Your Black Politics: Did Tiger Woods Pave Barack Obama's path?

Did Tiger Woods pave Barack Obama's path? Are you joking?
By: Dave Zirin
Originally Appeared In NY Daily News

It's always dangerous, but never boring, when a newspaper sports columnist uncorks a political thesis. Enter Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. Bianchi thinks that there are some unsung heroes who deserve credit for helping put a black man in the White House - and they are athletes. "If you're searching for tangible reasons why it became possible for Barack Obama to make his historic run at the presidency ... look no further than the golf course, basketball court or football field."

Bianchi believes that, since sports have conditioned white America to accept African-Americans as heroes and leaders, black sportsmen deserve a pat on the back. He wonders: "Where else but sports can you go to Amway Arena and see 15,000 mostly white fans cheer and celebrate the accomplishments of a team that is mostly black?"

Sounds lovely. But it happens to be embarrassingly wrong - and an insult to the reason that millions waited on long lines to cast their vote.

For more than a century, masses of white audiences have cheered black entertainers and athletes. And for most of that time, blacks struggled mightily to climb the corporate or political ladder. Why? Because being wowed by the ability of blacks to perform on a field or stage is not in the same ballpark as accepting their political leadership. Not even close.

More to the point, the rare black athletes who have dared to make waves have been pilloried for not knowing their place. After men like Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos got too political, the phrase "just shut up and play" emerged - to smack down future jocks for trying to do more than entertain.

This is not just a hypocrisy of the musty past. On Thursday, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught the winning touchdown pass against the Cleveland Browns. He then - horror of horrors - wanted to take out a black and white glove to make a statement. "I wanted to create that symbol of unity because Obama inspires me, our multicultured society," he later said.

But we will never know how the public might have received even this tame message because teammates, led by Brandon Stokely, put the kibosh on him. Commentators then came down on Marshall like blitzing linebackers. ESPN anchor Neil Everett said, "It's not about you and what you think. It's about the team."

Our sport-mad culture has hardly softened the ground for black political leadership. If anything, it's produced a value system that prizes material gain and the almighty scoreboard over any kind of collective responsibility.

This is seen even more clearly when we look at the three figures that Bianchi holds up as the most crucial trailblazers: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy.

Bianchi writes, "the two most successful product pitchmen of the modern era - Tiger and Michael Jordan - are both black men who won over white corporate America." But at what cost? These are also the two most aggressively apolitical athletes to ever walk the earth. They live by the creed that taking serious stands gets in the way of good business. If anything, Obama has had to overcome the racial landscape these two have charted, which says you must wear the cool mask and betray nothing.

Dungy is a different case. One of the most respected coaches in the NFL, he is also an evangelical Christian who has raised funds for the Indiana Family Institute. IFI organizes anti-gay marriage initiatives and takes part in the process of what's called "praying the gay away."

In fact, when you think about it, Woods, Jordan and Dungy - signifying respectively disengagement, corporate greed and the right-wing side of the culture wars - hold the values many voters wanted to repudiate.

No doubt, black American athletes unafraid to be political will be part of charting us out of this wilderness. But it will not be those content to be money-making sideshows when the main stage is a real-world battle for change.

Zirin is author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States."

Your Black World: No Obamamania For Brandon Marshall

No Obamamania for Brandon Marshall

By: Dave Zirin

All Brandon Marshall wanted was the opportunity to be part of the moment. The Denver Broncos wide receiver wanted to feel connected to the thousands who have flooded into the streets and the millions in a state of shock and awe around the world, celebrating the election of Barack Obama.

Marshall's plan was to score a touchdown on Thursday night and then take out a black-and-white glove and hold it up to the sky. "I wanted to create that symbol of unity because Obama inspires me, our multi-cultured society," he said after the game, choked with tears. "And I know at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico,Tommie Smith and John Carlosraised that black glove in that fist as a silent gesture of black power and liberation. Forty years later, I wanted to make my own statement. I wanted to make my own statement and gesture to represent the progress we made."

Unfortunately, we will never know what would have happened, or how the crowd would have reacted. We will never have that image of a football player bringing politics to the field. Marshall did score a touchdown, but as he removed the glove from his pocket, his teammates stopped him.

