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The Magic Touch

The Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB’s crown jewel of the West Coast, now has a new owner and darker face in the front office. What does that mean for baseball? A new dynasty is about to be formed in LA from a guy who knows winning, and success. Whether that dynasty means that the Dodgers will soon be signing Cole Hamels and Josh Hamilton, or some other combination of superstars, baseball fans should know that the Dodgers will soon be referred to as a consistent threat in October. The Magic Johnson Group was announced as winning the bid for the Dodgers, with a bid of $2 billion for the team. Current owner Frank McCourt and certain affiliates of the purchasers will also be forming a joint venture, which will acquire the Chavez Ravine property for an additional $150 million.

The Magic Johnson Group (with partner Stan Kasten) is largely funded by Guggenheim Partners which reportedly has somewhere in the range of $125 billion in assets. What is good about this group? Magic Johnson is an LA icon that lives and breathes LA Sports. Stan Kasten led the Braves in the 1990′s and is a close friend of Bud Selig. And let’s not forget Magic Johnson is one of the most important and prominent people in LA… Shiong, Cohen, and Kroenke? Yeah, nobody in LA knew who they were a year ago. What scares me? Their financial backing isn’t as strong as the other groups. That’s about it and that isn’t even that bad seeing as the only bad thing about it is that it is coming from investment firms.

From Dodger.com:

 A deal has been consummated between the Dodgers and Magic Johnson’s bidding group for the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium for $2 billion, the club announced Tuesday night.

The sale officially is to Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, which includes Mark R. Walter as its controlling partner, Johnson, Peter Guber, Stan Kasten, Bobby Patton and Todd Boehly. Current owner Frank McCourt and certain affiliates of the purchasers will also be forming a joint venture, which will acquire the Chavez Ravine property for an additional $150 million.

“I am thrilled to be part of the historic Dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by Frank McCourt as we drive the Dodgers back to the front page of the sports section in our wonderful community of Los Angeles,” Johnson said.

The Dodgers released a statement at 8:04 p.m. PT last night announcing the sale.

“This transaction underscores the Debtors’ objective to maximize the value of their estate and to emerge from Chapter 11 under a successful Plan of Reorganization, under which all creditors are paid in full,” the club said in the statement.

“This agreement with Guggenheim reflects both the strength and future potential of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and assures that the Dodgers will have new ownership with deep local roots, which bodes well for the Dodgers, its fans and the Los Angeles community,” McCourt said. “We are delighted that this group will continue the important work we have started in the community, fulfilling our commitment to building 50 Dream Fields and helping with the effort to cure cancer.”

How will Magic’s role help our community? Will we start to see more minorities hold positions at the Dodger front offices?

And what does it mean that McCourt is a partner in the land and lots? It means he will still make money, a lot of money, after recently filing for bankruptcy and paying off his soon-to-be ex-wife.

Your thoughts on this new deal and the future outlook this will have in Los Angeles?

 

 

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Lacy J. Banks: First Black Sportswriter (1942 – 2012)

~Roman Modrowski

Lacy J. Banks, the first African-American sportswriter at the Chicago Sun-Times, died Wednesday at the age of 68 after a long battle with heart disease.

Banks joined the Sun-Times in 1972 and began covering the Chicago Bulls in the mid-1980s. He covered Michael Jordan’s entire NBA career, including all six of the Bulls’ championships, and he covered the Bulls into the postseason last year.

Banks also was a long-time Baptist preacher and weaved that background into his columns and his interaction with players.

“He was a great friend, and we spent a lot of time calling my mom on Sundays and praying with her and just doing some great deeds for her and my family,” Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen told the Sun-Times. “He’s one of those reporters who I had a lot of respect for. We definitely had a great relationship throughout my career and to this day.”

The nature of being a beat writer means feathers can be ruffled at times, but even those who occasionally disagreed with Banks were able to see his passion in his work.

“He was more than a reporter on the sidelines,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told the Sun-Times. “He cared deeply about the teams he covered and the profession that he represented. While we didn’t always agree with his position — as is natural — we never questioned his enthusiasm for the Bulls or the city of Chicago.”

