It is the elephant in the room. There while everyone pretends that it isn’t. It is the bugaboo, the mother of all uncomfortable topics for all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons. No one wants to admit it, but the evidence is there for all to see.
What is wrong with the black athlete?
Anyone who follows sports or the news can bear witness to it. Daily, monthly, yearly; prominent athletes, prominent black athletes, cannot seem to stay on the straight and narrow. The list is extensive, expansive and far from distinguished. High school, college, professionals the black athletes who have run afoul of the law covers like a blanket both in the scope of the crimes to the names involved. Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant, Rae Carruth, Jayson Williams, OJ Simpson, Richie Parker, Maurice Clarett, Marion Jones and now Lawren
ce Taylor (again) the list is long and ignominious.
What is wrong with the black athlete?
Anyone who follows sports or the news can bear witness to it. Daily, monthly, yearly; prominent athletes, prominent black athletes, cannot seem to stay on the straight and narrow. The list is extensive, expansive and far from distinguished. High school, college, professionals the black athletes who have run afoul of the law covers like a blanket both in the scope of the crimes to the names involved. Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant, Rae Carruth, Jayson Williams, OJ Simpson, Richie Parker, Maurice Clarett, Marion Jones and now Lawren
ce Taylor (again) the list is long and ignominious. Let me say this first of all-please don’t blame it all on their upbringing. Many athletes come from underprivileged homes, single parent households and terrible surroundings and rise above the circumstances of their youth while toeing the lines required by the society in which we live. This is usually a testament to both their iron will and the iron will of those around them-mothers, family, friends, teachers, coaches and occasionally, only occasionally, fathers. It’s not where you begin the journey, but where you take it and where you end up.
So if not the upbringing, 
what is it then? In the nature versus nurture argument, its much easier to blame nurture, and ignore the impact of nature.
Are black athletes (and obviously by extension, black men) predisposed to the type of violence we’ve heard described routinely? Are these athletes apathetic to the social mores that dictate routinely killing dogs is inhumane? Is that really what its about, and we as a society are too polite to face it?
It’s the media’s fault, right? They want to make the brothers look bad. They want it instill/reinforce the image of the black man as just some type of Neanderthal prone to violence and incapable of following the rule of law. Keeping the black man down.
what is it then? In the nature versus nurture argument, its much easier to blame nurture, and ignore the impact of nature.Are black athletes (and obviously by extension, black men) predisposed to the type of violence we’ve heard described routinely? Are these athletes apathetic to the social mores that dictate routinely killing dogs is inhumane? Is that really what its about, and we as a society are too polite to face it?
It’s the media’s fault, right? They want to make the brothers look bad. They want it instill/reinforce the image of the black man as just some type of Neanderthal prone to violence and incapable of following the rule of law. Keeping the black man down.
A friend of mine who is a NYPD officer once said to me when we were having a discussion about crooked cops: “If you were a thief, you were a thief before you put on the uniform. The uniform didn’t make you a thief” There’s a lot of truth in that, I think, and the same probably applies to the athletes who commit crimes. If you were a drug abuser/dealer, a woman beater, habitual drunk driver, dog fighting ringleader or murderer, you were most likely predisposed, somwhere along the line, to that mentality and pattern of behavior anyway.
That being said, the constant reports of young, famous, financially well off black men running afoul of the law leaves one puzzled at the disproportionate disparity of their criminal activity to white or Hispanic athletes.
I think a lot of it has to do with the kill or be killed environment a lot of athletes were raised in, fawning attention from adults looking for their own ticket out of the same surroundings, coupled with an inability to separate trustworthy people from those just hanging around for a handout.
It’s a vicious circle, and while the media does look at these athletes as ‘disposable heroes’ to be built up and torn down, they also aren’t forcing anyone to get behind the wheel after drinking too much. Or to beat your wife. Unfortunately a lot of young black men are learning too late in life that the rules of society do apply to them, years after being relentlessly barraged with the type of attention that make them think these rules don’t. But that’s just my opinion.
The next time you see an athlete in handcuffs being hauled off to jail, you tell me what you think the reasons are. It’ll probably be something I have heard before though.
That being said, the constant reports of young, famous, financially well off black men running afoul of the law leaves one puzzled at the disproportionate disparity of their criminal activity to white or Hispanic athletes.