The problem was that Marshall's touchdown came with only one minute and twenty-two seconds left to play, putting the Broncos ahead, 34-30. His teammates--particularly fellow wideout Brandon Stokley and tight end Tony Scheffler--saw what he was about to do and stopped him, fearful of an automatic fifteen-yard penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct."

One can be charitable toward Stokley and Sheffler, given the moment in the game--although the image of two white players surrounding a black player to block his political statement is the antithesis of the very ideas Marshall was attempting to communicate.

Yet the reaction from ESPN was even worse. The first talking head back at the SportsCenter headquarters took a shot at Marshall's emotional press conference saying, "Well, the sentiment is exactly right, even if the speechwriting needs some work." His partner then said of Marshall, "It's not about you or what you think. It's about the team and what they need to do." Ex-player turned broadcaster (and sometime soap opera star) Mark Schlereth called it, "The best play of Stokley's career." The Sporting News' Chris Mottram quoted Cleveland based blogger Vince Grzegorek,who called it "Marshall's Moronic Touchdown Tribute to President-Elect Obama."

Grzegorek then wrote of Marshall, "He's not bright, or flat out selfish, or a combustible mixture of the two."

There is no question that Marshall was taking a risk. There's no question he could have cost his team the game.

His coach, the stone-faced Mike Shanahan, has a written rule about not bringing politics into his all-business locker room.

Marshall could have risked the ire of the NFL, known as the No Fun League for cracking down on any hint, any whiff, of individuality on the part of players.

But maybe Marshall thought that the moment was more important than the game. Maybe he looked at basketball players like Kevin Garnett, who had the slogan "Embrace Change Vote '08" written on his sneakers, or Carmelo Anthony, who said that he would score forty-four points Wednesday in honor of the forty-fourth president. Marshall wanted to be part of the energy that has inspired more pro athletes to take part in this election cycle than ever before.

Instead of derision, Marshall merited our respect--sports fan or not-- which should actually be exponentially higher since he was willing to take this risk when the game was on the line. The image of a pro football player raising a black-and-white hand to the skies forty years after Smith and Carlos and two days after the election of a black president in a country built on slavery could have echoed through the ages. Someone should tell the suits and ESPN: some things are actually more important than sports.

From Edge Of Sports

----------------------------

Brandon Marshall on what the glove symbolizes:

Your Black World: Stephon Marbury Politicks With The Homeless

Stephon Marbury watched the final presidential debate in the common room of a homeless shelter on the Bowery with a bunch of guys he met at Two Boots pizza. He kept his eyes on the tiny TV, laughing and scoffing along with the residents as McCain spoke—Marbury does a pretty good imitation of the senator—and smiling when it was Obama’s turn. “Look at Obama,” Marbury said, pointing at the screen. “You feel him. We feel him. You can feel his spirit when he speaks.” At one point, when the debate turned to the economy, Marbury snorted. “Middle class? We don’t have a middle class anymore.”

As the millionaire said those words, the homeless agreed. “I love Starbury,” an excited resident said, referring to Marbury’s affordable sneaker and clothing line. “I can get hot shoes for like $30. Jordan wants me to pay $100.” Others gave him career advice. “Hey, you know, I see you doing good in the sixth-man role,” one resident offered. “It’s just a game,” Marbury answered, pointing at the screen. “There’s more to life.”

From New York Magazine

Your Black Brothers: Black Men and Boyism: From Politics to Sports

Black Men and Boyism: From Politics to Sports

By: Tolu Olorunda

Staff Writer – YourBlackWorld.com

“These weekly insults to Black manhood that we have been programmed to believe are entertainment and not direct racist warfare, further reinforce, perhaps in the unconscious thinking of Black people, a loss of respect for Black manhood while carrying that loss to ever deeper levels.”

- Dr. Frances Cress Welsing in “The Isis Papers.”

Sen. Obama’s astronomical rise to political stardom has been fascinating for any number of reasons, but most especially, helpful in decoding the underlying racist perceptions of Obama, held by neo-liberal, otherwise known as, “well-intentioned” Whites. Renowned poet and activist, Amiri Baraka, once described this group as “little liberals who think Obama is just some trendy new-flavor.” These “little liberals,” are no doubt, fully responsible for the overt commodification of Obama by big-business enterprises. More saddening, however, is the reality that Sen. Obama, a Black man, is increasingly being perceived by this specific class of White liberals, as more a boy than a man.

