player in the world was hispanic? These things are unusual and a sports writer's job is really just to draw us in, point out the unusual, or whatever it takes to get readers. The article was not offensive, and I guess where we disagree was that I feel it was a reflection of somethign most people who watch college basketball were already talking about...I know at the gym it was a big topic...it was not really an injection of a belief or feeling that was not already there.
Okay I know that post was very unorganized and hard to follow. I apologize but I have to get to school and have no time to construct a great argument (ha).
Later
Just making a point...
I agree that acknowledging race and racial differences is a good thing in some cases. I'm not sure if this case is one of those. Actually, i'm not sure if it's not one of these cases. Really I was just trying to make argument about the fact that race was made so relevant. Maybe I was being a little tongue and cheek.
o contrare monfrare (or
o contrare monfrare (or however you spell that). I am not trying to goat you into an argument, but I am glad you recognized the point I was trying to make and did not turn it into an argument over who is better. You like Favre. I like McNair and no amount of arguing will change that.