YourBlackSports is a place for brothers to talk about sports from a black perspective. This is not ESPN, this is Your ESPN. We see the analysts on all the shows talking this and that about black athletes, without a brother even being invited to the conversation. Well that doesn't happen at YourBlackSports, since this site is all about you!
The NCAA, which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 'educational' organization, has come under fire recently for capitalizing on the commercialization of college sports. Many athletes have accused the organization of unfairly using them for financial gain.
Since 1995, the NCAA has spent more than $84 million on legal fees, including some settlements. Former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon filed a lawsuit on July 21 against the NCAA and its member schools, accusing them of illegally profiting from using the likeness of former players for commercial pursuits like video games, DVDs, and jersey sales.
Dr. Boyce Watkins, a finance professor at Syracuse University, has become a vocal critic of the NCAA, for what he calls its exploitation of the black community.
Adrian J. Gilliam Jr was arrested Friday by ATF agents in Nashville, Tennessee. Gilliam is supposedly the man who sold McNair’s mistress Sahel Kazemi the gun that she used to kill herself and McNair. Gilliam has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and will probably be serving time considering this is not his first time being in trouble with the law, he was convicted of murder and attempted armed robbery in 1993. I will keep you updated on this case as more details unravel.
“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.”
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?
“Unenlightened mass media has served as a covertpropaganda machine for white supremacist thought, skillfully manipulating representations to convey to black folks and everyone else the notion, however false, that black life is horrible, that black people are the enemy, dangerous to themselves and others.”
The “slow-witted beast” is a phrase borrowed from a recent lecture given by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, in which he sat down a few corporate journalists and told the brutal and honest truth to their faces. Calling the mainstream press a “brutish, slow-witted beast,” Stewart chastised them for the “false sense of urgency they create, the sense that everything is breaking news.” The Comedy Central host also seemed to be displeased with the level of adulteration that has become normative within the cable news beltway. He said, “The 24-hour networks are now driving the narratives and everyone else is playing catch-up.” No doubt this cry from the hyper-wealthy, White-Jewish comedian is but a mere reflection of the dissatisfaction and discontent most Black, Brown, Red and Yellow peoples around the world have expressed for decades. Peoples of culture/color around the globe have suffered the sting of unfiltered dishonesty, distortion and deformation by the affluent media empires. At the crossroad of a black man rising to the highest pedestal in political platform, journalists of culture/color still remain underrepresented in Washington. It is as though the corporate press has neither the intellect, nor the moral fortitude, to see how grossly illogical it is to host panels of White men/women over the age of fifty, whose attempt – rather pathetic – to “understand” Barack Obama never exceeds the thinking capacity of a fifth grader.
The 2008 Presidential race, particularly with the emergence of Barack Obama, has exposed many, otherwise hidden, insightful details about the media’s laziness and self-obsession. NPR co-host, Brooke Gladstone, affirmed this notion in a recent appearance on PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal. “This is about celebrity,” she said. “This is about putting your finger in the air and following the public mood. Is it news? No.” A media which prides itself in being “dependable,” “trusted,” and “powerful,” sure has some explaining to do - if those slogans are to be taken seriously. It is of little doubt that the corporate news empires have always had challenges when it comes to race, and Barack Obama’s presence at the balcony of political stardom helped reinforce this reality. It was the white-controlled media stations who first asked the question – with such unbelievable gull and effrontery – “Is Barack Obama Black enough?” In an unsuccessful effort to look self-interrogatory, the corporate press would, from time to time, feature all-white panels to confront the issue of race in the campaign. As a noted scholar once quipped, “That’s like Hugh Hefner getting a stripper to come on the show and tell him that he's not a sexist.”
In 2005, when Rev. Jesse Jackson challenged the National Association of Black Journalist for failing in its responsibility to confront the corporate media structures, many thought such provoked outrage would yield substantive results, but three years later, just like the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, not much has changed. Rev. Jackson, noting that “Not one black (person) leads a show on CNN, or Fox News or MSNBC,” asked the NABJ-packed room a simple question. “Doesn't that offend you?” It is remarkable to acknowledge that a Black Man might attain the seat of the presidency, and the task of reporting, translating and transcribing the implication of the moment would float upon a sea of unenlightened white journalists. In 2008, three White females host highly-watched newscasts on the cable news networks, but not one individual of color has, at the very least, been subjected to consideration. With such a precedent, the “manipulating representations,” of which bell hooks spoke, can only yield more credence. In a race where a black man is faced with the daunting task of opposing a White man, without coming off as threatening, “uppity,” or “disrespectful,” the mainstream press has operated as the third leg of the McCain campaign.
The media has played “enabler,” as “Master John” and “Mistress Sarah” have lived out their fantasy of cracking the whips of invective-laden insults on the back of their disobedient slave (Obama), who, as John McCain put it, should have done what he “asked Sen. Obama to do.” John McCain unabashedly proclaiming that he is punishing Sen. Obama for being defiant seems to have not made a difference in the mainstream media's malnourished coverage of this historic race. The 24-Hour News Networks have neither budged nor subsided in their hyper-vigilance on Obama. Barack Obama is not a unique case, as Black men throughout history have had to deal with the grim reality of being rendered “invisible,” while simultaneously functioning under the scope of societies’ omnipresent judgmental lenses.
Perhaps Black Athletes in the media are the greatest example of the corporate media’s hyper-vigilance on Black bodies. Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback, Donovan McNabb once, in an interview on HBO, infuriated the White-supremacist press for his courageous admission that Black Athletes are inordinately scrutinized, antagonized and microscopically examined by fans, coaches, owners, managers and teammates alike – especially in contrast to their White counterparts. “There’s not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra,” McNabb said. Using his Black-Quarterback status as a case-study, he declared, “Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn’t want us to play, is low, so we do a little extra.”
Powerhouse tennis players, Venus and Serena Williams, are also specimens in the laboratories of White public opinion. Award-Winning Sportswriter, Dave Zirin, once remarked that Serena Williams and Venus Williams still remain alien-like figures – in spite of their enormous gift and talent – in the world of professional Tennis, because the administrators, referees, fans and coaches “don't know what to do in Tennis with people like the William Sisters. The announcers don't know how to report on them, they don't know how to talk about them.” In a recent episode of the popular NBC comedy talk-show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Zirin’s theory and proposal was unambiguously confirmed. The host, an Irish Comedian, struggled to characterize the combativeness of U.S. Open champion, Serena Williams. Ending up with “Intimidating” and “fierce,” O’Brien spent a substantial slice of the interview, examining the No. 1 seed’s on-court outfits - which he called “sexy,” drilling a hole into her personal life, and making random comments – probably meant as compliments – concerning her temperament. One can only envision the Gloria Steinems of the world, holding press conferences and rallies to deliberate what to do next, if Ms. Williams happened to be non-black. Serena Williams’ dad, Richard Williams, is no doubt a believer of this gospel, as he once observed, much to the shock and feigned ignorance of White Tennis players/fans/coaches/sportscasters, that his daughters are “never accepted” because “people are prejudiced in tennis.”
The slow-witted Beast, which has abdicated its responsibility and duty should not be depended upon to make amends any time soon. As the old saying goes, “A leopard cannot change it spots.”
