The 15-year-old
Russian figure skater can compete in the Olympics after failing a drug test,
and the 21-year-old American sprinter is pissed off. Understandably so.
Sha’Carri Richardson isn’t
here for officials’ explanations, justifications, and rationalizations. The
bottom line is that Kamila Valievacan
pursue her dreams at the Beijing Olympics despite testing
positive for a banned substance (one considered a performance enhancer), while
Richardson’s dreams for last year’s Tokyo Olympics were canceled when she
tested positive for marijuana (which isn’t a performance enhancer).
Their respective eligibility status
led Richardson to compare the two cases and reach a familiar conclusion. “The
only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” she
tweeted in response to the Court
of Arbitration for Sport ruling in Valieva’s favor.
Other distinctions exist but
it’s hard to blame Richardson for feeling that way. After all, Blacks ARE disproportionately
punished for weed.
According
to an ACLU study, Blacks are 3.64 times more likely than whites
to be arrested for possession, even though usage rates are virtually identical
across races. That’s true in states that have ended prohibition of marijuana
and worse in states that haven’t. Some still-criminalized states are arresting
Blacks for cannabis at almost 10 times the rate for whites.
Almost no one except Russians and the CAS panel of arbiters believe Valieva should be allowed to continue. The World Anti-Doping Agency said it’s “disappointed” by the decision to overturn Valieva’s suspension. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressed similar sentiments. “This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia,” CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement.
Are you ready for some
football? From the league that just went 1-for-9 in hiring Black coaches for
top jobs?
If so, you’re ready for Super
Bowl Sunday, which has morphed into an unofficial holiday, with mounting calls
to make Monday an
actual day off. Cincinnati Public Schools went ahead and
cancelled classes for the day. Whether they revel after the Bengals play the
Los Angeles Rams, it’s a good bet that most everyone in “The Queen City” will
watch the game.
But for others, the league contains
too much distraction to focus on the action.
Former San Francisco QB Colin
Kaepernick and former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores aren’t the
only Black folks who have sacrificed and taken a stand. There are fans
(including personal acquaintances) who once loved to watch football but became disgusted
and quit when the NFL stiff-armed
Kaep.
Flores’ recent
lawsuit against the league merely strengthens their resolve. For
good measure, they can point to scandals involving Washington
ownerDan Snyder, former
Las Vegas coachJon Gruden, and the NFL’s racist
policy on concussions.
Cleary, it’s a league worthy
to be scorned.
Interestingly, despite the strict
partisanship fracturing this country, the NFL is a “both sides” offender. While
we argue that the efforts against racism and sexism aren’t enough, others contend
that the league has gone overboard. Cultural grievance is one area where the
NFL can boast about equal opportunity.
Just Google “woke NFL” and read the hilarious complaints from critics likening the league to radical leftists.
NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell is under contract for two more seasons, which would give him 17
years in office. If that’s the end, here’s a suggestion for his next move: a master
class on speaking while obviously saying nothing. The title?
“How to Keep Shoveling When Your
Audience Knows It’s BS.”
After so much time on the job,
Goodell has turned empty words into an art form. The latest gem was delivered Wednesday
during his annual
Super Bowl news conference. All parties knew beforehand that hiring
practices would be a hot topic in light of former Miami Dolphins coach Brian
Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit. These would be the commish’s first
public remarks since the lawsuit was
filed Feb. 1, and he didn’t disappoint his bosses, the NFL owners.
Moments such as these explain Goodell’s
astronomical salary. He reportedly raked
nearly $130 million over the last two fiscal years combined. His
bag since taking office is estimated to be $375 million. In 2015, the last year
his pay was a matter of public record, ol’ boy pulled $32 million. Nice work if
you can get it.
The NFL brags about itself as “The
Shield,” a reference to the league’s logo.
In actuality, Goodell is the human
shield, placed in front of cowering owners to take fire aimed at them.
At this point, he doesn’t even need to prepare. He can simply review a compilation of his previous responses over the years when asked about Black coaches getting few shots at being head coaches. It was the first question at last year’s Super Bowl news conference and the first one this year.
In a speech to newspapers editors in 1925, President Calvin Coolidge uttered a now-famous line: “The business of America is business.”
Nearly 100 years later, Howard County College (HCC) offers esteemed programs that prepare students for the nation’s commerce.
As chair of HCC’s business program, Professor Linda Mercurio sees lots of students who remind her of herself at that age; they kind of know what they want to study, but they aren’t exactly sure. Likewise, she sees lots of students who come in with clear and focused goals.
Fortunately, there are pathways to success for each group.
“We have two degree programs and two certificate programs,” Mercurio says. “The degree programs are business administration, and general studies with a business emphasis. Both are fully transferable to four-year bachelor’s degree programs.”
It’s been two-and-a-half years
since your company Roc Nation partnered with the NFL to “amplify the league’s
social justice efforts,” according to the
press release. This is just a check-in to see how it’s
going.
Also wondering what you think
about former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL,
alleging a pattern of racist hiring practices and racial discrimination.
In
response, the league said “diversity is core to everything we do,”
and it vowed to “defend against these claims, which are without merit.” Do you
believe that? Takes some nerve to state they “continue to make progress in
providing equitable opportunities,” when there’s only one Black head coach (as of
Thursday) and white coaches have filled five of nine openings this cycle.
The Minnesota Vikings are
expected to make
it six by hiring Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin
O’Connell, but they can’t complete the deal until after the Super Bowl.
Guess the league wants us to
believe that the thrust of Flores’
complaint is purely coincidental. Sure, it’s mere happenstance that since
the
Rooney Rule was passed nearly 20 years ago, only 15 out of
roughly 130 head coaching positions have been filled by Black candidates. That
computes to 11% of such positions going to Black coaches … in a league that’s
70% black.