The Bulls will have a moment of silence in Banks’ honor before Saturday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, according to Bulls vice president of business operations Steve Schanwald.

In recent years, Banks overcame a brain tumor and prostate cancer. He chronicled his health issues in a blog for the Sun-Times.

Banks is survived by his wife, Joyce, three daughters and five grandchildren.

Source: ESPN

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Chapter 11: The Plague of Sports Stars Going Broke

Allen Iverson is one of the latest NBA professional athletes going broke.  The former Philadelphia 76ers franchise player earned over $200 million in salary and endorsements and is best known for taking a personal hair stylist with him on road trips. A judge recently ordered Iverson to pay a jeweler $860,000 but once he revealed that he couldn’t pay; the judge ordered his bank account to be seized. He is one of the latest to join a long list that includes Scottie Pippen, Latrell Spreewell, Antoine Walker, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Tyrell Owens as broke black sports stars that squandered away millions.

According to Sports Illustrated, 78% of NFL players who are retired for only two years file for bankruptcy, and after five years of retirement, 60% of NBA players suffer the same fate. These statistics are alarming especially because the majority of people do not sympathize with an athlete who had it all and wasted it. The question becomes why have so many athletes and celebrities, who were once financially well off, later found themselves bankrupt and broke?

The answer lies with a small earnings window, misplaced financial trust, and family matters tied in with an extravagant lifestyle.  Traditional careers which allow the average person to work for 20 plus years are not so for the professional athlete who only works a fraction of that time.  This leaves the retired athlete with the job of managing what they have to last for the rest of their life with only a fraction of their old salary being earned.  Don’t let that athlete have a lavish lifestyle either because custom cars, custom houses and custom planes, all depreciate in value and are hard to liquidate in the event the athlete is in a financial crisis. 

Former NBA guard Kenny “The Jet” Anderson filed for bankruptcy in October 2005,  and has detailed how the estimated $60 million he earned in the league has dwindled to nothing. He bought eight cars and rang up monthly expenses of $41,000, including outlays for child support, his mother’s mortgage and his own five-bedroom home in Beverly Hills, CA—not to mention $10,000 in what he dubbed “hanging-out money.” He also regularly handed out $3,000 to $5,000 to friends and relatives. Thankfully for Kenny Anderson, he has a steady gig as an NBA analyst on TNT, but not every former player gets coaching or sports commentator opportunities after their career is done. Players should live within their means because at anytime a career-ending injury could happen, like it did in the case of NBA player Brandon Roy who was the franchise player for the Portland Trailblazers.

“Disreputable people see athletes’ money as very easy to get to,” says Steven Baker, an agent who represents 20 NFL players. NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen unsuccessfully sued his former law firm for allegedly losing $27 million of his money through poor investments. He had made over $100 million over a 17-year career. According to “Sports Illustrated,” most athletes lack the financial knowledge to manage the large sums of money they’re earning and as a result, professional players misplace their trust with their accountants, advisors and even relatives who handle the bills while shaving money off the top with the player never seeing the bank statements.

Take NFL quarterback Michael Vick who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had to put his mansion in suburban Atlanta on the market because he was unable to repay about $6 million in bank loans that he put toward a car- rental franchise in Indiana, real estate in Canada and a wine shop in Georgia. Bad investments made by players via their advisors can make a player lose millions and many players are financial prey.

The divorce rate for pro athletes ranges from 60% to 80% and a divorce tied in with child support payments is something an athlete truly fears because of the threat of him losing half his net worth. Athletes usually marry their long time girlfriends who they knew before they hit the pros, and usually they marry too early as fame, money, and the allure of women serve for a lethal combination. Former NBA forward Shawn Kemp (who has at least seven children by six women) and, more recently, Travis Henry (nine by nine) have seen their fortunes sapped by monthly child-support payments in the tens of thousands of dollars. Henry made $11 million over seven years in the NFL could not afford to pay the $3,000 a month for one of his kids and was later jailed for falling behind over $16,000 in payments.

However, a lot of divorces happen in retirement and that is detrimental because a player’s peak earnings period is long over and making a comparable living is virtually impossible. This is why many agents advise players to make prenuptial agreements before marriage.

