Blackness Of Athletes Essay Research Paper Today

Blackness Of Athletes Essay, Research Paper

Today African American athletes dominate almost all professional team sports. In basketball some of the record holders were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. In football Walter Payton, Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Erik Dickerson, and Jim Marshall set records. Baseball’s Ricky Henderson held the stolen-base record at 939 in 1991. From Joe Louis in the 1930s until Evander Holyfield in the 1990’s, black Americans have almost monopolized heavyweight boxing. Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson were at the top of the game of tennis. Since Jesse Owens won four Olympic gold medals in 1936, African Americans have excelled in track and field sports. Florence Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee won medals at the 1988 Olympics. Carl Lewis, Butch Reynolds, Roger Kingdom, Edwin Moses, Bob Beamon, and Willie Banks also set track records.

How is it possible that a particular race can be so accepted in the arena of popular entertainment and sports, yet the American populous still does not have a homogeneous attitude toward the black athletes that make professional sports in America so popular.

Beyond the audience that directly watches professional sports, the rest of America is still influenced by athletes who pose as role models and cultural icons in America. The negative aspect of black culture in the eyes of the public, or blackness, is regarded as a threat to the integrity of the professional sports leagues and to America as a whole. Blackness, as defined by popular culture is an African American’s attitude such that he or she is extremely overt in the eyes of the public by emphasizing his or her race as opposed to skill. By wearing corn-rows or an afro haircut or preaching against white society, a black athlete can come to be seen in a negative light by the public, which in general, has its children propped in front of a television watching black super-athletes dunk the ball and walk off the court to put on a platinum pendant studded with 63 diamonds. This hypocrisy stands regardless of color of the viewer, because in our postmodern era, blackness has come to be associated with violence and the “gangsta” lifestyle. The truth is that the blackness of yore, where an athlete fought for black equality, no longer exists.

Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers epitomizes the blackest of black athletes at the start of this millennium yet represents nothing positive off the court. Regardless of his basketball skills which surpass those of all other current basketball players, he is a negative icon because, in truth, his “flava” is fake. Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated is one of the most critical sports writers of the idea of blackness in sports. In the October 23rd issue of SI, his column was spent criticizing Iverson’s fakeness and flawed perspective on black America. With the recent release of his album 40 Bars, Iverson raps about murdering “faggots, niggas and bitches” and the hardships that come with being one of the most overpaid athletes in the NBA. Rushin mocks Iverson’s comments:

“So when A.I., who has a five year old daughter, busts a rhyme about his desire to ‘kill and f— bitches,’ that ain’t him really flowin’. It’s his MC alter ego – whom Iverson calls ‘Jewelz’ – keeping it real by rhymin’ about all the wack shiznit that a playa sees everyday on the mean, clean, privately maintained streets in the gated communities of suburban Illadelph. YouknowwhatI’msayin’. [Sic]”

or

“Sure he’s makin’ mad paper: $71 million over six years from the Sixers, plus $50 million cash money to wear Reeboks. But check this shiznit: In the NBA, ballers are only clockin’ $85 a day in meal money! For real! Try getting a Cristal breakfast at the Ritz-Carleton Laguna Niguel for $85, yo. Or what if your posse is visiting from Newport News, Va-then e’ybody goes hungry. The little orchid in the tiny vase on the room-service tray costs more than that!”

The statements about Iverson sum up the image of blackness today. Iverson’s career choices on and off of the court are solely his. He is the only person to blame for his flawed persona. With the help of the Hip-Hop movement, blackness has emerged as a means for black society to show that it no longer values the ideals of being black during the civil rights movement and during the times of the desegregation of baseball, where being black meant having a sense of pride about who you are, not about how black and “iced out” you are.

With this said about modern blackness, it is necessary to look at the polar opposite of characters such as Iverson. When one’s black identity is completely lost, a colorless product of the almighty dollar is formed. Epitomizing this scenario is the greatest basketball player ever or at least on the court. Michael Jordan, regardless of his “sellout” nature, is the largest role model in modern sports. Not since Babe Ruth have children and adults alike been so empowered by the strict on-court performance and commercial value of an athlete. For all practical purposes, there a few obvious reasons for Michael Jordan’s success as a persuasive communicator to the public, black, white, and Hispanic, alike. He was, after all, the hottest player in the NBA — his is name mentioned in the same breath with basketball greats such as Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Irving, and Magic Johnson. With a 6′6″ fr