The Infamous1 wrote:I just don't understand how people can root for a sports team that is 80 percent African American but have these negative downright racist views of black people as whole. The most bigoted people I've ever met are die hard sports fans and it's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. You're ok with them dunking and catching touchdowns but don't view them as actual human beings, they're just the entertainment
Let's not forget to mention the WWE as well. Exhibit A: The New Day
Well, it pays to gyrate. Mr. McMahon is pleased... And his pockets are pleased too. The New Day are a guilty pleasure.
Although this article is a few years old, it's still an interesting read.
Simply put. They’re gone. According to research done by ESPN’s Outside the Lines back in 2009, 71.9% of NBA players are African American, 18.3% are international and 9.9% are white Americans – meaning there is an average of one per team – with Memphis, Detroit, Los Angeles (Clippers) and Washington having zero. Of those other 26 teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves are the only franchises that carry more than two white American players on their current roster. Aside from Kevin Love and David Lee, that crop of players that makes up that nearly 10 percent is hardly considered to be at the elite level. Consider this: until Kevin Love came in the league there hadn’t been a white American NBA All-Star since Brad Miller in 2004. You’d have to go all the way back to John Stockton in 1997 to find a starter.
It seems that the 60’s-Early 90’s produced the “great white hopes,” while 2000 and beyond has produced the “10 day contract nopes.” The rules of basketball have hardly changed since James Naismith picked up that peach basket in Springfield, Massachusetts. The collegiate landscape offers up plenty of white, American stars. Then what gives? Why aren’t these same collegiate court savants becoming stars? There are 312 college basketball teams at the Division 1 level comprised of 4,000 players – sifted and chewed threw from a high school class every year boasting more than 540,000 aspiring MJ’s, LeBron’s and Kobe’s. According to College Times, these athletes then have a 24,550-1 odds of ever going pro – while chances of being struck by lightning in one’s lifetime is 10,000-1. The only luck involved in making the pros involves harnessing ability and steering clear of devastating injury.
In speaking about the trend of the decline of the white American NBA player, and namely former standout point guard at Notre Dame, Kyle McAlarney, Mike Dunleavy commented, “the key point: who can he guard?” Jerry West concurs, saying “it’s a stigma that they’re going to have to overcome.” In the last 15 years, only two white American players made the All Defensive 1st or 2nd Team (Stockton, Hinrich). So the point remains: if a player can’t guard anybody, their contributions on the offensive end come with little impact to plus/minus statistics. It’s often speculated that the zone defense was reintroduced into the NBA to help slow-footed defenders stand a chance out on the court. Perhaps since the zone defense is so prevalent in the college game, defensive deficiencies aren’t so prevalent.
In speaking about the trend of the decline of the white American NBA player, and namely former standout point guard at Notre Dame, Kyle McAlarney, Mike Dunleavy commented, “the key point: who can he guard?” Jerry West concurs, saying “it’s a stigma that they’re going to have to overcome.” In the last 15 years, only two white American players made the All Defensive 1st or 2nd Team (Stockton, Hinrich). So the point remains: if a player can’t guard anybody, their contributions on the offensive end come with little impact to plus/minus statistics. It’s often speculated that the zone defense was reintroduced into the NBA to help slow-footed defenders stand a chance out on the court. Perhaps since the zone defense is so prevalent in the college game, defensive deficiencies aren’t so prevalent.
While race relations in this country are far from perfect, things have undoubtedly improved since the 1960’s and 70’s when our supposed “melting pot” was nothing more than a quarantined plate – with clear divisions as if a meal served in a military mess hall. As connotations and accusations of being a “race trader” have acquiesced slightly when it comes to interracial marriages, perhaps the offspring of these unions have something to do with the current trend. Have the white American basketball players become the mixed American superstars? Look no further than Blake Griffin, Steph Curry, Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Kris Humphries, and Joakim Noah as evidence of multiracial players who take on a much bigger role on a team than just roster junkie. While the sample is small, there’s no denying that more and more 80’s and 90’s babies will be born from a bi-cultural relationship as the country moves toward a place where acceptance is common place. According to the Huffington Post, multiracial Americans is the largest growing group in the entire United States. In 2010, 1.6 million Americans checked both “black” and “white” on their census forms, a figure 134 percent higher than the number a decade earlier. America is changing for the better – both from a cultural standpoint and in terms of physical excellence. But it would be wise to note that we’re not alone.
Americans view sport as recreation while international participants see it as a chance to take a stab at the “American dream” where streets are paved with gold and opportunity knocks with every buttery jumpshot and crossover dribble. It’s perhaps the same reason why the demise of the white American basketball player coincides with the disappearance of the black American baseball player. According to ESPN, only 8.5 percent of the MLB is comprised of African American ball players – down from 18 % back in 1991. It seems that it’s not as much about race in sport as much as it is about location. The foreign born influence has not only improved professional leagues, but it’s made it that much tougher to even break in. As the NBA continues to grow on an international level, the idea of the next “great white hope” will simply be referred to as “America’s hope.”
http://hypebeast.com/2012/03/keeping-score-the-disappearance-of-the-white-american-nba-superstar
