Society and Sports....

Right or wrong, race has always been an issue in sports.  There are more white people who play baseball and hockey and we accept this.  Most of that athletes in football and basketball are black and we accept that.  It is just a reality of our society.  It does seem that society is very fickle and hypocritical about this.

NBA fans have looked at Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as this eras "Jordan" but when Kobe had his legal issues, he was torn down.  Kobe was looked at as black guy who committed a crime.  When the LeBron James "decision" went down, LeBron was looked at as an over-privileged black guy being selfish and attention grabbing moron.  Why were neither of them looked at as men who made mistakes?  Ryan Braun, who recently became the first baseball player to win an appeal of a 50 game suspension for a positive test for PEDs.  He was looked at as a man who possibly cheated and not a white man who possibly cheated.  This is the issue at hand in sports.

At first, I thought this was a case of over sensitivity in society.  If you really look at it, this is really a case of "all eyes on me" and an abuse of 1st amendment.  Jeremy Lin is doing something unexpected and its is great for the NBA and all of sports.  This young man has taken the opportunity of playing for the Knicks and made the best of it.  Isn't that what all athletes aspire to do?  As Americans, aren't we allowed to give our opinions without the threat of reprisals or retributions.  Isn't this country founded on the right for each citizen to express his or her thoughts on a matter?

Before anyone knew who Jeremey Lin was, the phrase "chink in the armor" was used to describe a weakness in something that is considered strong and unbreakable.  Until all of the blow back by so called "offended" Asians and Asian-Americans, this phrase was never looked at as offensive.  Enter Jeremy Lin and all of a sudden the Asian community is upset and calling for the head of those who used this phrase.  So I can't think or feel how I want to for fear of offending people.  No matter what anyone says, there will always be someone who will say they are offended.  In reality, these people are in disagreement with what has been said and nothing more.  Had Jeremy Lin not come along, would anyone think different about this "armor" phrase?  The answer is NO!

I can see how this phrase could be offensive but in reading the story, there was no malice intended at all.  This is not a case of a sports anchor using his platform to offend a race of people so don't treat it as such.  We need to stop looking at people and trying to characterize them and just take them as they are.  Jeremy Lin, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are professional basketball players in the NBA.  That is the extent of my characterizing them.  I don't see race, just the jersey of the team they play for.  I don't like Kobe Bryant as a player because he doesn't play for the Bulls.  I do give Kobe his props on what he has accomplished in his career.  He is a great player and a future Hall of Famer.  I'm a fan and I'm allowed to like or not like whoever I want just like everyone else.

Let's all of us calm down and take a breath.  Keep sports in its correct perspective.  Sports is entertainment.  Sports is a nice break from our lives at 2-3 hours at a time.  When I was deployed in Iraq, most of the soldiers with me, lived for Sundays during football season as a way to not think about where we were or what we were doing.  I can't make this any more clearer.  This world is filled with many different races and ethnicities so get over it and move forward.  What bothers me the most is here in 2012, there are still too many people who let other think for them.  There are too many people who take what they hear as fact and not research for yourself.  We all have brains, USE IT!  Here's some homework for you all: Actively seek out COMMON SENSE!  I promise that if you do this, your life will make a change for the better.  Yeah, I Said It!

D!