I recently read Stephen A. Smith's column about a recent conference at Morehouse College which focused on African American Athletes and the reporters who cover them. Now let me say for the record; that I have never liked sports reporters. I consider most of them hypocrites and most of them are jealous of the people who play the games they cover.
So back to this conference. One of the panel discussions was hosted by Spike Lee, and some of the panel members included people like C. Vivian Stringer, Alonzo Mourning, and Jim Brown. Sadly, another panel member was the very hypocritical self hater, Jason Whitlock who caught an earful from those who were present. But as could have been predicted, most of the discussion centered on the recent behavior of many of our black athletes and the medias focus on them.
So here is where keeping it real comes in: Folks, we (black folks) have got to stop this bull sh**. I am so sick of the Pacman Jones, Michael Vick types with their ignorant ass off field behavior. When are these guys going to grow up and take responsibility for their actions? Listen, I know boys will be boys, and when you are young black and rich, you want to spend a little dough and have a little fun from time to time. I get that! But at some point you have to say to yourself; enough! I just can't be irresponsible anymore. I have a family and a race of people that are depending on me to behave properly and carrying myself in a respectful manner. When 39 of the 41 current athletes on the police blotter are black I have a problem with that sh**. And no, I can't blame whitey, I have to blame your ignorant asses.
Hey, I know racism might play a part in this, and I know we are not always treated fairly by the white (and black...well f**k it, Jason Whitlock might as well be considered white too)press that covers us. (See the recent kid gloves treatment of St. Louis pitcher, Josh Hancock who clearly had an alcohol problem) But I really have to take issue with those that always points the finger at the white press when we are caught doing wrong. And yes, having having uncared for pit bulls in your house trained for fighting is wrong. Drivin
g under the influence of alcohol with a suspended driver's license is wrong. So please spare me the I am a victim of whitey speech.
And I agree with Stephen A. Smith when he says: "Any athlete resembling O.J. Simpson will happen again over white America's collective dead body." So wake up my brothers. As my Mamma used to say: "You better straighten up and fly right" Because we can only cry bad whitey for so long.
So back to this conference. One of the panel discussions was hosted by Spike Lee, and some of the panel members included people like C. Vivian Stringer, Alonzo Mourning, and Jim Brown. Sadly, another panel member was the very hypocritical self hater, Jason Whitlock who caught an earful from those who were present. But as could have been predicted, most of the discussion centered on the recent behavior of many of our black athletes and the medias focus on them.
So here is where keeping it real comes in: Folks, we (black folks) have got to stop this bull sh**. I am so sick of the Pacman Jones, Michael Vick types with their ignorant ass off field behavior. When are these guys going to grow up and take responsibility for their actions? Listen, I know boys will be boys, and when you are young black and rich, you want to spend a little dough and have a little fun from time to time. I get that! But at some point you have to say to yourself; enough! I just can't be irresponsible anymore. I have a family and a race of people that are depending on me to behave properly and carrying myself in a respectful manner. When 39 of the 41 current athletes on the police blotter are black I have a problem with that sh**. And no, I can't blame whitey, I have to blame your ignorant asses.
Hey, I know racism might play a part in this, and I know we are not always treated fairly by the white (and black...well f**k it, Jason Whitlock might as well be considered white too)press that covers us. (See the recent kid gloves treatment of St. Louis pitcher, Josh Hancock who clearly had an alcohol problem) But I really have to take issue with those that always points the finger at the white press when we are caught doing wrong. And yes, having having uncared for pit bulls in your house trained for fighting is wrong. Drivin
g under the influence of alcohol with a suspended driver's license is wrong. So please spare me the I am a victim of whitey speech.And I agree with Stephen A. Smith when he says: "Any athlete resembling O.J. Simpson will happen again over white America's collective dead body." So wake up my brothers. As my Mamma used to say: "You better straighten up and fly right" Because we can only cry bad whitey for so long.
3 comments:
agree 100% with you my friend.
Jason Whitlock is a self-hater? A lot of what I read from him is pretty much the same as the second half of this article. "Stop using white people as an excuse for acting like an idiot."
Any black person who sees separation everywhere might want to check the mirror first. You think the average white person sees Tiger Woods as a black guy? They don't. They see him as the best golfer on the planet who also is apparently a nice guy and role model. His race rarely enters into the equation except, ironically enough, when it comes to other black people.
People who focus on race and differences and separation so much need to realize it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your article includes, "...and when you are young black and rich...." What does being black have to do with doing stupid things when you're young and rich? Nothing at all, unless you want to focus on race for no particular reason other than that you like to separate your race from other races. Your race-related alias doesn't help, either.
Anyone who thinks Whitlock is wrong when he said Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton need to step down as "leaders" are blind. "Leaders" like that don't help anyone except themselves.
signed,
just another "self-hater"
Was looking for a webpic of the USAToday cover story from April 13 in which 39 of the 41 mugshot-style photos show black players and only two white. (Can't find a photo of the cover, tho.) Happened on your blog -- and have to point out that USAToday's photo array was inflammatory and unfair. Some guys pictured, like Djani Jones, aren't the BBBGs (big black bad guys) the cover photo seemed to suggest. Some of those dudes had a DUI charge against them -- something plenty of their fellow (white) Americans are busted for every day. They didn't deserve to be smeared and likened to Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. You got the feeling the editors added the two pics of white players only after realizing how black-player-heavy the photo montage was.
I'm all for folks taking responsibility for their actions -- and dumbasses like Jones or Chris Henry need to grow up. But since the sporting press is always so fired up about athlete misconduct and demanding toe-the-line behavior, it would be nice if those same sportswriters put their money where their mouths are. Frankly, I wish sports blogs would do a lot less rehashing and rumor-mongering, and a lot more serious coverage of the sporting press itself. Let's see how sportswriters and editors (overwhelmingly white and male) measure up to the very standards they set for everyone else. My experience inside the worldwide leader tells me different.
As I write this, I'm finishing Hank Aaron's autobiography "I Had a Hammer" (which is fab, btw). In it he talks about the press during his day, especially in the late 1960s and 1970s, when the second and third generations of black ballplayers had moved into the big leagues. Aaron described the way sportswriters treated him and other African-American players as if they "were still just guests at the party." I think they still do.
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