“This isn’t about me; this is bigger than football,” Flores said in an interview on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “This is about equal opportunity for qualified Black candidates, not just in football, but everywhere.”
In glaring ways, Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is too extreme to be representative of typical thought
patterns.
But his response to a question
on Tuesday illustrates the implicit basis weaved into this country’s fabric since
Betsy Ross grabbed her needle and thread. While fielding queries about President
Joe Biden’s impending Supreme Court nominee, McConnell was asked about the
makeup of his staff, specifically, how many Black women he employs.
“Actually, I haven’t checked,”
McConnell said. “We don’t have a racial quota in my office.”
He went on to say he’s had “a
number of African American employees, both male and female, over the years, in
all kinds of different positions, including speechwriter.”
Good for him.
The fact that “quota” leapt to mind is illuminating. Mandates are an instinctual explanation for some when brown faces are sprinkled in lily-white spaces. It can’t be that they’re brilliant and hard-working, educated and eminently qualified. No. Their presence must be the result of affirmative action, which surely robbed an innocent white person of a position they deserved.
When Biden vowed to nominate a
Black woman as Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s replacement, critics lost their
minds. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said it was “offensive” and “an insult to Black
women.” Georgetown Law administrator Ilya Shapiro asserted that the pick would
be a “lesser Black woman” and not the best jurist available. Sen. John Kennedy
(R-La.) said he wants “a nominee who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog.”
Not sure where J.Crew ranks
among Black women’s favorite fashion brands. But Kennedy isn’t alone in his
assumption that Biden’s nominee won’t be qualified due to her race and gender.
Conversely, we’re conditioned to automatically assume men like Kennedy and Cruz
are capable and competent due to their skin, genitalia, and law degrees.
The fact that he didn’t get elected into the Hall on Tuesday makes the so-called hallowed institution an absolute joke. It also highlights the fragility of human nature, the cracks and flaws of Bonds and those voters who kept him out on his 10th and final year on the ballot.
Hypocrisy runs rampant through
the fabric of America, and the national pastime is no exception.
All men are created equal, yet Black players weren’t allowed in the major leagues until Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947. Cheaters aren’t supposed to win, but notorious spitballer Gaylord Perry was inducted into the hall in 1991. Voters make their selections based on players’ performance, in addition to “integrity, sportsmanship, and character;” yet avowed racists such as Kennesaw Mountain – baseball’s first commissioner who upheld the gentleman’s agreement to keep Black players out of the league – and Cap Anson – who refused to play against Black ballplayers – have plaques in the baseball shrine.
“Complicated” is a word that pops
up if you research Landis, Anson, and others
of their ilk. Defenders explain they were men of the era
whose actions appear worse in hindsight (an old, tired excuse – as if there
haven’t been righteous folks calling out racism throughout history). Ok, fine. Hall
of Fame voters could’ve talked about Bonds and all his complexities while
granting his justified spot.
The late Muhammad Ali wasn’t shy about his place in history, even before his historic knockout of Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight championship in February 1964.
He proclaimed himself “the greatest of all time” before his shocking upset, reiterating it immediately afterward, during that night in Miami and throughout the remainder of his Hall of Fame career. Eventually, the entire world seemed to agree with the three-time champ, who would’ve turned 80 on Jan. 17.
We don’t know how Ali celebrated his 39th birthday, which came three months after a brutal beatdown from his friend and former sparring partner Larry Holmes. But we know Ali was still “The Greatest” for reasons that extend well beyond the ring.
Ali received word that a young man was perched outside the ninth floor of a Los Angeles building and threatening to jump. “Joe” had been there for hours as police officers, a psychologist and a chaplain leaned out a window and begged him to come inside. Whenever anyone got too close, Joe dangled his feet over the side. “I’m no good,” he shouted. “I’m going to jump!”
You can be a fan of NFL football and dislike the NFL.
You can relish the action and the
competition while loathing the machinery behind it. You can be conflicted about
the sport and make peace with enjoying it, but you can’t cheer for “The Shield”
in good conscience unless you’re the heartless, soulless type that roots for
Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, Big Oil, etc.
When uber-talented Antonio
Brown released a statement Wednesday to explain his bizarre, mid-game exit from
the New York Jets-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, he poked at the discomfort of our relationship,
our Faustian bargain between NFL football and the NFL itself. We know the
league values
profits more than its players, and here was Brown
confirming that reality, saying he was punished for refusing to play through an
ankle injury.
Coach Bruce Arians “ordered me
to get on the field,” Brown said
in the statement. “I said ‘Coach, I can’t.” He didn’t call for
medical attention. Instead he shouted at me, ‘YOU’RE DONE!’ while he ran his
finger across his throat. Coach was telling me if I didn’t play hurt, then I
was done with the Bucs.”
Outrageous, right? That’s exactly
why we can’t cape for the NFL, which blackballed Colin Kaepernick, nurtured Jon
Gruden, and gaslights
us
with “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” stickers – as if team owners aren’t
fervent supporters of social injustice. (No, it doesn’t help that other
leagues’ owners are worse.)
Howard Community College esports coach Mark Winkel remembers how he felt after the esports program’s first-ever match in September 2020. The Dragons lost so badly to UCLA, Winkel honestly wondered if they would ever taste victory. But now a new question comes to mind: Can HCC continue to win multiple national championships each year?
The Dragons rebounded from their initial competition to eventually win a pair of titles in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) – which also made its debut in Fall 2020. Even more impressive, the winning has increased during the second year of the program, adding three more NECC championships in December 2021.
“When I think about everything that has happened in such a short amount of time, it’s shocking,” Winkel says. “When we started out, we just wanted to build a base, to have these teams and get them organized. There was no intention of going out and winning championships right away.”
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