Minority Athletes and Police: Unfair Treatment from the Media?

Race is a touchy subject. No matter how one broaches it, it will eventually spin off to other race-related topics that essentially invite some unsavory comments and off-handed remarks.

The black guy makes a joke about blacks, and he is considered funny. The white guy makes the same joke, and he's for certain a KKK member.

Let's face it, as comfortable as we may be talking about race within our close circle of friends, we worry about how others will "take it" outside the safety net. If we say, "blacks aren't very good swimmers", the racial implications of body-stereotyping will rear its ugly head.

Do blacks make good swimmers? It's hard to say. But we avoid talking about it because it will lead to racial profiling and generalities.

Hush. Let's not start anything up. Even if the statement might be true. We are a nation of PC wimps.

If you read the headlines lately, it would seem that a lot of minority athletes have had run-ins with the law. But is that a fair assessment, or the product of the media coverage of those incidents? Are minority athletes getting a fair shake from the media?

In the NFL, around 69% of the players are black. In the NBA, it is around 77%. It would be fair to say that both leagues are predominantly black, unlike the NHL or MLB.

Since they are the majority, then if a professional football player has a run-in with the law, there's a very good chance of that player being black. The stats don't lie.

The fact that the media focuses on the police blotter antics of professional players is well founded, but also a side effect of being in a fish bowl. The millions of dollars you make while being featured on television has that hangover effect. But do they focus too much on the minorities?

Absolutely not. The media focuses on the juicy stories, the ones that will generate huge hit counts on blogs and websites.

Frankly, they could care less what race the troubled player is. They want the goods on the story. They want to write about the millionaire sitting on a pine bench in Podunk County Jail. Whether he is black or white.

The problem is, the percentage of blacks in trouble with the law is solely due to the fact that blacks make up the largest percentage of the NBA—between seventy and eighty percent. The chances are good if a Detroit Piston is arrested, he will be black. 

A point to ponder- if 10% of all swimmers get arrested for some sort of crime, then most of the arrested swimmers will be white. Does that mean that white swimmers are thugs? No, it just means that by virtue of the segment of population they represent, they will be the ones getting thrown in jail.

While the media has an important job in reporting all stories relating to crimes being committed by professional players, their coverage has unintentionally highlighted the problems in the leagues by race.

They've thrown the race card out there for all to see by posting mug shots of Melo, Cedric and Pac Man. And they weren't even trying. This mugshot parade has to stop.

Throw in the new rage—happily posing for your mug shot-and you've got all the makings of antagonizing an outraged moral majority. It could just be that white America is a bit jealous over the athletic prowess of a Chris Henry. Then again, that creepy mug shot he took could be just what the little old lady in Peoria didn't need to see.

Did anyone really think Cedric Benson looked sober in his mug shot? About as sober as Nick Nolte did in his. But putting mug shots out is not the answer to preventing racism from spreading. It's fueling it.

The cream always rises to the the top, and if that cream is all one color, then the cream that curdles will also, most likely all be the same color.

The Al Bundys of the world don't need to see an NFL superstar smiling in his mug shot. They might not realize that the reason why his eyes are so glazed is because he was pepper sprayed—they see a black man with dreadlocks, glazed eyes, a silly smile and a fat wallet. Reefer madness, folks!

Are blacks being unfairly put under the proverbial microscope? Let's put it this way-they are getting the same treatment as the young starlets in Hollywood. Young, pretty, and predominantly white girls are being splashed across the tabloid pages every week.

Because they are white? No, because most of Hollywood's success stories are white and pretty; when Hollywood messes up, it's probably going to be by a white actor. It's not racist, it's a statistical probability.

Lindsay, Paris, Miley, Britney, Mary-Kate and Vanessa are getting the same treatment as O.J., Cedric, Melo, Pac Man, and Sir Charles. Because they represent the racial majority of their industry's population.

Wesley Snipes' legal problems are not nearly as entertaining as seeing Paris' cries for her mommy as she is hauled away to jail. Wesley tried to pull the wool over the IRS' eyes with undoubtedly many fans cheering him on, but Paris deserves to see how the other half lives, dammit. It's our human nature.

The reason for the attention could be debated, but most Americans believe in hard work and honest values. For many, they see the athlete or actress as someone who either took a shortcut and got lucky, or was blessed with enormous talent but is getting overpaid for it.

In either case, it's their silly little schadenfreude to see "them" finally have some hard luck fall their way.

"Their" successes are derived from middle-income Americans reaching into their pocketbook every Saturday or Sunday to watch a movie or a football game. While most of us are feeling the effects of a bad economy, the chosen ones are not.

It's in our nature to laugh and point at the misfortunes of the rich to make ourselves feel better about our 40k-stuck-in-a-cubicle job.

There is no giant microscope paying more attention to the black football player, just as there is no giant microscope paying more attention to the white baseball player. Both leagues' players are suffering intense media scrutiny. Just ask Roger Clemens.

When you look at a giant fishbowl with 80 guppies and 20 goldfish and notice that 50% of the fish are problem swimmers, most of the fish having problems swimming will be guppies. It's not racism. It's not profiling. It's just plain stats. Nothing more, nothing less.

Because you are in a giant fishbowl, the rest of the aquatic critters looking in will take notice of your problems. And for just a moment, take solace in the fact that while their own little fishbowl is not nearly as nice as yours, it's poetic justice to see those problem fish having some struggles.

It's just unfortunate that giant fishbowls tend to magnify its occupants.