I received an e-mail from The Bleacher Report the other day pertaining to the topic of racism in sports. As an avid sports fan, I decided to write about the subject that no one wants to talk about.
The elephant in the room, the human-size spider on your couch, the baby who can bench press 300 lbs...well, you get the picture. Racism still holds a definite role in the American world of sports, but why and how?
Sean Taylor, a former two-time pro bowler and free safety for the Washington Redskins, was shot dead in his Florida home last November 27. Even in a flawed world something like that would be viewed as a tragedy, not to mention his girlfriend and 18 month old daughter that were left behind.
However, it didn't take much for the media to skew the story and turn it into a mockery of the black man. The initial response of the media was that of sorrow yet the disgusting transition from a normal reaction to a verbal marathon of stereotyping the "black gangster" forced me to re-evaluate our current social dilemmas in the United States.
I remember shorty after the death of Sean Taylor every media outlet spewing what I refer to as "racial speculation", which means "you are who you roll with" or "guilt by association."
In this case, the media had to assume that Sean's murder was a direct result of gang affiliation; that other black gangbangers came in to kill another black gangbanger. Black-on-black gun violence if you will.
If that wasn't disturbing enough, the media had the audacity to characterize Taylor as a troubled youth who was going down a road of self-destruction due to his past behavioral issues in the NFL. Because he made a few mistakes that somehow warranted a fatal gun wound?
Turned out that all four men who were detained by authorities were charged just a day later with felony second-degree murder, armed burglary, and home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon.
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Barry Bonds, the all-time home run champ and seven time NL MVP, has been the target of media scrutiny for decades. Barry's history with the media has been rocky and no one should disagree with that.
I remember in 2001 when Bonds was chasing Mark McGwire's record of most home runs in a season. Those of you who followed the event closely should have realized the painfully obvious media bias toward Barry. Remember, this was long before steroids were even a hot topic; before the BALCO grand jury testimonies of Bonds himself along with Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield; before the 2005 Congressional hearings.
What did the media want? They didn't want Barry Bonds to break the beloved Mark McGwire's home run record. They thought Bonds was a bad influence on children, a pain in the neck to interview, a self-absorbed and arrogant jerk...a black man.
Everybody knew Barry would eventually surpass Hank Aaron as the all-time home run leader. When the 2007 season began it wasn't a question of "if" but a question of "when, where, and what pitcher."
As Barry inched closer to Aaron's achievement, the media took their hatred of Bonds a step further. "How can someone who cheated break the record of a man who was clean?". "Well, we the media despise Bonds, but he is breaking the record of another black man, so how can we be racist?".
The reality is simple, the media and fans were using Hank Aaron as an excuse to mask their own prejudice. People forget the horrifying experiences Aaron went through in his chase of the Babe. Hank received many death threats to him and his family, and this was in 1974. In a nutshell, the racist media and people did not want to see a black man break the most cherished record in baseball.
Shockingly, much hasn't changed in the present day. People will do just about anything to discredit Bonds. If it isn't steroids it's his personality; if it's not his personal life it's the fact that he allegedly lied to federal prosecutors (because after all, our government tells us the truth on a daily basis).
Whatever it may be it smells of racism. The media has utterly refused to talk about all the good work Bonds does for the community and the different charities he supports. But who cares anyway? Barry's legacy is so tarnished that he could find a cure for cancer and the only thing people would talk about is his large head.
"What about Roger Clemens? He's a white guy who has received possibly far worse treatment than Bonds."
I don't believe so. In fact, Clemens was a baseball icon and national hero before the steroid allegations in the Mitchell Report. I believe 100% that Roger has been treated poorly and unfairly. He is extremely hated right now, which I hope changes because he really was a great pitcher and an awesome competitor.
However, the media scrutiny of Clemens is not nearly as personal as it is with Bonds. It's no different with the fans. I live in Los Angeles and witnessing the horrendous treatment of Barry in Dodger Stadium doesn't just entail friendly boos for the best player on a rival team, but rather a definite and appalling scorn that I didn't even think was possible at a friendly baseball game.
Like I said earlier, Barry's relationship with the media hasn't been grand, but many players have admitted to Bonds being a fun guy and a great teammate. Although the anti-Bonds sentiment in this country has stemmed from his long distance from the media, it's fair and just to say that many people are using petty excuses to tear down the greatest hitter of all-time, a black man.
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3 months ago
Elegant article. Well spoken and morally stated.
Regards,
A caucasian who beliieves is fair play.
Footnote: If you blackball the man, history WILL reflect the fact that if "he did do "steroids" then the at least 30-40 homeruns that he would of hit in 2008-2009 would nulify the "marginal regressive analysis attributed his alleged steroids differential based on only 2 standard deviations".
Thus, you HAVE to legitimize 762 - at least that many homeruns..........
Also, tell me, steroids or not, who has ever hit more HR in a single season than strikeouts - WHO?
3 months ago
Joe Dimaggio had more HR's than Strikeouts 7 times; most notably the 1941 in which he had the 56 game hitting streak, 30 HR's and 13 K's. I'm sure there are plenty more players who have done it too. So I guess I told you like you wanted me to.
3 months ago
Really subjective, shallow, knee jerk reaction by an obviously casual fan of Baseball. Clueless.
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