Top 10 Athletes Who Played the Race Card
At the beginning of this month, LeBron James made news once again, when he played the race card.
When asked in a CNN "Primetime" interview why he was getting a lot of crap from everyone about The Decision, LeBron said that he believed that it had something to do with race.
Obviously his comments weren't received warmly by many. Way to go LeBron, that's another way to lose love and respect.
But don't worry 'Bron, you're not alone, there have been others that felt it was a race thing. Here are 10 athletes who have played the race card.
10. Michael Vick
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Although Vick's infamous dog fighting and animal abuse felony case wasn't about race, the impact it had on the nation divided many along racial lines.
When Vick initially plead "not guilty" to the charges against him, his supporters argued that the target was on the quarterback because he was black.
9. Cedric Benson
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During the offseason Cedric Benson found himself in a fight with another patron while at an Austin, Texas bar.
Benson was allegedly so enraged that he also ended up punching a bartender in the face. As a result, police were called in and Benson had to be escorted out of the bar.
TMZ reported that Benson was heard saying, "All these white boys were ganging up on me and kicking me out."
The NFL did not suspend Benson—who maintains he was the victim—for the incident.
8. O.J. Simpson
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His murder trial during the mid-90s employed the "race card" strategy. Simpson's team of defense attorneys suggested that former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman planted a glove that connected Simpson to the murders of his wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman, because he was racist.
In 2008, while on trial for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon for storming into a Las Vegas casino with men toting guns to retrieve property which he claimed as his, Simpson allegedly told friends that he was the victim of racism.
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7. Jim Brown
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Brown has been around professional football for a long time. He's was even an advocate for racial equality while he was active as a player.
But this past September, Brown declined to partake in the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor because he was reportedly bitter at new team president Mike Holmgren for losing a front office position when he took over.
Bitter he was and he even hinted that race was a motivation for being forced out of his old job as executive advisor to Randy Lerner.
Brown wrote at the end of his letter to Holmgren, "So let me end with a little humor, because as you say, one monkey don’t stop the show..."
6. Ozzie Guillen
5 of 10When you listen to Ozzie's rant, you can't help but think: The man does have a point.
He was standing up for Latino players that come from poor backgrounds and don't know how to speak English but play baseball very well.
Why are Latino players expected to integrate easily as professionals despite a language barrier, while players from Japan and other parts of Asia given special privileges?
He played the race card, but he's probably right.
5. Floyd Mayweather
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Mayweather once lashed out at reporters by saying, "If Floyd Mayweather was white, I'd be the biggest athlete in America. The biggest, the biggest. I know that for a fact."
What else can you expect from a man that clearly has issues running his mouth.
Mayweather got into another racially-motivated hate production when he streamed himself making racist remarks against Manny Pacquiao.
That's Mayweather for you. The man, the mouth, the legend.
4. Gary Sheffield
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After being dealt to the Detroit Tigers in 2007, Sheffield said that players in the Yankees clubhouse were treated differently because of the color of their skin.
In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports" Sheff said that former manager Joe Torre would call out black players publicly in the clubhouse, while he would talk to white players privately in his office.
Although he didn't go as far as to call Torre a racist—Sheffielf said that's just the way it's done in New York.
3. Donovan McNabb
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McNabb once said in an interview that black quarterbacks are scrutinized more than white quarterbacks.
Specifically, he said that quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer don't get criticized as much as he does.
Why? He hinted that some people still don't want black playing the position.
2. Terrell Owens
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What else would you expect from TO but controversial comments.
After the first week of the season, Owens said that if he had a poor performance like Brett Favre in his first game back he would be "crucified."
And that kind of treatment from the press, he stated, "...when it comes to skin color, I think it does have something to do with it."
Owens was referring to Favre's diva personality and how he gets away with more stuff than he does.
1. LeBron James
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Oh boy, it's LeBron again.
These days 'Bron seems to be losing popularity by the minute.
After getting a lot of criticism for televising his destination as a free agent this summer, LeBron took it a little further and said that the reason for the public backlash had to something do with his race.
And that it "played a factor" in the way he's been scrutinized.
Could it be that he's just been acting egotistical all summer?
He's definitely not winning over a lot of respect lately. At least he had a very good preseason debut with the Heat.
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