The biggest story in the NBA today isn't the latest playoff
score, it's all about the audio tapes that portray the owner of the Los Angeles
Clippers, Donald Sterling, dropping racist verbal bombs on his girlfriend
during an argument with her.
Granted, some parts of his rant may have been rooted in
relationship jealousy - as he was apparently reacting to her posting photos of
herself with athletes Magic Johnson and Matt Kemp on Instagram - but other
parts definitely seem to be rooted in racist thinking.
Reading just a few of the “reaction” stories currently
buzzing around us has enlightened me to the fact Sterling has gained quite the
reputation for racist thought and discriminatory action. Is it deserved? Well, paying out millions of dollars for settlements over racial discrimination
accusations in his real estate holdings, and people in the past quoting blatantly despicable remarks allegedly said by him are not exactly arguments in his
favor.
Racism at the highest levels of professional sports is
certainly not unheard of. In 1987, Al
Campanis, General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, exposed his mind on a national television interview on Jackie Robinson day back before
it was a Day. He casually informed the audience,
and I was among them, that he believed there had not been an African-American
General Manager or owner in baseball up to that point because blacks lacked “the
necessities" for the job. Just for
laughs, he also let on about blacks not being able to float in water. Say what?
Anybody remember Jimmy the Greek? How about Marge Schott or John Rocker? The list of folks who exposed ignorant or
hateful beliefs at the wrong time just goes on and on and on.
Have you ever been sitting with work or school buddies or
the in-laws and somebody lets out with a statement you just know is wrongheaded
(read racist), and you don't even know how to react?
I was once standing inside the doorway of a crowded
restaurant on a posh section of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, just waiting
for my turn to be called for seating, when a very well-to-do looking woman came
up to me and demanded fresh silverware for her table, as hers was
unacceptable. What was really unacceptable
was her bloody assumption that I was a busboy.
On another occasion, some guy in a pickup truck tried to run
me and my motorcycle off the road, while yelling at me for being a "dirty
Mexican". That one was a bit less subtle.
I remember some folks ridiculously claiming we entered a
post-racial new age when Barack Obama was first elected president. Instead, his
election seemed to just ignite the fires of racists from the backwoods to the
halls of Congress. Indeed, if it was that easy to kill racism, it would have
died when Jackie Robinson broke MLB's color barrier. But it didn't.
High profile types like Sterling and Jimmy the Greek will
continue to pay hefty fines and/or lose their cushy jobs. You might start
avoiding that certain uncle at family gatherings, but will anything really
change? When will dragging people behind trucks - just because they're
different - ever stop?
Today's headlines about Sterling don’t surprise me at
all. They just remind me once again of
the ugliness that is racism and discrimination.
If it's never happened to you, it's definitely happened to someone who
lives on your block. Racist belief is callously
thrown around from tiny kitchen tables to the boardrooms of the rich and powerful.
Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised or shocked with all this
news concerning Sterling. I wasn't even
slightly flabbergasted.
However, the eternal question remains: Where do we go from
here?