Barack Obama is treated – by these White liberals – as a pet-project who can only function within the confines of an accepted model. The emergence of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright on the national stage, earlier this year, fully confirmed my suspicion. A broad swath of Sen. Obama’s allied White-base were aghast and appalled by the revelation that a man as militant-minded and pro-Black as Dr. Wright, had, once upon a time, had a profound impact on Obama’s life. Most of his White supporters had invested in the mythology of Obama as the “one Black friend,” who could be tolerated as long as he/she functioned in a non-threatening manner. NPR host, Farai Chideya, echoed this sentiment in an appearance on CNN, earlier in the presidential race. Speaking of the sense of betrayal many White neo-liberals felt after learning of Obama’s past-associations with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Ms. Chideya noted how “Christopher John Farley of "TIME" magazine once wrote an essay about the magical African-American friend, which is the idea in movies often, that there's this nice black man who's my black friend, and he's not like other black people. He's so nice. And I think that some people, some supporters have put Senator Obama in the magical African-American friend box. And therefore, for them there's a double high standard, which is not only that he has to be squeaky clean as it relates to other politicians, but he has to be sort of this super-nice person.”

Barack Obama’s charisma is often mistaken, by many White liberals, as an opportunity to diminish his manhood. Bill Clinton ran the first leg of this prestigious relay race with his initial comment that Sen. Obama’s candidacy was nothing but a “fairy tale.” President Jimmy Carter, widely hailed as a newly-branded Humanist and activist, grabbed the baton and fell into this entrapment in a self-revealing appearance on PBS, during the Democratic National Convention. President Carted suggested that Sen. Obama’s acceptance as Democratic Presidential Nominee was not only emblematic of significant racial-progress, but it had “sent a wave of approbation and admiration in many countries around the world, just knowing that this black boy who grew up with just a loving mother and grandparents -- and that was about all he had to start with -- does now have a chance to become the nominee of the Democratic Party for president.” One wonders if President Carter would call Barack Obama a “boy,” if he happened to be non-black. Jimmy Carter is not alone, as Television Host and Comedian, Bill Maher – running the third leg –, has also expressed similar sentiments regarding Sen. Obama. In an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, whose obsession with Black Women boggles the mind, argued against Obama’s eloquence, stating that “Our boy needs to be a little more forceful…Don’t you think he needs to jab a little bit? He seems a little too professorial.” John McCain – anchor leg – wasted no time in confirming his disregard for Obama as, “that one.” Late last week, CNN host, Campbell Brown, attempted to make a case against the accusations that Sen. McCain hurled a racially-inflamed insult at Obama by characterizing the Democratic nominee as, “that one.” Speaking in defense of McCain, the fairly-liberal pundit stated: “Some people have interpreted that comment, 'THAT ONE' as having racial undertones. Give me a break. I can hear my grandfather talking about one of his kids or grandkids as "that one." He used it a lot. Maybe it's a generational thing. Maybe it wasn't a term of endearment the way it was when my grandfather used it. Maybe McCain did mean to be disrespectful. But racist? I don't think so.” Following Ms. Brown’s logic, Barack Obama would have to be a grandchild for McCain to successfully call him “that one,” and be devoid of any racist or vituperative intent. Thanks for buttressing my point, Campbell.

In sports, the infantilizing of Black Men appears to be more overt. Last week, Dallas Cowboys cornerback, Adam “Pacman” Jones, was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating NFL “personal conduct policy.” NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, took great pride in publicly remonstrating against Jones. In a letter published for the world to see, Goodell passionately wrote that, “It's terribly disappointing to me that we're dealing with this again and that he's reflecting so poorly on all of the players in this league, which they don't deserve.” In a demeanor comparable to a parent reprimanding a child, Goodell furthermore explained to Adam Jones that he had temporarily terminated his contract because of a noticeable “disturbing pattern of behavior,” which was “clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL.” Whether Mr. Jones indeed violated league policy remains irrelevant at this point. More disturbing is the fact that Roger Goodell, and the higher officials in the NFL, would seek to make an example out of Jones in favor of waging the “weekly insults to Black manhood,” of which Dr. Welsing spoke.

From politics to sports, the “game” remains the same. If Sen. Obama is lucky enough to convince the requisite amount of Whites to vote for him, what would the end result of his presidency amount to? That of a Black man, or a Black boy?