It's always dangerous, but never boring, when a newspaper sports columnist uncorks a political thesis. Enter Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. Bianchi thinks that there are some unsung heroes who deserve credit for helping put a black man in the White House—and they are athletes.
"If you're searching for tangible reasons why it became possible for Barack Obama to make his historic run at the presidency ... look no further than the golf course, basketball court or football field."
Bianchi believes that, since sports have conditioned white America to accept African-Americans as heroes and leaders, black sportsmen deserve a pat on the back. He wonders: "Where else but sports can you go to Amway Arena and see 15,000 mostly white fans cheer and celebrate the accomplishments of a team that is mostly black?"
Sounds lovely. But it happens to be embarrassingly wrong—and an insult to the reason that millions waited on long lines to cast their vote.
For more than a century, masses of white audiences have cheered black entertainers and athletes. And for most of that time, blacks struggled mightily to climb the corporate or political ladder. Why? Because being wowed by the ability of blacks to perform on a field or stage is not in the same ballpark as accepting their political leadership. Not even close.
More to the point, the rare black athletes who have dared to make waves have been pilloried for not knowing their place. After men like Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos got too political, the phrase "just shut up and play" emerged—to smack down future jocks for trying to do more than entertain.
This is not just a hypocrisy of the musty past. On Thursday, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught the winning touchdown pass against the Cleveland Browns. He then—horror of horrors—wanted to take out a black and white glove to make a statement. "I wanted to create that symbol of unity because Obama inspires me, our multicultured society," he later said.
But we will never know how the public might have received even this tame message because teammates, led by Brandon Stokely, put the kibosh on him. Commentators then came down on Marshall like blitzing linebackers. ESPN anchor Neil Everett said, "It's not about you and what you think. It's about the team."
8 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Dave Gainer 7 months ago
Good read Dave, It shows how out of touch some people can be.
thanks
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Phillip Hamilton 7 months ago
Great article Dave, it's sad to know some individuals still perceive African-American progress to come from the acceptance of being an athlete or entertainer to white America.
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J.C. Hagan 7 months ago
Great article.
If anything, one could argue black success in athletics *held back* black advancement at large for reasons I really don't want to get into here because I don't want to open a new can of worms.
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Alex Ferguson 7 months ago
Tony Dungy, right wing? The guy is allowed to profess is faith.
He's a decent, good guy and you call him "right wing". It was funny, because I liked everything about that article until the second to last par.
But I'll tell you one thing - at least you got me thinking. POTD.
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J.C. Hagan 7 months ago
There's nothing inherently wrong with being right-wing, it just happens to be who Tony Dungy is. Don't read that as an insult, just a put-down of the reasoning used by who he's writing against.
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Dan K 7 months ago
I disagree with you, Dave, in that I think it is reasonable for one to think that the success of high-profile minorities benefits their race beyond their immediate field of competition.
Would you argue that Billy Jean King's success on the court didn't help advance women's rights off the court? Or that Colin Powell's success in the military doesn't have positive implications outside of the military?
As it becomes more normal to see minorities in positions of leadership, where they compete against all comers and prove to be champions, where their opinions are solicited and their endorsements courted, where others look up to them and they prove worthy of the adulation, so it becomes less easy and comfortable for others to defend a point of view wherein minorities are seen as any less capable than others or less deserving of our respect.
Still, for the picture alone, you get POTD!
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Shane H. 7 months ago
you sir get my daily POTD. Great read. And love the pic as well
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thomas moreland 7 months ago
good interesting article! i never thought as michael and tiger as not outspoken but when i think about it your right. very safe non political points of view they express! Tiger did say his dad would have been happy to see change! i guess thats safe enough! There should be more native americans involved in politic s too! It used to be their land right? lol thomas
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