First, I would like to introduce myself. I consider myself a real sports connoisseur. I'm 35 years old and since the age of 10 I have been a avid sports fan. I read about it, watch and have done so for the better part of 25 years. As a child being immature and ignorant to the way the world works I simply cheered for my favorite teams/players and called it a day. But, through trying to be a big boi and sitting around with my dad, uncles, older brother and older men in general I learned I could hold my own regarding sports knowledge and information. At around 12 years old, they would be amazed that I even knew about teams and players that performed at a time when I wasn't even born yet. I did my study and research. The one thing I didn't really understand was social acceptance and the politics that went on regarding sports. Through my dealings with old school guys who followed the game for years I started to focus in on those things. Again, I was still a kid so there was only so much to learn without real world experience.
What I mean is this, once I got a job and started working I could see some of the things that my uncles and dad spoke of. Whites had privilege, and they advanced quicker and whenever they had equal ability or close they easily leap fogged over you. With that real world experience under my belt, in sports I noticed that the Larry Birds, Babe Ruth, Jack Nicholas, Jimmy Connors, Steve Largent and Joe Montana's of the world were held to a lesser standard than blacks but they received more attention, less scrutiny and more money than black counterparts.
As time passed and sports became more popular there was really no way to limit black players as done in the past simply because the public wanted to see them and pay top dollar to do so. We then began to see blacks make equal and even more money than whites. We saw something we never thought we'd see on a regular basis and that's black quarterbacks in football because a quarterback is like the leader/CEO of a football team and having a Negro there never seemed really an option.
Give white owners this much credit, they can focus on one color consistently and that’s the color of money. And, just like in society where you saw black men and black women start to hold more positions of authority things were changing and rather rapidly. Something changed though and I'm not sure how to explain it but it seems we have gotten a certain level, or should let me put it this way, we relaxed.
For some apparent reason we forget we work for the corporations and not own them. Same in business, and sports because sports is big business. All this brings me to some serious issues in the black community. I have many examples, Michael Jordan retired from basketball came to Birmingham Alabama & played baseball, he was asked numerous times to visit inner city black schools yet he refused but went out to grey stone and rich white areas and visited. Now for me I've never been a Michael Jordan fan because he was always a white man's champion because they made so much money off him hence the term million dollar slave. Mike set the ground work to be publicly bought out, & to basically sell your sold for the almighty dollar. Jordan as a player I have great respect because he was great to watch and a player with great work ethic on the court but it never seem he stood for anything and for black people that was a huge loss. Many young black players have followed in his footsteps and attained the almighty dollar yet do nothing of significance with the millions they earn. Not this does not apply to all athletes just most of them. Bentleys, Cadillac’s and clothes seem to be the focal of the black dollar.
It seems to be black people are living their lives walking backwards & only see the light when they are lying face down on the concrete with the flashlight of a policeman shining in their face.
Sports and entertainment are billion dollar industries in this country. I grew up jamming to Prince and Michael Jackson, laughing at Eddie Murphy and cheering Magic Johnson.
Now these are mega icons and look at how they all have fell. Only Magic has seemingly put the pieces back together (Strong upbringing had mother & father). Seems like these guys loose sight that your skin color doesn’t change with a bigger bank account and it has sent an awful message to our youth. That meaning our youth feels that if they can attain the 6 figure salary, play golf and live in their neighborhood they have arrived.
