What if Pacman Jones and the Bengals' Cons Were White?

Michael Vick. Pacman Jones. The Cincinnati Bengals.

In the past, we have seen African-American players get scrutinized by the media, but here's an interesting question for you—what if those guys were white?

Before you shrug it off, consider this. Roger Clemens. Mark McGwire. Jason Giambi. They all took drugs and lied to the public. Their fans still embrace them, while they have turned their backs on Vick and Jones.

Here's another thought—what if the NFL had a black commissioner? The NFLPA has an African-American representative, why not the NFL?

If you still think that this is a load of garbage, two of America's icons, Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis were accused of steroids. However, they are still embraced by the public to this day.

But, every time Barry Bonds goes into Philadelphia, and Kobe Bryant goes into Denver, they're booed out of town for their problems both on and off the field.

The trials and tribulations of Dr. Martin Luther King are shown in the sports world to this day. The battle lines are drawn severely.

I honestly thought that we were past this.

If a white man participated in illegal dogfights, or shot up a strip club in Las Vegas, do you think we would hear about it? Highly doubtful.

Players are supposed to be classified by their skills, not their skin tone. In the mud, we're all the same. When we bleed, it's the same color. Have you ever heard of a UFC fighter not fighting because of the race of his opponent? Didn't think so.

That's the thing that bothers me the most about sports in this day and age. I felt that I was supporting an athlete, regardless of their race, sexual preference, or religion.

McGwire was a Cardinal when he broke Roger Maris's record. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and set the tone for something major to happen in baseball.

Tiger Woods became famous because he's a great golfer, not because he was half black. But that didn't stop Fuzzy Zoeller from making it about race. Arthur Ashe broke barriers in tennis because he was an excellent athlete. Now we fast forward to present day.

Just when we thought that things were getting better, they haven't. No matter the skin tone, athletes are athletes. They are human, and they are allowed to make mistakes. The issue is whether the media would blow it out of proportion if the person in question wasn't black.

I hope that we all can move past this, and I pray that we can get to remember that Dr. King, Malcolm X, JFK, and other civil-rights activists gave their lives so that all of us can live in harmony.

But, to answer the question, I think that Pacman would be 100 percent reinstated, not 50 percent. I think that if Bonds were white, he would be just as respected as Clemens and McGwire.

One last piece of evidence for you: The three most powerful men in sports (commissioners of MLB, NBA, and NBA) are all white. What if things were a little different?