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

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Brandon Marshall on what the glove symbolizes:

Your Black World: Dave Zirin: Leave Josh Alone

Leave Josh Alone

By: Dave Zirin

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Josh Howard has been raked over the coals of public opinion this week for daring to say what more than a few athletes think. He was caught on someone's cell phone camera saying that he doesn't stand for the national anthem because "I don't celebrate this [expletive]. I'm black." Judging by fan and media reaction, you would have thought he was barbecuing some bald eagle over a flaming pit of American flags. You would, given the peals of outrage, never know that there's been perhaps some more pressing news in the papers this week.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, to his eternal credit, has posted some of the anti-Howard emails he has received and they are the most vile, racist trash you could read outside a Klan chat room. (http://blogmaverick.com/2008/09/18/thanks-for-the-advice-on-josh/).

Many of these courageous e-bigots actually attempt to link Howard’s mini-rant to the ascension of Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Their crude threats reflect a white fear as old as the United States itself: that no matter how much blood black Americans spill for this country, their loyalties are dual and divided. It's a fear that -- in a backhanded way -- acknowledges that racism is still so prevalent in our society that loyalties of the descendents of slaves must be suspect. But instead of confronting the reality of racism, the e-bigots among us instead lash out in both frightening and filthy fashion.

Well, count me out. Count me out as someone who will pile on Josh Howard. Howard is someone who said, during his 2004 senior year at Wake Forest University, that the war in Iraq "was all about oil." He then saw his draft stock plummet to the point where he was picked after no-talents like Reece Gaines and Ndudi Ebe. I saw one scout even call Howard a risky pick saying that "Anti-war views may reflect rumored erratic behavior." Count me out as someone who thinks anti war views are erratic.

Count me out of the fraternity of sports writers who under a kabuki pantomime of liberalism will "defend Howard's right to say what he wants" and then crush him for opening his mouth. Take J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. He starts his anti-Howard piece by writing, "What makes America the best country on the planet is that you are free to stand or sit for the national anthem, to sing along or to yell in anger at the government as much as you want without getting tossed in jail for your political beliefs." What claptrap. Someone needs to send Adande a copy of the Patriot Act. Or maybe he could ask the people who attempted to exercise their Constitutional rights to “yell in anger” at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN, only to be subject to "pre-emptive" raids and prison. Maybe he could ask the journalists who were beaten and arrested by police for attempting to report on it.

But then Adande continues:

"Howard, the Dallas Mavericks forward coming off a year in which he publicly admitted his penchant for smoking marijuana and defiantly partied away during the NBA playoffs, has a termite-ridden soapbox."

Yes, Howard admitted that he is an NBA player who smokes weed. Stop the presses. He also celebrated his own birthday after a playoff game. Adande must think it's a slippery slope: weed, birthday parties, treason. If Howard’s soapbox is “termite-ridden” then Adande’s argument is a house of cards.

This garbage is exactly why it's so hard to get athletes to open up about what they think. Reporters are seen as there to mock any ideas they have beyond "Drink Gatorade… and play one game at a time." Count me out of this smirking and all-too-racist game of journalistic gotcha.

Count me out also as someone who thinks any critiques of the anthem are somehow off limits.

Count me instead as someone who has no clue why this is the only country in the world that feels to need to play the national anthem before sporting events. Count me as someone who believes that sports are beautiful but enforced nationalism before a captive audience is not. Count me as someone who resent the fact that we are raised to see sports and nationalism as inherently conjoined.

Count me as someone who will never criticize an athlete for pointing out their discomfort with this ritual.

I'm always sympathetic when a jock questions the permanence of the anthem. A photo of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists adorns my wall. I have written in defense of people like Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, drummed out of the NBA for not standing during the anthem, and Toni Smith, the former Manhattanville College basketball player who turned her back on the flag in 2003 to protest "not just the war abroad but the injustices here at home." They were right to question the assumed permanence of this exceptionally American ritual.

Fusing the anthem with sports is a practice that was started in order to build patriotic fervor during World War II. When "the good war" ended and the permanent Cold War begun, it simply never left. It is supposed to represent freedom, but, as we see with Josh Howard, it's the freedom to do little more than smile in silence.

Well, count me out.