“There’s this huge lifestyle change,” says former NBA center Mark West who is a licensed stockbroker and currently the Phoenix Suns’ vice president of player programs. “You and your wife are suddenly always at home, bugging each other. Before, you’d always say, ‘I gotta go to practice.’ Now you don’t have to practice. You have to finish conversations.”

The bottom line is that athletes have to take financial responsibility, exercise self-control, save, invest wisely, and live within their means. When you have been fortunate enough to make millions over your career and squander it because of an extravagant lifestyle and child support payments none of us that helped put that money in your pocket will feel a drop of sympathy for you.

 

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Jay’s Joints: Undefeated

Undefeated has even more small-town charm, heart and grit than Friday Night Lights. It is the story of one of the worst teams in the city possibly even the state overcoming insurmountable odds. It is Samson and Goliath-esque in scope. It bubbles with tension, drama, gut-wrenching storylines and deftly raises large, looming questions about the state of the poor and working class in America, the cycle of poverty and the failures of our education system.

Undefeated will never have a blockbuster weekend and if this film ever grosses more than one million dollars that would be nothing shy of a miracle. Miraculous because unlike Friday Night Lights, Undefeated is not a drama, it’s a documentary. An Oscar award-winning documentary but still a documentary, which too often are ignored.

At its core, Undefeated is a tale about facing adversity head-on, battling your demons and persevering but it is also the story of a generation of black men who have no fathers, are raised by their grandparents, living just above the poverty line and have very few prospects in life. It is a film that shows how much one man can accomplish and possibly even change the course of these young boys lives because he cares and believes in them.

The traditional concerns about the narrator and point of view are still there. After all, this story about poor, troubled black kids is told through the lens of their white coach and the white directors of this film. We are decades away from race not being an issue in America but what becomes clear in the film is that the love and dedication of their coach is genuine and transcends race and the filmmakers try their best to paint a brutal and very real picture of their subjects in the film.

By giving some backstory and creating context the audience better understands the struggles our heroines have already overcome and race takes a backseat to the yearning that every human being feels.  No matter our color or our socio-economic status, each and every one of us wants to be seen for who we are, successful in achieving our goals and make meaningful connections with other people.

Undefeated will likely be made into a real Hollywood film eventually, one with big names attached and a budget to match and this watered down, blockbuster Hollywood version will undoubtedly make more money in one day than this documentary will gross in its lifetime, but do yourself a favor, see the original – no remake could ever hope to capture the raw emotion and intensity of it.

Directed By: TJ Martin and Bill Lindsay

Starring: Bill Courtney, OC Brown, Montrail ‘Money’ Brown and Chavis Daniels

Running Time: 113 minutes

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Jamal Mashburn: Baller Turned Businessman

Jamal Mashburn had a productive 11 years in the NBA, recording over 11,000 career points and 3,000 career rebounds. Now, at 39, he’s itching for a comeback — but not as a player.

Mashburn wants to put together an ownership group to purchase the New Orleans Hornets from the NBA.

Plagued by a serious knee injury, the all-star forward quit the game in 2006 with an impressive averages of 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Instead of squandering his earnings from the game, like we see many Black athletes are prone to do, Mashburn invested his earnings of about $75.6 million in business ventures.

The 39-year-old now has a business portfolio that includes 37 Papa John’s pizza shops, 30 Outback Steakhouse restaurants, two car dealerships and a real estate company.

“For me, being in business is always something I wanted to do. When I was a kid riding on trains in New York, I saw older people carrying a briefcase. I was always curious what was in them. That’s probably my original inspiration,” Mashburn told reporters last month at a Sino-US friendly basketball tournament.

“I can be an asset to a team as an owner, not only for my ability to scout talent, but also understand the business side of things,” Mashburn said. “The first All-Star of the Hornets comes back to buy the team — it’s going to be a great story.”

Since retiring as a Hornet in 2004, Mashburn has transitioned beautifully from the court to the business sector. He now boasts a portfolio that includes 37 Papa John’s locations, 30 Outback Steakhouses, two car dealerships and a real estate company.