I think a lot of it has to do with the kill or be killed environment a lot of athletes were raised in, fawning attention from adults looking for their own ticket out of the same surroundings, coupled with an inability to separate trustworthy people from those just hanging around for a handout.
It’s a vicious circle, and while the media does look at these athletes as ‘disposable heroes’ to be built up and torn down, they also aren’t forcing anyone to get behind the wheel after drinking too much. Or to beat your wife. Unfortunately a lot of young black men are learning too late in life that the rules of society do apply to them, years after being relentlessly barraged with the type of attention that make them think these rules don’t. But that’s just my opinion.
The next time you see an athlete in handcuffs being hauled off to jail, you tell me what you think the reasons are. It’ll probably be something I have heard before though.
well said.
ReplyDeleteI think its a number of reasons most of which you've touched on. Upbringing is something that stays with you regardless of your financial status. Environment can change and oftentimes needs to change when these athletes move up the financial ladder but that is easier said than done. We are asking them to disclaim and disregard all those they knew in the days before fame and fortune and this is probably unrealistic. The average black kid growing up in America knows a friend or a relative who has been caught up in the criminal justice system in some shape or form. Telling the athlete to isolate themselves from these persons because they have reached a new station in life is expecting a lot. Then you have those who are predisposed to antisocial and criminal behavior and the access to dollars does not change that. Then you also have the fact that the black athlete, like the black man ( ask Prof. Gates) is not going to be getting the Ben Roethlisberger treatment so they are more prominent in arrest numbers and conviction numbers like the black male in particular. At the end of the day the black athlete is as susceptible to the maladies that plague black men in America despite fame and fortune.
ReplyDeleteHear dis: We need a paradigm shift, a complete re-education in regards to black morality. We need a sort of electro-shock treatment--something that will jar our minds awake and shed this destructive cycle that we are mired in.
ReplyDeleteWe have to put this into perspective, the athletes that we see spread across our TV screens and our newspapers are just the tip of the iceberg. What is going on in the communities is probably even worse. I could care less about athletes on a whole because they have been given opportunities. The ones I feel sorry for are the ones who will never hve opportunities.
What is going on with athletes behaving badly is a direct reflection of the black world; and it is getting worse. Unfortunately I don't have the answers, except to say black people need a new way of thinking, a new attitude.
Pete
Athletes commit crimes they are accustomed to seeing committed around them. It is there way of solving problems/conflicts. In that regard they are no different than anyone else in society. The manner in which they are different is the fact that small violations of social mores or laws are swept away or absolved completely until they reach a point of disregard for authority.
ReplyDeleteBut my true purpose for writing is because I feel that far too often we judge whether or not someone comes back by whether or not they play again at the level they did prior. Is Kobe a success story because he came back from his mistakes and won a ring??? Is he more of a success story than Richie Parker because Richie never made it to the league...instead he got a Sociology degree became a father and by all accounts became a productive person.
As far as the notion that athletes behaving badly is a new phenomenon lets look back to a pristine athlete...Robert Parrish. He assaulted his wife who was 6 or 7 months pregnant but this was before ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360. So he was Rae Carruth before Rae ever hatched that awful misguided plan. These issues have existed since the beginning of sports culture but now there is a brighter light being placed on them.
I think that we all advance through life and make conscious or subconscious choices on who our friends or associates are over time. We all do this, regardless of race or profession. I don’t think its necessarily expecting a lot because the more you engage in a profession or trade the more you tend to associate with those who have similar interests.
ReplyDeleteI think Kobe has maybe changed his pattern of behavior now, but certainly the incident in Colorado will stay with him, and if he is ever accused of something criminal, his benefit of the doubt will be seriously compromised. Richie Parker has apparently turned his life around, and some of that may be due to the fact that his brush with the legal system was somewhat more intensive than Kobe’s. I wish them both well.
There are plenty of black athletes who never get in trouble with the law; for every Barkley there is a Kenny Smith. For every Michael Vick there’s a Donovan McNabb, for every OJ and LT there’s a Derek Jeter, Jerry Rice and a Magic Johnson. I wouldn’t consider Robert Parish a pristine example; he was arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana during his playing days. Not a major thing as no one was hurt, but we can play the ‘what if’ game with that situation too.
I think we need to make sure the kids know who to really look up to and whose lifestyle should not be respected-regardless of how great they may have played.