I seem to be on a theme about racial issues lately and since there seems to be some of this on the news, I thought I'd throw in my own bone... This post has more of a sports focus, but I think it brings out the point that I want to make - if it doesn't, well...what can I say... This posting differs from previous postings in that I'm brainstorming this while I'm reading, so I suspect that everything will seem rather disjointed. This is not normal, but it's late, and I'm getting sleepy.
If you have read this blog from the beginning (and it's still in its infantile stage), and I know from emails to me that there are about eight of you who have, you'll know that when it comes to race issues, I almost never play the race card. I've been accused of being insensitive all the way to being called a race traitor (which I find laughable, since it seems like anyone who refuses to go into victim mode is called a race traitor). I also don't generally care what people think about my opinions - I welcome feedback, and while I admit there are times I can say things with more tact or more constructively and am open to adjusting my entries so I don't sound like an uneducated raving lunatic, I have never once felt that I needed to apologize for any opinion that I expressed here, and this won't change anytime soon. Especially when it comes to discussing racial topics.
Today we're going to talk sports. I love sports, both as a spectator as well as a participant. In fact, tomorrow, I am going out to play tennis with my son (I just bought him a Wilson SpongeBob tennis racquet tonight) and wife (who will likely watch the balls sail by, more than play, due to her pregnant condition). Anyhow, it is fitting that I discuss a marriage of two topics which intrigue me quite a bit: sports and race.
If you don't think there's been any racial overtones in the sports world for the past few years, you better give your head a shake. Particularly this year alone, there have been many incidents in sports which take on potential racial tones. My goal here, through this brainstormed posting, is to buttress my opinion that I firmly believe that there is a determinable double-standard applied to whites and black athletes in the sporting arena - I am not here to brainstorm solutions, but simply to show instances where such a double-standard seems to be in place.
To start: I'm not going to delve into the whole recent Michael Vick thing with the dogfighting, as that has had more than adequate press coverage, not to mention that for me, I already wrote a blurb about it. I think he brought much shame on the NFL, the Falcons, and his sponsors, who rightfully dropped him from his contracts. Public opinion was quick and decisive on this one, overwhelmingly condemning him for his absolutely horrendous and immensely irresponsible actions with his dog-fighting activities. It got to the point where a lady on eBay auctioned off several of her Michael Vick sports cards that have been personally chewed on by her dog, the proceeds of the auction went towards a local animal shelter. If I remember right, the auction netted thousands of dollars for these chewed up cards. Michael Vick is likely going to do jail time, and he is likely done with the NFL, based upon his indefinite suspension from the league at present. He should be punished and banned from playing in the NFL. Basketball player Stephon Marbury chimed in on Vick's suspension, indicating that he was treated with a different standard because he is a black athelete. Marbury was roundly criticized for his remarks, but you know, I agree with him for the most part. To me, as a spectator, the first impression that I got was that Vick was pounced on. I don't know anyone or have read anyone who is willing to publicly defend Vick - not necessarily excuse what he did (which was a criminal act), but to suggest that there is more to the story than what the press is telling you.
Anyway, back to my point. Let's look at a recent incident in the NHL surrounding newly minted Maple Leaf Mark Bell. If you don't know this story, Bell was traded to the Leafs from the San Jose Sharks, thrown in with the goalie Toscola (sp.). The Sharks wanted to unload him, probably because of the baggage he brings with him, the baggage being that he was convicted of drinking and driving, and causing someone a pretty bad injury as a result. He gets sentenced to six months in jail, but only AFTER the upcoming NHL season is complete (which is sometime next June, though for the Leafs, it will be next March, as usual). Now, tell me this. If I, Jeremy, were to drink and drive, hit someone injuring them, try to walk away from the accident, am found in a court of law that I am criminally responsible and am sentenced to six months in jail, do you think they would actually allow me to serve the sentence next year after my new child is born, when I have more vacation time at the beginning of the year, and when work is a little slower? No, the judge will demand that I serve out my sentence quickly and likely, immediately. The NHL suspends Bell for 15 games. Ooooh... I dunno - you can't really directly compare running a dog fighting operation with drinking and driving, but the consequences seem to indicate that drinking and driving and injuring someone is less harshly viewed upon, as opposed to being involved in dog fighting (folks, take off your PETA hats, and look at this somewhat objectively). Bell has had a LOT of supporters who muse that he should be given a second chance, that he made a foolish mistake in his youth, etc. etc. It doesn't seem to me that the general public afforded Vick the same conciliatory gestures.
How about Dany Heatley? Another hockey player - he sped in his car years ago with his friend Dan Snyder (his Atlanta Thrashers teammate) onboard, got into a horrific accident and killed his friend as a result? OK, it was an accident, but it was idiotic behaviour nonetheless and he was charged. He doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear as he's lacing up his skates. Todd Bertuzzi - in that act of angry violence against Steve Moore, knocking him out literally, as well as figuratively as it relates to his career. Bertuzzi's playing back in the league now, again no worse for the wear. Craig McTavish, former Oiler and now coach, killed someone in a drinking and driving accident, and now is a respected NHL coach (at least he still was employed in this capacity last I checked).
Rob Ramage, former Flames hockey player and Leafs captain. Also got into a drinking and driving accident which killed his buddy. I don't see anyone creating anti-Rob Ramage websites (OK, he's 48 and has been out of the game forever)...