“For me, being in business is always something I wanted to do,” he said. “When I was a kid riding on trains in New York, I saw older people carrying a briefcase. I was always curious what was in them. That’s probably my original inspiration.”

The league bought the Hornets’ franchise from owner George Shinn last December. Commissioner David Stern has said that the league will sell only the team to a buyer willing to keep the team in New Orleans.

 

Source: SI.com

 

 

 

 

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Remembering Joe Frazier

On Monday night, boxing great Smokin’ Joe Frazier passed away at the age of 67, after a long fight with liver cancer. He was best known for his notorious rivalry with Muhammad Ali. The two faced off in three epic fights: Twice at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, in 1971 and 1974, and once in the Philippines, in 1975 — the famed “Thrilla in Manila.” Frazier won the first fight, handing Ali his first defeat, but Ali prevailed in the latter two bouts. Here, a sampling of how the late, great, former heavyweight champ Frazier is being remembered:

He was so much more than Ali’s foil: Yes, Frazier was best known for his rivalry with Ali, and their “famous trilogy” of fights, says Dan Rafael at ESPN.com. But Frazier “was a great fighter in his own right, a former heavyweight champion of the world, a 1964 Olympic gold medalist, and a worthy member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.” While Ali was the fighter who emerged victorious in their “storied rivalry,” it was Frazier who won the first match with a decisive left hook in the 15th round. And remember, Frazier lost to only two men in his entire career: Ali and George Foreman.
“Frazier was far more than just Ali foil”

Frazier was actually better than Ali: “For all the deserved accolades for Muhammad Ali,” the truth is, Frazier “was the better fighter,” says Dave Anderson at The New York Times. Yes, Ali won the decisivie “Thrilla in Manila,” but only because Frazier, his eye swollen shut, was prevented by his trainer from going in for the 15th round. And out of the ring, Frazier was “the better man.” He was always a class act, whether he was buying land for his mother or making peace with Ali. The same cannot be said for Ali, who routinely insulted Frazier over the years, calling him a “gorilla” and “stupid.”
“A champion who won inside the ring and out”

Frazier was the people’s pugilist: The champion boxer was born a sharecropper’s son, says Stan Hochman at the Philadelphia Daily News. He grew up in South Carolina, “picking okra for pennies on the pound.” Ali was hailed “as a civil-rights advocate,” but it was Frazier who was the “working man’s champion” — a “hard worker with a generous heart,” and above all, a “fighter, pure and simple.”

 

Source: The Week

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The Black Codes and College Sports

After the passage of the 13th Amendment (1865,) which outlawed slavery, Southern states tried to define the meaning of black freedom by making things as close to slavery as possible. With the enactment of the Black Codes, blacks were freemen but not citizens.

While lawmakers recognized that blacks had some sort of basic rights like the the right to sue and be sued and buy property, the laws restricted black mobility and made them dependent on whites. Some states, for example, outlawed hunting as a way to limit blacks’ ability to procure food on their own, while a Louisiana law in St. Landry Parish ordered “No negro shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within said parish without the special written permission of his employer, specifying the article of sale, barter, or traffic.”  And every Southern state created a labor system for blacks that forced them to sign annual contracts that withheld wages until after the harvest, what is known as sharecropping.

On this note, St. Landry Parish ruled “Every negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro.” True freedom should have meant that they had the right to work, or not work (in today’s language we call this a “right to work state,) and the ability to negotiate a wage. Unfortunately this ugly period in American history is much like today’s NCAA Division I rules. The athlete’s status reminds me of the second verse in Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle,” in which he powerfully sung “No chains around my feet, but I am not free. I know that I am bound here in captivity.”

While the NCAA is setup like the slave plantation system and reaps billions of dollars off the unpaid athlete’s backs, the rules regulating the athletes are more akin to the Black Codes, or freedom without citizenship, where athletes cannot earn wages during the season, cannot sell their personal property, and the coach is “responsible for the conduct” of the player. This injustice is highlighted by the recent events at Ohio State, in which players including the star quarterback Terrell Pryor made the school millions of dollars during their careers, but were suspended for violating the NCAA rules. What awful crime did they commit? Essentially they bartered their own property without the permission of the NCAA and forgot that “No negro shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise… without the special written permission of his employer.”

