Jackson Free Press

Throughout history, the African American community has had its share of stellar athletes—men who have transcended sport and race. It was the Oscar Robertsons, the Reggie Jacksons, the Walter Paytons of years gone by who influenced today's sports heroes. I was glued to my TV set watching the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J, Emmitt Smith, Darryl Strawberry and many others, and I tried to duplicate their feats on the field of competition.

What I don't recall doing, however, is looking at those stars as role models. They were there to entertain me, to dazzle me. Not to be a role model after which to pattern my life.

But yet again last week, vestiges of years past launched criticisms at the monuments of today. Hall of Famer Jim Brown said recently that although he was unmatched in talent, Tiger Woods was "horrible" on social issues. It was similar to previous rants he leveled at Michael Jordan, aka the greatest basketball player to ever live. According to Brown, athletes like Woods and Jordan should be doing more in the way of activism. In his eyes, they continue to do the "safe" things that will always endear them to fans. Methinks Brown is simply looking to get a little press and attention in his twilight years.

Athletes and entertainers today make millions more in salaries and endorsements than their predecessors. TV and the Internet have taken these celebrities into millions of homes at a much faster rate than in the past. The difference between then and now is this: During the turbulent '50s and '60s, black America needed the Jackie Robinsons, Bill Russells and Jim Browns of the world. We needed those track medalists to raise the black fists in Mexico. Then, most of the prominent African Americans happened to be athletes. White America accepted them more easily. They showed us that black folks were more than what we had been portrayed as.

Now, however, the fight is on a much different plane. It is an economic struggle. Now, the battle is to show America that we can be much more than great athletes or great rappers. And while each rich athlete should "feel" obligated to reach back and help, they shouldn't be overscrutinized if they don't.

Hell yeah, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan could do more. But that's for them to decide, not you, Jim Brown. Besides, I'd much rather our young black males look up to the Bob Johnsons, Oprahs and Carlton Browns of the world. We've come much further than how high we can jump or how far we can hit a golf ball. Athletes aren't our role models. They weren't mine.

And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.

Previous Comments

ID

149439

Comment

I wonder how this will play out for the future of African American athletes. Especially with the recent tirades of Jim Brown about Tiger Woods and his supposed lack of contribution to the world outside of golf....very interesting.

Author

jellyruns

Date

2009-07-08T15:14:07-06:00

ID

149440

Comment

Kaze, What does it mean that the struggle is "economic" now? While I agree that freedom in a market economy is inextricably bound to economics, I think we ought to be questioning that norm more than advancing it by framing our concerns in terms of market fundamentalist economics. By doing so, we miss a grand opportunity to sound a critical voice concerning the market fundamentalism that is paraded as "democracy" in this country. Athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan don't have to speak out (though Woods and Jordan both are quite philanthropic), but, given the lack of prominent mainstream voices critical of social inequality and market fundamentalism in this country, the black community is missing a vital piece in the struggle if our athletes and entertainers must be silenced in order to maintain their “status”. Framing the struggle in terms of market fundamentalist economic freedom limits opportunities for collective empowerment that comes with rectifying the unjust distribution of wealth and poverty that we witness in this country. Just positioning a few more Black people to benefit from a broke system (and it will only be a few, just like there are relatively few rich whites) hardly seems to be the most democratic solution. Even when Dr. King waged his poor people's campaign, he was arguing for a more just and humane economic system, not just for more opportunity for a few more blacks. He challenged the notion that anyone should be poor in a country with the vast wealth of America. Does individual capitalist accumulation address fundamental injustices endured by far too many people of all races in this country? The responsibility for the whole black community is to do what each person is able to do. With the outlets and opportunity that people like, say Woods and Lebron James have, I think a lot is wasted when they can wield as much influence with multinational corp. like Nike and voice no concern over things like outsourcing of manufacturing jobs and the overpricing of their products targeted at urban teens (read black folks). Yeah, he's charitable, but what a shame if with all of his power and money, he is silenced by the “market”? How can you be an example of political change and be apolitical at the same time? No voice is a voice for the status quo. Are they really shining examples of the post civil rights era black person? Is “Get Rich or Die Trying” the new “We Shall Overcome” for the 21st century civil rights struggle? Blackwatch

Author

Renaldo Bryant

Date

2009-07-08T15:26:46-06:00

ID

149450

Comment

Too often in the Black community, we have the "get mine" mentality. As long as I am getting mine, I will tolerate things I should not or I will just do the bare minimum that I need to do. That is the mentality that a lot of people have. Right and wrong has a price. A person will consider working with people they should not or do things they should not if they think it will benefit them. It happens across the nation, it happens in Jackson. One great comic book line was, "with great power comes great responsibility". It is up to each person how much they will give back, but when you have kids getting killed over your sneakers, etc., that warrants you giving more back. Also, a lot of minorities get pulled away from their communities and the issues that go along with them by the real movers and shakers who are more often than not, not minorities. I do not think that we have to prove anything, it is quite obvious because our skills and taste are often drawn upon in areas such as marketing, fashion, etc. We need to work on getting the acknowledgement. By getting the acknowledgement, kids can see people like them properly represented and respected. There has always been a lot more to the Black community than athletes and entertainers.

Author

Goldenae

Date

2009-07-09T09:15:36-06:00

ID

149455

Comment

Goldenae, you're correct. But too often even we in the Black Community do a poor job of highlighting those examples as well. We can't always expect society to do it. But we get vehicles like BET now that can at times make us look worse

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2009-07-09T12:20:01-06:00