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Race and Sports: When Fast-Moving Objects Collide
By Eric L. Hinton
August 09, 2007
When race and
sports go head to head, the resulting collision is frequently violent, the
aftermath often messy.
That wasn't the case just eight
months ago, when the feel-good story of the moment revolved around the meeting
of two black head coaches, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, both in the Super Bowl for the first
time.
Today, that's been replaced by talk
of Barry Bonds and steroids, by Michael Vick and dog fighting. And if you
think race plays absolutely no factor in the hostility directed toward either
athlete, think again. Click
here
to read what DiversityInc readers have to say about Michael Vick.
Many
sports commentators will tell you hostility directed Bonds' way has nothing to
do with his race. They offer a laundry list of reasons, which run from his
alleged steroid use to the obvious: By many, he's simply been seen as an
unlikable, unpleasant figure during the course of a lengthy career.
Bonds' inexorable march toward
becoming Major League Baseball's all-time home-run king finally concluded
Tuesday night when he hit No. 756, surpassing Hank Aaron in the record books.
But the debate over the legitimacy of Bonds' claim on the record continues.
Which side of that debate you fall on will largely depend on the color of your
skin, according to a recent ESPN/ABC News
Poll.
According to the poll, conducted in
May when Bonds was still several months removed from breaking the record, black
fans were more than twice as likely to want Bonds to break Aaron's record as
whites (74 percent to 28 percent), and 37 percent of black fans thought Bonds
used steroids, compared to 76 percent of white fans.
Other findings in the
poll:
·
Blacks
were nearly twice as likely as whites to think Bonds has been treated unfairly
(46 percent to 25 percent).
·
Forty-one
percent of black fans felt the treatment was caused by the steroids issue, 25
percent think it's because of his race, and 21 percent blame Bonds' personality.
·
For
whites who felt Bonds has been treated unfairly, 66 percent blamed steroids
while almost none blamed race.
The reaction to the federal
indictment levied against Vick has played out along similar racial lines. While
the allegations in the indictment have been universally condemned, many blacks,
including groups such as the NAACP, have urged for Vick to be awarded due
process and have the opportunity to respond to the charges in court rather than
be prematurely ostracized.
But make no mistake; there
are blacks and whites on both sides of the issue. In Vick's case, hip-hop
entrepreneur Russell Simmons and other black leaders sent a joint letter to the
NFL commissioner condemning the charges levied against Vick soon after the
indictment was read. "The recent media spotlight on dog fighting reminds us of
society's callous disregard for the suffering of animals and disrespect for
sentient beings. We hope that Mr. Vick is not a product of this insensitivity
that runs through our society. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain
is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong," they wrote in letters that were
also sent to Vick's corporate sponsors.
Vick's sponsors have
responded swiftly, almost as one. In a matter of days, Vick was dropped by
Rawlings sporting goods, his endorsement deal with Nike was suspended without
pay, Upper Deck trading cards removed all memorabilia autographed by Vick from
its online store and announced plans to remove his trading card from NFL sets,
and Reebok pulled his jersey off the racks. He effectively lost his day job when
the NFL commissioner told him to stay away from training camp.
Overnight, one of the NFL's
most popular players lost millions and became the invisible man, unless you
count his recent court appearance.
Why are Vick and Bonds
viewed so very differently by blacks and whites? The answer is complicated. To
say that blacks think collectively and see any assault against a successful
member of the community as an assault against the collective would oversimplify
the issue, but perhaps there's a thread of truth in the idea. Are too many of us
somehow preconditioned to assume conspiracy where perhaps none exists? Are we
too willing to turn a blind eye and offer shelter to our rich and famous
regardless of the alleged offense? R. Kelley, Michael Jackson, O.J Simpson ...
the list goes on.
Do black athletes more
often than not get a raw deal compared to their white peers? I'd argue yes. But
as members of the black community, shouldn't we respect ourselves enough not to
ignore flagrant evidence of wrong-doing before our eyes? I think so. I hope
so.
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