In December their coach Jim Tressel, who has now been fired for lying and not immediately turning the offenders in, or violating section 11 of St. Landry Parish’s codes that said “it shall be the duty of every citizen to act as a police officer for the detection of offences and the apprehension of offenders, who shall be immediately handed over to the proper captain or chief of patrol,” suspended the players for the first 5 games of the 2011 season. However, he allowed them to play in the Sugar Bowl that earned each school (Arkansas being the other) $17 million dollars. In order to play in the big game, in which the players did not get paid but got free goodies from sponsors, Tressel forced the players to forfeit their basic fundamental right to seek employment and apply for the NFL draft.

So what should be done?  Nearly 150 years ago the Black Codes infuriated Congress and they passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, in which they clearly sought to define citizenship and give legal meaning to the freedmen’s lives. The act made citizens of every person born in the United States (except Native Americans) and for the first time federally defined the basic rights of freedom, which including the rights to make contracts, sue and be sued and also inherit, sell and lease property. Congress then made each Southern state reapply back into the union, draft a new state constitution, and ratify the 14th Amendment, which Congress created to strengthen the Civil Rights Act.

In 1866 Terrell Pryor could have sold his own memorabilia. Of course Pryor and other college athletes should legally be allowed to sell their memorabilia and make a contract that garners them a wage. Playing college sports should not forfeit one’s 14th Amendment right.  Congress needs to step in and deal with this injustice. Stop worrying about the BCS and whether these students should be forced to play more games for free in a playoff system, and deal with their rights as American citizens.

Source: Sickly Cat

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My Life as an NBA Superstar Single Dad

by Dwayne Wade

There are a few words that come to mind when I think about the past couple years of my life: challenging, rewarding, transformative—they roll off the tip of my tongue in an instant. In the span of a year my two good friends LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined me on the Miami Heat, I struggled through a painful, public divorce, and I became the full-time parent to my two young sons, Zaire and Zion.

I’ve had some ups and downs lately, but the memories of the unpleasant times disappear quickly, in part because of moments like the one recently when I was able to surprise my younger son, Zion, at his school with cupcakes for his fourth birthday. It was the day after we’d won the Eastern Conference finals, but that victory couldn’t compare with the huge smile on Zion’s face at that moment. I will never forget it. Bad memories vanish each morning when I walk into both of my sons’ bedrooms to wake them up for school—their laughter gives me all I need to face whatever is happening in my life. Not too long ago, due to custody issues, I wasn’t allowed to see my sons for long periods of time, or was given the chance to see them for only a few hours with no idea of if or when I’d see them again. I can’t describe how trying those days were, fighting for full custody while also working as a professional basketball player nine months of the year. I just knew I wanted to be with my kids.

I was seriously motivated to be a full-time parent for my sons. My mother and father weren’t together when I was a kid growing up in Chicago, and early on my mother fell victim to drug abuse. At 9 years old, I moved in with my father because my mother could no longer care for me. Looking back, I now see so many similarities between my own childhood and that of my sons. My father stepped in when I needed him, and that gave me the chance for a better life. That’s what I’m doing for my boys now.

All children need their fathers, but boys especially need fathers to teach them how to be men. I remember wanting that so badly before I went to live with my dad. I wanted someone to teach me how to tie a tie and walk the walk, things only a man can teach a boy. Of course, back then, I never could have imagined being in the same situation someday with my own kids. My dad and I bumped heads a lot—we were so alike, both of us born competitors. My older son, Zaire, is exactly the same way. We’ll battle on the court when I’m 39 and he’s 19. He’s 9 now, and he’s grown up with basketball. Zion could take it or leave it, which is cool by me.

Today, I constantly tell my dad how much I appreciate what he did for me. I think you really have to become a parent to understand what you will endure to be there for your kids. I could say I was surprised at the criticism I received for traveling from Miami to Chicago so often during the regular season for my custody court cases, but nothing really surprises me anymore. I had a duty to fight to be with my kids, and I did it.

