Is there anything more tiresome
than a highly-paid, high profile athlete, in the midst of a mess, playing
the race card? And no, we’re not talking about O.J. Simpson
this time. Instead we turn the glare of this most serious of charges
to New York Knicks guard Steve Francis and NBA Players union chief Billy
Hunter.
In case you missed it, the
injured Francis was widely quoted as suggesting that the coverage of
the Knicks-Denver Nuggest brawl was somehow racist and that race played
a part in the penalties assessed. Of course Francis also strongly
suggested that Nuggets head coach George Karl was essentially a coward
for graphically referring to Knicks coach Isiah Thomas as a jackass
because the Nuggets have no more games at Madison Square Garden this
year. It seems that Francis is essentially playing into stereotypes
by making such a suggestion, but that misses the larger point.
The least racist of all sports
is professional basketball as practiced in the NBA. Countless
franchises have African-Americans in key management positions, including
ownership. The NBA’s record of inclusion at all levels far exceeds
any other professional sport anywhere. Playing the race card in
that context is so monumentally ridiculous that Francis risks playing
into an even more common stereotype—the lunkhead jock.
The problem with guys like
Francis is that they’ve grown up in an entitlement culture because
of their athletic prowess. No request is too minor to make and
no measure of disappointment is too small to endure. In his bubble,
bad things are what happen to other people. If misfortune befalls
his tender little universe it must be someone else’s fault.
It’s no surprise, then, that Francis sees the chilly specter of racism
lurking over the coverage of this rather ugly incident or the punishment
meted out by white commissioner David Stern. Clearly, the participants,
whatever their color, weren’t at fault.
We’re pretty sure that racism
is carried out every day in every corner of the globe. Some of
it is overt, most of it subtle. But the goal of rooting it out
and eliminating it once and for all is dealt a serious blow when boneheads
like Francis toss out unsupported, ridiculous allegations. Nonetheless
we are all forced to reflect on such charges, even if it’s to dismiss
them summarily. But in the process, we inevitably end up cheapening
the next charge, which may actually be legitimate and risk the chance
of actually addressing and eliminating a true instance of racism.
We listened, too, to NBA Players
union head Billy Hunter essentially back Francis’s statements.
Hunter said that the coverage of the Knicks brawl was more intense because
of the race of the participants and that other sports, like hockey,
aren’t subjected to similar treatment. Where to begin, where
to begin?
While we will never understand
it, there is no question that in this country at least the NBA is significantly
more popular than hockey. This may change, of course, if that
hockey strike ever gets settled (they’re still on strike, right?),
but for now hockey gets covered in the local newspaper or television
station if, and only if, your town actually has a franchise and/or there
is a six-inch column space or 45-second hole to fill. If that’s
the best argument in support Hunter can muster, hopefully Carmelo Anthony
gets the opportunity to hire his own representative in the upcoming
arbitration over his suspension.
Hunter seems to forget, too,
that the brawl took place in the nation’s media capital. If
that means that what happens there is likely to get more play than it
otherwise might, so be it. That’s the price for playing your
games in New York.
We doubt that Joe from Brunswick
was more interested in the brawl because it involved black participants.
More likely, what drew him in is what drew us all in—the fact that
the brawl spilled into the stands and featured an increasingly image-conscious
Carmelo Anthony apparently landing a sucker punch and then duck for
cover.
We all would benefit from a serious examination of racism in society and the important work that still needs to be accomplished to ensure equal opportunities. But every once in awhile we need to be jolted back to reality and understand that these kind of athletes and their representatives are so removed from the reality of every day life, it’s dangerous to even invite them to the forum.