Written By: Lamont Mann
1-10-2011
WHAT'S THE DAMN DEAL "BRO"?
I don't understand Jason Whitlock's angle. Are you trying to be a super hero of black folk? Let's cut through all of the media friendly words and get to it. I used to believe white people really dig a black person that came out and spoke the truth because we are in an era where they can't do without professional ramifications. With that being said, I thought Jason was playing up to that angle but after hearing more and more, I have come to the conclusion that I really don't know what's his angle because white people also dislike him.
The first time I heard Jason Whitlock was on the Jim Rome Show in 2007. Jason was talking about how the athletes are engulfed in the Hip Hop Culture. Here's the tricky part, I don't believe Jason is knocking Hip Hop, but he is telling these athletes "you are not a Hip Hop artist, you are a professional athlete". That's cool and I dig it, but Jason has to realize we are talking about impressionable twenty year olds. Young adults tend to do what the trend dictates via New York and Los Angeles.
Come on "bro", afros, clubs, the whole Miami Dolphins team of the 70s snorting "coke" in the 70s? It's not quite the visible tattoos you see of the professional players now, but all were a trend of the times. According to biblical scripture a man should not be with long hair and I guarantee you their was an "older" Whitlock in the 70s bashing players about the afro.
JASON ON "INSIDE THE NFL"
Jason was a guest on "Inside the NFL" where he said that the New England Patriots' owner prefers players with a solid family background. Jason received this information by way of current Kansas City Chiefs/former New England Patriots General Manager Scott Pioli. It's his belief that players from a two parent home will conform better with Bill Belichick's personality. Obviously, Bill tends to have more of a military style of operation. As a guest on the show, Whitlock is trying to explain the logic of the owner's belief. James Brown (host) debated that targeting players of a certain social status is thereby shrinking your talent pool of players to select from. Whitlock continued on to say players that have structure is more suited to handle the big paychecks.
I don't even know where to begin. There's one part of me that understands the rationale being explained, but then there's another part of me that wonders if this is at all ethical for an owner to profile a certain social class of player. I believe you have head cases that come from two parent homes, as I believe you have solid individuals from single parent homes.
As far as Whitlock's statement about unstable players with a big paycheck, that's simply crazy. If it was up to Whitlock, single parent kids would be _____ out of luck. In utopia, a world of kids with both parents would be lovely, but in reality, single parents is a way of life to a large portion of our population.
WRAP IT UP
I like Whitlock because he has the stones to come out and speak his mind. He knows that his statements are not taken favorably within the black community, but yet he still voice his opinion. Although I applaud his courage, lately his antics are coming off as SHOCK. I am beginning to look at him as the "self-anointed black Moses".
In closing, I challenge Jason to look at Bill Cosby because that's the way it's done. Bill Cosby made his comments about the black community and no one could contest anything he said because unlike most, he actually put his resources (money, time, social conscious) where his mouth his.
VIDEO
4 comments:
My comment on Cosby is at the end.
Jason Whitlock can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes. He's not always "right" but after reading his columns I realize that he's not trying to be right all the time. He speaks as a devil's advocate. I know because I do the same. One of the only differences between him and Michael Moore is that the things that Whitlock discusses with culture are immeasurable. You can measure touchdown throws and yardage. We can read facts on what bills were signed and which ones weren't. We can't always measure if OJ actually killed Nicole or had someone else do it. Facts leading in one direction aren't always the same as 10 people seeing someone be murdered. I read a few articles on hip hop culture by him but didn't read his explanation for single parent homes. If the Pats choose people with 2 parent homes then so be it. Other teams will go for whoever. However, most people that watch sports realize that there are problems in entertainment as a whole. People from two parent homes definitely have problems sometimes also. Things are typically resolved differently IF that person has two reasonable parents and siblings. An only child sometimes acts different than a child with 8 brothers and sisters. It's common. I grew up as an only child for 8 years and I wasn't use to sharing as much. I still keep my gifts/materials/"toys" differently than my brother and sister. Others that have a lot of siblings pass down clothes or they take anything that they can get when they can get it. Some people call them "hustlers" at times. Many people across language barriers are the same way.
I read Whitlock, in the past, mention how hip hop culture is everywhere now. It's true. He's not the only person that tells athletes that they aren't rappers. They said it when Shaq came out around '94, when Iverson's CD failed to come out, and when Chris Webber's album flopped. It's not just about the album sales, it's about the attitude. An artist can get away with talking about guns and killing without problems. The problems come when it spills over into reality. In professional and college sports, you can't do that. Most recently Nick Van Exel's son (TSU player) shot his friend and left him for dead. Every year several players are killed or threatened to be killed. IT's more prevalent than it was before. Mo' money, mo' problems is part of it. That's still a part of the hip hop culture and music culture that I came up on.
I disagree with the Cosby comment because black people tore him apart when he said it. They said that he was senile and that he didn't need to air dirty laundry. He wasn't respected from most of the people that left comments on blogs like this. I knew where he was coming from when he mentioned paying $200 for a pair of shoes without having a real job. The people that did understand his comment, didn't choose to respond on those days.
I can't say that I agree with everything that Whitlock says or that anyone says for that matter but he does get people to listen. It's not about whether whites or blacks like him. If he gets people to think about what they're doing he might be doing a decent job. If we just look at our community as a whole, we realize that we can do better. Some people do well but as a whole we have to do better. We have more people below the poverty line than we need. I think that his cultural chatter comes is important because he's in the sports industry which guarantees that people will have a response. That is IF we take the time to read his articles. Tieuel Legacy! Motion Pics
I can give you that on Cosby but if memory serves me correct people that disagreed with Cosby often told me he was right but just don't air it out.
I have read some of Whitlock's articles and as stated before his angle is somewhat weird to me because I don't understand how he can say a kid with more structure would be a better stewart of money. That makes no sense to me
Thanks so much for feed back and you made some valuable points
Lamont Mann
I can give you that on Cosby but if memory serves me correct people that disagreed with Cosby often told me he was right but just don't air it out.
I have read some of Whitlock's articles and as stated before his angle is somewhat weird to me because I don't understand how he can say a kid with more structure would be a better stewart of money. That makes no sense to me
Thanks so much for feed back and you made some valuable points
Lamont Mann
I like Whitlock. I just think he needs a different type of forum to do what he does. I get he is a former athlete and that it is obvious for him to stick to the world that he knows best. I just think he is a man trapped between two realms. He doesn't always know from what side to choose. One moment he is a black man, the next he is a black athlete. I agree that Bill Cosby is a bench mark in stating the problems of the race the way he did in which you reference. Bill Cosby is never and was never cunfused about what he was though. I just think Whitlock is a confused soul. He is torn between having to choose who or what most likely is to blame for a lot of the negativity, perception, and reality about the black athlete and the black community at large. The way he judges the black athlete is by way of the community standard. Ironically he just has a hard time separating the two entities as he tries to bridge the gap.
Post a Comment