Thankfully, I’ve gotten a lot of support from my mother, sister, and others in taking care of my boys and making their new living arrangements a smooth and happy transition. Going forward, I want my sons to have a healthy relationship with their mother, and that’s something we’re working on. I hope to have a great relationship with her one day too, because I know how much it meant to me to see my parents get along as time went on.

I can’t say what we’ll do for Father’s Day, because since my sons came to live with me about two months ago, every day has been like Father’s Day. I just want people—men, and men of color in particular—to hear my story and know that their children need them and that it’s their responsibility to be there for them. We have to step up as men and do our part. There are no excuses.

Dwayne Wade is a guard for the Miami Heat and was recently appointed by President Obama to a new parenting program geared toward encouraging fathers to become more involved in their children’s lives.

(via Newsweek)

 

 

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Fixing The Void in Black Television

In the 80’s and 90’s, sitcoms like the Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air were our safe haven when it came to television. Wide in variety with everything from drama to comedy, black people were finally becoming a part of regularly aired programming. Channels like Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.) were beginning to peak and black shows on different stations were in abundance. Good Times, The Jeffersons, Martin, In Living Color, and Girlfriends were a few of the many popular shows. After struggling for years to be more than the hired help on television, our community was breaking ground. Fast forward to 2011, and the only black show that anyone can think of is The Game. Daily it’s becoming more and more difficult to find any African-American programming even on stations deemed made for “Black Entertainment” and viewers are becoming more in need. All we’re stuck with is repetitive reruns from the era of black television that is now over. Where has black programming gone?

In earlier years B.E.T. was filled with shows that branched out across all age groups, from Video Soul, Rap City, Midnight Love, B.E.T. News, and College Hill there was something for everyone. Now the station consists of 10 songs a day on teen-based 106th and Park and a motivational-style late show, Monique. The other twenty-two hours are nothing more than Baby Boy and Tyler Perry reruns as well as a variety of B-rated black films in the evening. Episodes of two or three black shows in syndication during the afternoon finish the line-up. Recently B.E.T. caught a break by airing new episodes of the hit series previously owned by The CW, The Game, but they’ve even seemed to diminish that with cheap production and rushed scripts. What was once a platform for black television is now an empty vessel, slowly becoming a channel that is no longer relevant.

Despite the lack of a black presence on television some have already begun making an effort. In 2004 Comcast and Radio One launched TvOne. TvOne is a station for African-Americans with a wide range of programming, including lifestyle, documentaries, and entertainment-oriented shows. It’s available in over 38 million homes and though it isn’t a part of basic cable many prefer it over B.E.T. With viewers no longer engaged even B.E.T. is attempting to make some change. Following the successful viewership of The Game, executive producers of the show, married couple Salim and Mara Brock Akil, inked a multi-year production deal with the network. Mara is the creator of Girlfriends and Salim is the director of summer box office hit Jumping The Broom. The two are set to produce more sitcoms and web series over the course of three years. One of the shows headed for the fall line up is Reed Between The Lines, a family comedy staring Tracee Ellis Ross and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Black college students even have something to look forward to. Curtis Symonds is launching the Atlanta based HBCU Network set to premiere in August and run throughout the entire nation by February of next year. The Network has partnered up with ESPN and will heavily feature sports at Black colleges as well as lifestyle, health, entertainment, and education programming. Symonds believes that HBCU’s provide a valuable audience. “HBCU students and alums are some of the most loyal and passionate fans you’ll ever come across. They bleed the colors of their teams and it’s time all of us got more of what we’ve all been craving for what seems an eternity.”

Other demographics in black programming are also being reached. Broadcasting & Cable recently reported that developing channel Black Heritage Network (BHN) is in serious talks with major distributors. The Black Heritage Network is a channel for the more mature and has a target audience of the late twenties to early fifties. They believe this audience isn’t currently being served. The channel won’t feature any scripted programming but will feature reality and history based shows as well as classic movies with cultural relevance. Reingold the CEO of the forming network describes it as a mixture of the Discovery Channel and History Channel. The station hopes to launch in December.