Now think of whether they would have been welcomed back with open arms if they were black athletes? How are they really any different than Michael Vick? They broke the law. They were involved in incidents that caused injury, sometimes severe, and in a couple of cases, death to people (not animals). Yet, they don't have indefinite (likely lifetime) suspensions - not even close. Do you honestly think that a black athlete would have received such reconciled treatment? A second chance? Patrick Roy, a future Hall of Fame goalie (if he isn't already), was involved with a domestic dispute in which he physically assaulted his wife. Not really in the news. Considered a personal issue. Yet when Jason Kidd does it, he's now subhuman. I am not excusing any of these behaviours, but just like anything else, I am hoping to see some consistent rules applied to all.
A day or two ago, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles, a very talented multiple pro-bowl selection, went on the airwaves and intimated that there is a racial divide in that only six out of thirty-two starting QBs in the NFL are black. Seven, if you previously counted Vick. It is clear that he was insinuating that there is a racial double-standard when it comes to sports. Anyhow, McNabb's comments have been scrutinized as without merit or supporting evidence.
Rush Limbaugh, a guy for whom I used to have a lot of respect, in terms of his conservative opinions, before he started going the way of a prescription drug addict, was highly critical of Donovan McNabb a year or two ago, making a comment that he's only considered good because he's black, insinuating that if he wasn't black, he'd be mediocre at best. I'm glad that Rush was forced out of an TV analyst role shortly after that, since his comments were dead wrong. The knock on McNabb has always been not being able to win a Super Bowl, but that was the knock on Peyton Manning up until this past year. McNabb is a tremendous athlete and while I would not say that he is as good as Manning is, from a technical perspective, he's right up there with the top QBs in the league (personally, I think that the guy to watch out for in the future is Vince Young of the Titans). McNabb is a very good player, and the fact that he feels that he needs to work doubly-hard to gain acceptance does indicate a wall, invisible or otherwise, that black athletes need to overcome. That being said, some of McNabb's race card arguments lose steam pretty quickly since last I heard, 75% of NFL players are black.
Musing about this further, let's look at this from this angle. You have a predominantly white sport such as hockey. Fighting is considered part of the game and is generally not frowned upon. You have a predominantly black sport like basketball or football. Fighting is considered aggressive and signals a lack of control - remember the whole flap about the Pacers-Pistons game a couple of years back, which spilled into the stands? OK, that is an extreme example, but that was roundly criticized. Several sports commentators called the participants "animals", "savages" and such. There have been bench clearing brawls in hockey and sometimes (albeit rarely) fans are involved in the melee. I don't recall the players being labelled with such names. Remember, I am not one to cry racism at all, so if I were to make such observations, I believe there is intrinsically noteworthy as far as a double-standard is concerned.
I remember a couple of years ago, in hockey, there was a game between the Oilers and Flyers (I think). It was infested by many fights, which the commentators, as impartial as they tried to be (and they weren't try too hard), enjoyed immensely. Most of the fights were white-on-white fights. When it came, however, to Georges LaRoque dropping the gloves with Donald Brashear (both of whom were black), the crowd went significantly wilder and the commentators remarked, "look out, here's the rumble from the ghetto!" You make up your own mind on this one.
North of the border, there has been much discussion about white and black athletes in the Canadian football league (CFL). The CFL has historically been slower to integrate black QBs and coaches, but look at the league now - I follow it more than the NFL, and it's because the CFL has a really good mix of raw talent, not just settling on local talent (though I will be the first one to admit, I love watching Jesse Lumsden - a local boy - play). I've always been a fan of Casey Printers, back to his BC Lions days - so glad that he came back to the CFL after the Chiefs cut him - he is now installed as the starting QB for the Tiger Cats. The local Argos used to have Damon Allen, but now has Michael Bishop as their main pivot - he's a good QB. Henry Burris of the Stampeders just won player of the week - Burris has always been a good QB, and I'm glad to see him back in Calgary. Winnipeg has Kevin Glenn, who is probably the best QB in the CFL right now (yes, even better tha Ricky Ray). The BC Lions have Jurious (sp.) Jackson. The Alouettes are giving Marcus Brady a good shot. Remember, the CFL is an eight-team league, but has made tremendous inroads in integrating black athletes in pivotal roles on teams (not to fulfill a quota, but properly recognize the talent of these players). Guys like Pinball Clemons (who is a strong born-again Christian whom I've met), are examples of guys who really work naturally towards breaking racial stereotypes. Pinball is coach of the Argos and either GM or President of football operations. He is the first CFL black player which I can say that the mass audience has embraced without reservation.
In the NFL, last year's SuperBowl brought together the first-ever pairing of black coaches competing against one another. Both Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith happen to be very mature born again Christians, who are well respected on and off the field. Yet in several online forums in which I participate, after the Superbowl game was all said and done, people started chiming in their opinions on the game, the coaching, the players, etc. A number of people (presumably black, since I can't imagine whites making these kinds of comments) were miffed at the coaches, saying that they weren't aggressive enough, that they "acted like white coaches". Pretty sad when this is the thing you notice about a football game. Even in the CFL years ago, when Danny Barrett's Roughriders (I think) were playing the Argos (coached by Clemons), one of the TV commentators remarked "this is the first meeting of two black guy coaches" (yes, that's what he said).
I still believe people see black and white when they view sports, and treat black athletes and participants differently.
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