Ever heard of the crab mentality? Well black folk got it big time. Let me ask you this question, if you are 6'7 245lbs strikingly handsome why do you feel the need to attend nightlife wearing God awful distasteful jewelry(in my opinion) saddle yourself with large posies and accessorize your car to make it look like it needs to be in a funny car show? My point here is why do you need more attention in many times places where everyone already knows who you are? My opinion of the situation is this, as black people we are taught to be better than the next black man and do everything in our power to make that known. Hence is why blacks in sports showboat every time the do something of significance, dancing wolfing in another guys face or simply just clowning. They made a great play but they need more attention. As a kid I was a huge rap fan. The likes of Heavy D, LL Cool J, Curtis Blow(I still sing basketball) MC Lyte, JJ FAD, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Public Enemy to name a few have been replaced with 50 Cents, Lil Wayne, Master P, LIL Kim, Jackie O are a few of the new artists. Do you understand what they are rapping about? It's garbage point blank every album talks about the same thing, every video has basically the same topic and format, I mean Birdman's videos have plenty of jewelry, or ice as they call it, half naked women and they talk about how much better they are then you and how they can take your woman/wife based on that. You can then see 8-9 year old boys & girls singing the lyrics about how niggas and hoes aint nothing. I also grew up on the O'jays, Gap Band, Prince, Jody Whatley, New Edition, High Five and these groups have been replaced with R.Kelly, Ciara, Adina Howard, Genuwine to name a few. No more do you hear stuff like you are my darlin darlin baby or can you remember the lyrics to adore by Prince? Now you have there ain't nothing wrong with a little bump and Grind, you are my little secret by Xscape which focues on affairs where a woman you are sleeping with can be in the same room as your wife/girfriend and the two of you can get off by the fact she doesn't even have a clue to what's going on. There is no romance or love in the lyrics. No morality or respect and the music videos give you the images of these raunchy songs and lyrics and we wonder why we are in the state we are in. Why do we need to wonder why our children are so irresponsible and marriages melt faster than ice cream.
Our athletes grow up listening to this crap then, when they make it they do everything in their power to make people keep looking at them. They are role models right? We like to focus on The Michael Vicks, Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, Ray Lewis, Sean Combs, OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson of the world when they fall on hard times. But answer this how is it 90% of the time something negative happens in sports it involves a minority? Just like on the street, where as big as this world is seems like 90% of felons are minorities. For some odd reason we still can't add up the math on how the worlds works for minorities. As kids we have to have brand jordan, sean john, hillfigure, phat farm and any other name brand to prove our self worth. That's what our favorite stars carry themselves so that's what we try and emulate. Have as many women, and cars and get as much money as possible. Yet where is Jesus? Why not spend your down time trying to talk or be with your family wife and trying to do something positive. Free country right? No law against being out at 3am or have 5-12 children by a host of different women.
Our black men are failing miserably and have been for many years and now is just the end result, as a black man I know I am doing nothing to make the lives of other blacks better nor do I see or have I really seen it around me. All we care about is ourselves and God is nowhere in our life. Seems to me as I heard on a syndicated radio show by a white guy name Colin Cowherd that people(blacks) seem to find Jesus once incarcerated, he then proclaimed for all of you that have been looking for Jesus for generations that Jesus can be found on the prison yard lifting weights. And when we fall on very hard times then we want to make Jesus that focal point. Go figure. Aids is ravaging our community yet RKelly is giving you 2 millions ways to grind on a girl you don't know in the club and coming up with more ingenious ways though music videos to glorify debauchery, fornication and adultry. And trust me in the black music industry he ain't alone! So for all you black men blaming black women look in the mirror, across the street, in the next cubicle and look at what that black man is doing and all you black women try doing the same. We ain't doing nothing but living a dream that wasn't meant for us and never will work for us. Black women are equally as awful running their mouths to their men in such a arrogant disrespectful which is like writing checks with no bank account. Then wonder why the end result is a short order of a knuckle sandwich. How can we have respect for each when our culture teaches the disrespect of each other.
We go to worship God simply to show off our new Benz, SUV, Kenneth Cole shoes, coach bags, big diamond rings(live on TV like Ms Juanita Bynum) Jimmy Choo shoes etc....Attend our mega churches as a fad instead of trying to heed the word and teach the world, develop more bible study. No but we come up with new clubs to hang at give our bottom dollar will sell our bodies and soul to be an AKA, Alpha or Kappa because that means you are better then the next. Parties, women adulation from men and women when they see you coming with your frat gear on. Yet what are you carrying for Christ? You may read this and say I'm negative or have been scared or even angry. I am none of the above just calling it like I see it. Black’s folks are failing miserably for the most part, again not all of us just MOST of us. In my mind there is no hope but I believe in Jesus as he died for the sins that we create so there is always hope it's just bleak. Dr King stated to judge a man by his character, if our black women started doing that there would be a responsible father/Husband in the house instead of so many fathers in name only. If you really read the title of this blog and look at our world you will see, realize and understand how sports and Life do parallel.