With new Networks and shows forming all hope with black programming isn’t lost but many questions are still being raised. What about the large number of people who can’t afford to spend extra money on cable and satellite bills to view these new networks? Must they settle for the images of blacks on reality television that serve as the only visual they witness of themselves on tv? When will the days where Blacks were integrated into the line-up of basic cable return? Have African-American stations that held the responsibility of showing other companies the value in having black shows dropped the ball due to the lack of recent programming? How long before we have a network that caters not only specific demographics and groups of blacks but a station where African-Americans are represented as a whole resulting in great television for everyone.

Source: www.theroot.com

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Infighting: Beef Between Blacks

Why is it that we have to discriminate within our own race? It’s not worth it, and frankly it’s getting old. So you’re red, you’re yellow, you’re dark, you’re brown, you’re light, you’re middle class, upper class, low income, the ‘hood, fatherless, motherless, many siblings, or an only child. You’re still BLACK regardless! We are still a minority. Is it even possible to end these divisions based on social status, environment, or skin color? Why are we discriminating against ourselves when we’ve got plenty of people to do it to us, for us.

This stems from recent sports events, and documentaries that have made headline news. Most recently, professional boxer Bernard Hopkins made negative racial comments towards professional football player and star quarterback, Donovan McNabb. If you haven’t heard, Bernard Hopkins criticized Dovovan McNabb for “not being black enough”. Hopkins compared McNabb to a house slave and compared himself and others to field slaves. He goes on to say that McNabb was “the one who got the extra coat, the extra servings”. “You’re our boy”, Hopkins reminds McNabb,  saying “He thought he was one of them (a white person). His final shot at McNabb?  Claiming McNabb just has a suntan and isn’t really black.

Why Hopkins would compare himself  to a field slave and McNabb to a house slave is just plain out-of-bounds. This is why many people from other races say that blacks always play the race card and bring up racism. Of course Hopkins comments are ignorant and just plain stupid, but this isn’t something that myself or other blacks in America haven’t heard before.

I recall being in college and in the military hearing whispers from other black males, saying I was not acting the way a black guy from LA or “the hood” should act. Even in high school, I would get rejected  by many of the girls who thought I was funny, but not ‘gangsta’ enough. I would always get put in the friend zone by a lot of the black women. It seemed like the more trouble a boy got into, the more they were loved by the ladies.

But getting back to Mr. Hopkins, you sir should have more common sense then that, take personal accountability, and know that there are millions of young ears who hear these words, and at the same time look up to sports figures such as yourself.  One sports writer, Bomani Jones, may have said it best about the boxer: “I don’t know Bernard Hopkins, but I do know that he gets hit in the face for a living.” Known for his very laid back demeanor, when asked for a comment about Hopkins, McNabb replied “SERENITY NOW!”

Jalen Rose called Grant Hill an uncle Tom because Hill attended Duke University and he grew up with an excellent home life. Hill’s father played in the NFL and his mother was also educated and worked while Hill’s father played in the NFL. While Jalen Rose grew up poor and while his father played in the NBA, he never did anything for Rose’s family.

Even people were critical of Barack Obama when he was running for president in 2008. There were many people saying that he was mixed and he wasn’t black enough and wasn’t really black because he had a great education.

Muhammead Ali even called Joe Frazier an uncle tom in the 1970s because he didn’t struggle like Ali did.

The problem with Hopkins, Rose and Ali is that they feel like blacks have to grow up poor in a struggle only to rise up out of it. In this generation, they are a ton of blacks that grow up in middle-class or even rich lifestyles and there is nothing wrong with that.

I could rip Bernard Hopkins for saying these comments, but many people on television have already done that. I believe we have a bigger problem on our hands: the constant criticism of black people who were raised differently from ourselves. Instead of learning about others we make assumptions, confirm them for ourselves, and then wag a disapproving finger at the “other”.

It starts within. You have to know who you are, and where you come from, historically. Respect it, so that you can grow and welcome all blacks and appreciate our differences, because it’s what make us, US!