Reposted From Edge Of Sports

Your Black Power: Black Athletes in Beijing: Demanding Courage in an Age of Complacency

By: Tolu Olorunda

It was in 1968(many years before my birth) when Tommy Smith and John Carlos (two track and field athletes) stepped up into glory and history, with their display of the Black Power salute at the crowning ceremony of the 200 metres event. Tommy Smith and John Carlos were on a mission, and not even the fiery words of then-USOC President, Avery Brundage - "I don't think any of these 'boys' will be foolish enough to demonstrate at the Olympic Games" - could halt their cultural-momentum. They understood quite precisely, that Black bodies had played an historical role, as the sacrifice and offering often used to contain the indefatigable demands of European pride, prestige and angst. They were much-too-aware of the unnatural relationship between sports and society, and the political-lingo which athletic-competition speaks so fluently. Having endured the unsettling contradiction of being openly admired, but subjected to segregated facilities in their home country and abroad, Smith and Carlos felt indebted to the history and heritage that shaped them. It wasn't an exhibition, but rather an exercise; a revolutionary exercise that words could not justly articulate. They lived in America long enough to anticipate the subsequent ramifications. They had personally witnessed the gross and unjust decision to strip the Boxing Heavyweight of The World, Muhammad Ali, of his hard-earned title, as a result of his courageous refusal to be drafted and "quarrel" with Vietcongs who had 'never called him nigger.' Smith and Carlos were 'racing against a machine' that had repressed their innately political voice, and exploited their struggle for financial-empowerment. It was a time to send a clear signal of courage, hope, defiance, love, pride, sincerity and frustration. The resultant pain (ostracism, criminal surveillance, death threats, arson, loss of loved ones) and profit (community support, international recognition, the unmasking of white supremacy) would only be a further motivation to justify the timely call for a revolution of values within the American public. With the precedents set by Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, one would imagine that Black activism within the athletic realm could only soar much higher, but in an age where complacency is the name of the game, many Black professional players are rather rich, than respected. Some of them have proven to be an unmitigable embarrassment to the struggle that procreated them.

Black activism in many areas of western life has been radically rebated and extinguished of its historical vigor. This was very much evidential, earlier this year, when a Golf Channel commentator joked about a possible lynching of Tiger Woods, and received a mere two-week suspension -- with Tiger calling it "a non-issue." In a day and time where the noose has made nearly 80 public appearances within the last one year, one would expect more from a dark-skinned Golfer, who inevitably swims in the river of prejudice - whether overt or covert - with each moment spent on the Golf Course. The surprise generated from his actions were largely unwarranted, as not much should have been expected from a man who openly expresses admiration for the Oil and Energy beast, Chevron, saying, "Chevron has a track record and a commitment to bettering the communities where they operate." The corporatization of Black athleticism is - without a doubt - the chief culprit in the muzzling of progressive voices within Professional Sports -- especially with regard to those dominated by Blacks or people of culture. The NBA is filled with brilliant and gifted athletes, and if given the opportunity, will speak eloquently about the tragedies that afflict those to whom no spotlight is granted.

LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar is a delight and disappointment in many ways. His skills are nearly unparalleled to none, and at a mere 23, his future seems to be anything but bleak. Nevertheless, the young man has never shied away from lending credence to big-name industries which have, on a continuous basis, burglarized the community from which he emerges. Perhaps naiveté and lust are the driving force behind this tragedy, but James has a track-record of pushing the limit on stupidity in an unprecedented way. In 2007, his then teammate, Ira Newble, drafted a petition to the Chinese Government, in condemnation of its participation in the Darfurian genocide. The petition was signed by all members of the Cavalier bench, with the exception of Damon Jones and LeBron James. Damon Jones, having signed a marketing-contract with the Chinese shoe-manufacturer, Li-Ning Sports, probably felt compelled to submerge his virtue and instead pursue his vice. LeBron James, joined-at-the-hip to a $90 million contract-deal with China-infested Nike, claimed to be ignorant of the issue at hand, and therefore unable to sign his name to any piece of data that isn't officially mandated by David Stern. Perhaps we should interrogate Prof. James on how knowledgeable he was, vis-à-vis the technicality of the NBA, before his soul was purchased at a premium price. As the Chicago-bred Emcee, Lupe Fiasco, once remarked, "Mama said beware of what the devil do/ Tell 'em that your soul's not for sale like the W's." Mr. James was also caught, last year, in a squabble with fellow ball player, Stephon Marbury. Marbury had just partnered with Steve & Barry's University Sportswear stores, to launch an affordable line of sneakers. The cheapest of the "Starbury" line was priced at $10 and averaged at $14.95. Stephon Marbury - in spite of his unpredictable past - was largely larded with praise and adulation for stepping outside of the corporate box, and presenting a different perspective to inner-city kids. Marbury spoke of growing up poor, and unable to afford the latest sneakers - which have been predominantly overpriced - as the prime-motivator for his remarkable initiative. When asked by reporters, as to whether he took delight in the exemplary work of the Starbury line, James replied foolishly, "No, I don't think so... Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high." LeBron James's comments reeked of unadulterated idiocy. One is forced to wonder where such impassioned statesmanship was, when Ira Newble was circulating that petition which could have put an end to the killing and mutilation of 400,000+ people who look like him. That testosterone-filled emotion seems to always come in handy, whenever his financial security is being threatened. The man who refused to sign a petition that delineated concern for the lives of everyday folks, was unrestrained in hollering, "Sit your ass down," at his loving mother who arose in defense of him at a playoffs game with the Boston Celtics. While I plead for some testicular-fortitude from our well-payed athletes, it must be made clear to Mr. James and his fellow star-athletes, that the Black community is not demanding anything in return, other than a worthy-exchange for the billions of dollars which young Black and Brown kids have dispensed and discharged into the corporate empires that made him and his counterparts instant millionaires.

With recent reports that document the efforts of certain Chinese "Public Security Bureau officials" to ban Black and Mongolians from bars, and several accounts of police brutality against Africans living in China, one can only hope that the progressive voices of professional athletes, such as Jessica Mendoza of Team Darfur, is not muted or muzzled. Ernie Paniccioli, the legendary Hip-Hop photographer and Human Rights activist, has called for "rallies, protests and a boycott of any products advertised during the Olympics and letters to the sponsors, letting them know Human Rights are more important than gold medals." Unfortunately, it remains unclear, as to how many athletes have the courage to carry on those 'non-marginal' tasks. One of such progressive athletes is Nia Abdallah, a 2004 Silver-Olympian Taekwondo fighter, who is speaking out against an unjust ruling that denied her the opportunity to fight in Beijing 2008. She believes - along with 90% of those who’ve watched the videotaped match - that she was robbed by corrupt judges who had been ordered to award the Olympic qualifying match to her opponent, Diana Lopez -- from the "Lopez family" aka "the first family of Taekwondo. Abdallah proclaims to be fighting against the injustice that corrupts the bulk of professional sports, and hinders fair-play within the region. She has garnered national and international support in her battle against the USOC, and hopes to rid the system of the back-door deals that purposefully swindled her -- in favor of establishing history and publicity with the victory of her opponent. With the resilience displayed by Abdallah, there seems to be a thread of hope worth hanging unto. But I'm also persuaded that the majority of big-name athletes are like politicians: Unwilling to fight without a push from a dissatisfied constituency. It is incumbent upon activists, sport-fans, progressive-athletes, historians and intellectuals, to harness whatever resources are available, in the demand for more courage in this age of complacency.

Tommie Smith & John Carlos at ESPY's And In A New Movie

The 1968 Mexico City Olympics are best described and remembered in one photograph: Two black men, one gets the gold medal, the other the bronze, and both stand with a black fist raised in the air and their heads bowed. The picture sparked tons of controversy in a country divided and time period where tension between Black and white soared high.

Forty years later at the 2008 ESPN “ESPY Awards” the two men- Tommie Smith and John Carlos received the Arthur Ashe Award and the truth about their famous picture was revealed in a short video shown at the awards.

Now, a new international movie- written, directed and produced by Matt Norman (nephew of Peter Norman, the 200m Olympic Silver Medalist pictured with Tommie Smith and John Carlos)- is coming out called “Salute” that ventures into the experience of the 1968 Olympics and the stories of all of the people involved after the historic event: