The “Bad Negro”: LeBron James and The Decision

 

Almost a month away from the anniversary of LeBron’s historic broadcast, “The Decision”, and in the midst of speculation that he may yet again fail to achieve an NBA championship win, I am intrigued by the extreme hatred for LeBron and the campaign for him to lose again this season.  The 2012 Forbes Magazine “Most Disliked Athletes” poll conducted by Nielson, has LeBron rated #6, which gives him hope to rebounding his reputation but that’s not saying much for people who also feel that Kris Humphries was the  #1 most disliked in the NBA because of his batched marriage to Kim Kardashian.  

Anytime I offer my support for LeBron and the Miami Heat, I always offer a disclaimer.  One of my sorority sisters along with another female sports enthusiast, both diehard Bulls Fans and Heat haters, tweeted an interesting statement that connects to my disclaimer.  The first tweet stated, “My TL is cracking me up w/ all this trash talk.  I’d be mad if I was a Miami fan.”  The other replied, “There is no rebuttals b/c they aren’t REAL fans.”  So, my twitter reply to them both and my disclaimer was “There is no reason to rebut a general contempt for a team solely because of their dislike for one player.  Trying to be unbiased…I think it’s the same reason Laker fans don’t argue back.  Many Heat fans don’t like Kobe for the same reasons people don’t like LeBron, so we sort of understand.  Doesn’t NOT make us REAL Heat fans tho!”  This response was surprisingly well received by the girls and I was even given credit and excluded as one of the fakes.  The disclaimer is that for many of the same reasons people do not like LeBron, most of which isn't connected to his playing ability, is the same reason that I struggle with my support of Kobe Bryant.  While I do not spew as much venom as most throw at LeBron, despite my acknowledgement that Kobe is by far one of the greatest to play the game, I still don’t like him! 

In the past, I have written about the historic connection of the Black male athlete and representation.  In brief, the “The Good Negro” was an ideological assimilation that black people; post slavery, had to adapt to in order to gain acceptability and access into white society.  This label is most notably recognized in connection with the role Jackie Robinson played in the integration of sports.  Robinson admired not simply because of his accomplishment of making a major league ball club, but that he accomplished this in the midst of significant racial hatred.  Branch Richie made clear that while Robinson may not have been “the best” player in the Negro League at the time, he was the person who they felt most confident could be successful in baseball and in dealing with the physical and mental abuse that he would face.  Thus, the antithesis of “The Good Negro” would thus be “The Bad Negro”.  Historically, the most notable “Bad Negro” was Muhammad Ali.  What happens when you are silent and what happens when you speak out is of significance not only to black male athletes, like LeBron, but anyone who challenges the institutional norms currently in place.     

Why do I generally support LeBron?  As a sport sociologist, I am clear about the empirical and theoretical issues of control the black athlete faces in sport participation.  Two popular publications that can inform your personal interest in this topic are “The New Plantation” by Dr. Billy Hawkins and “40 Million Dollar Slaves” by William Rhoden.  These books not only offer an analysis of the black male athlete being considered indentured servants for the sporting industry but offers ways that the sporting industry, athletes, and fans can reverse this problem.  Whether you agree or disagree with this notion, most understand the level of control that sporting institutions have over athletes' choice to play for the team they would like, speak out on issues they disagree with, and interaction with friends and family.  Despite this acute awareness, many people are still challenged with LeBron's decision and the manner in which he chose to make his announcement.      

Over time, you will learn that my fandom is generally more connected to my interest in the individual player story rather than an overall team success.  I want players to win and teams to celebrate the players that helped them gain the title.  I want LeBron to win, so that he does not spend the rest of his life questioning “The Decision” he made to take control of his Black male athletic body.  It is clear that he continues questing, “the way” he made the decision, so I suspect he has moments of fear.  I personally did not have a problem with “The Decision” being broadcasted, nor his choice to consult the players he would eventually partner with or not informing his former coach.  The level of pressure LeBron faced in this decision was evident by the burning of jerseys and removal of the building banner once he announced he was leaving for South Beach.  Most importantly, no one can argue against his decision to donate some of the proceeds earned from the advertising profits gained from “The Decision” broadcast.  Boys and Girls Clubs of America across the country benefited from his broadcast, pumping over 2 million dollars into clubs and an additional $500,000 worth of Hewlett-Packet computers and $500,000 worth of Nike appeal he also contributed to these clubs.  If LeBron had to sacrifice his reputation for the betterment of our communities, I say well done King James!          

 

In the end, I encourage you to want the Heat to lose because you want your team to win.  There is nothing wrong with rooting for the underdog, young versus old, or west versus east.  The desire to watch an individual fail is not only wrong, it is inhumane.  I say god bless to all the young men who are playing in the 2012 NBA Finals.  And a special prayer for the success of LeBron James who is facing incredible odds! 

"MORE OFFENSE THAN DEFENSE": THANKS DR. HARRIS-PERRY

             After Dr. Harris-Perry appeared as a stand in for Rachel Maddow, I wrote a letter to MSNBC urging the cable news channel to consider giving Dr. Harris-Perry her own show.  I gave various reasons for this addition to the MSNBC “face” of political news/commentary, but the most important plea was personal. I aspire to one day share the public intellectual space with Dr. Harris-Perry, and am always in need of evidence that my dreams are possible.  So, you must know that when Dr. Harris-Perry announced on Twitter (@MelissaHarrisPerry,@MHPShow,and #Nerdland) that she would be getting her own show, I responded with my own twitter campaign by encouraging people to watch.  While, I realize that my little letter made no difference in Dr. Harris-Perry getting her show, nor do I know the results of my twitter campaign to support her, I was glad to see it happen.  Every Saturday and Sunday morning I awake looking forward to the lessons that Dr. Harris-Perry and her panelists share week after week.  Thank you MSNBC and Dr. Harris-Perry!

           

Why did I choose to share my thoughts about the MHP show today?  On Sunday, June 3rd her content reminded me of why I believe Dr. Harris-Perry was fit for this platform.  Whether it was her intention or not, I believe the show was her breakout effort to provide an affirmative voice for our President, Barack Obama.  I am a strong supporter of President Obama and am often frustrated with the discourse surrounding his presidency.  While I agree that we must be critical of his policies, the more vocal republican message is that he is “destroying our country”.  This is not to say that there are not people who do not publicly recognize his decision making (most notably comedian, Bill Maher), however the docile democratic method of “truth telling” is overshadowed by the republican lie.  The reason I appreciated this particular show was because she gave a call to action that served as a worthy affirmation but critical voice where this voice is often silent.  Her most critical point was that President Obama’s campaign must begin to play more offense than defense.  For a “sports President”, this is something surely he can relate to and probably considers on a daily basis.  Why Coach Obama has not called this play, I speculate, will be a fourth quarter takeover strategy.               

           

One of the rare voices that we hear in the 2012 re-election campaign is that we are proud of our president.  I take this opportunity to make my statement, “I am EXTREMELY proud of the job our President is doing”.  For the first time in my young life I feel that my President cares about MY future and I am genuinely invested in being an informed voter.  The MHP show touched upon several affirmative actions’ President Barack Obama has taken to ensure the future of this country.  For those of you who did not watch the show, some of these accomplishments included his social, foreign, and economic policies that move the country toward a more equal society.  The signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, GM Bailout, Killing of Osama Bin Laden and not to mention igniting a national dialogue in support of Same Sex Marriage only touch the surface of his accomplishments.  If you want a more comprehensive list of the President’s accomplishments…GOOGLE IT! 

Two of the most informative portions of the discussion were the application of policies that impact the black community and the commentary from the first African American Governor of Virginia and the nation since Reconstruction, Lawrence Douglas Wilder.  One of the greatest lessons that I have learned through the introduction of President Obama’s leadership is that something does not have to be labeled “Black” to be in support of black people and our community’s progress.  My attention was drawn to the 2008 election because of the racial background of then Senator Obama, but what drives my continued support and desire to learn more about politics is because of his dedication to family, informed leadership, defense of our freedom and genuine love for the American people.     

         

            

It is clear that a conversation about race is one of the most feared dialogues in American society.  This was evident; as Dr. Harris-Perry pointed out in a speech I heard her give, by the fact that President George Bush considered Kanye West’s statement that he did not like black people the lowest point of his presidency.  I cannot relate to people who say “I don’t see race”.  The MHP show not only sees race but is able to articulate effectively how our President’s accomplishments considers race also.  When people do not acknowledge the good work that the first African American President is doing, it reminds me of the constant challenge that face people of color in leadership positions.  Blaxspectation (yep I made that up!) is REAL and Black people in the public eye have no room for error!  I believe that republicans would want President Obama out of office regardless of his race, but I do believe that their hatred for someone who is moving this country forward has some connection to his ethnic background.  More profound in the discussion of our President’s ethnic background in relationship with Blaxspectation is not the Republican Party agenda, as we expect them to hate the president, but mostly is the shift in support of Independent voters who elected him into office.  This is a discussion that I hope we begin to expound upon in the next five months leading up to the November election.       

The conversation on the MHP show at least allows some truth and acknowledgement of success to the progress that President Obama is making toward MY future!  So, I say again THANKS DR. MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY!!!   

CALL TO ACTION:

On Monday, July 2^nd at 9am, I encourage us to show support for the president.  I will tweet the below listed hashtags, and I ask you to TWEET and/or RETWEET, along with me.  Let’s not only create a trending topic but clog the world’s Twitter Time Lines with support for the president.  Let our tweets be heard!

I am calling for this national day of recognition to show our appreciation for President Barack Obama’s service to our country and equal justice for all.  I chose this date because it marks the 48^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 being signed into law.  This law outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation.  This date recognizes the legislative order that shifted the national consciousness towards right for all people, and connects the legislative order (LilyLedbetter Fair Pay Act) that was amended by President Barak Obama as his first federal statute signed into law after his inauguration.   

On Monday, July 2^nd, 2012 please Tweet and RETWEET the following!

#PROUDOFMYPRESIDENT

#ISTANDWITHTHEPRESIDENT

#THANKYOUMRPRESIDENT

#REELECTPRESIDENTOBAMA2012

#AFRICANAMERICANSFORPRESIDENTOBAMA (or your ethnicity of choice)  

Nameka Bates, ABD

Hello Sport Activists!!

I know its been a while since I posted, but you will be happy to know that I have a great reason for my hiatus.  Not only did I pass my prelims, but I had an awesome opportunity to teach class at the University of Illinois.  While both ventures were overwhelming, they were both the most rewarding experiences thus far in my life!  I am blessed with a great direction in my life and I thank everyone who has supported me along the way.

So, there has been lots going on in the sports world!  Between the Heat's support of the Trayvon Martin case and Meta World "Punch In the Head" Peace, sport has been true to form in providing plenty of topics for discussion over the past few months.  The best part is that we never miss an opportunity to address these issues because issues and controversies will always find a space in sports.  I look forward to seeing what the summer might bring and offering my insights on these matters.

Thanks again for all your support and I look forward to interacting with you all this summer!

Changing the Apple: A Lesson from Dr. Harris-Perry

After seven years of membership with the National Black Graduate Student Association, serving as the Assistant Director and Acting Director of the Bruce D. Nesbitt African Cultural Center for seven years, and traveling all across the country to academic and professional conference, this weekend I heard the most phenomenal speaker I had ever heard in my entire life. I have been blessed to sit in the audience, ask questions, and shake the hand of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Dr. Cornell West, Spike Lee, Afena Shakur, Sapphire, and many more. Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry gave me the greatest gift on Thursday, March 10th, 2011. She stood in front of a crowd of over 200 African American faculty, recruiters, undergraduate, and graduate students and challenged us to use the information that she was sharing to think beyond that which we might have been able to imagine. Dr. Harris-Perry is a teacher in every sense of the word.



After the first five minutes of Dr. Harris-Perry’s talk, people began to scramble for a pen and paper. With the advancements of technology, I no longer had to scramble as I pulled out my IPhone4 to jot down interesting points using my notes application. The only thing I regret about using the notes application instead of the camera was my desire to go back and hear again the thoughts that she shared with us. Dr. Harris-Perry has a brilliant mind that a budding scholar aspires to touch, hear, and see with their own eyes. As I listened to her speak, I thought about Maya Angelou’s ability to make ordering coffee sound poetic, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson’s ability to articulate the hip hop moment in a way that makes white conservatives refer to it as art, Bernard Stanley Hoyes’ ability to paint a canvas with the most vibrant and vivid colors found on a palette, and Sister Harriet Tubman’s ability to think beyond her own freedom as she continued to return to free hundreds of slaves. Dr. Harris-Perry is a scholar as I define; S equals Scholarship, C equals Class, H equals Honesty, O equals Omnipresent, L equals Learned, A equals Accomplished, and R equals Respect.



My aim is to become a sport studies scholar, and most often I hear the media, academics, and friends unable to relate to my desire to begin the world looking differently at the African American male athlete. Dr. Harris-Perry had me at hello and mesmerized me when she began to insert sport analogies into her talk. Challenging the audience members to consider the connection of Michael Vick’s relationship with dog fighting to the use of dogs upon Black American’s during the Civil Right Movement. Not using our historical connection to dogs as an excuse for his actions, Dr. Harris-Perry simply offers a perspective on how African American people have a “different” relationship with dogs. She also presents the audience with a look at the statistical possibilities of career choices for African American male athletes. Only, she does not argue against their pursuit of a professional athletic career, she offers that the delusional thought that our children should aspire to be the President of the United States over professional athletics is statically inaccurate. These two analogies created a new research spark in my brain, and I suspect that I will be quoting Dr. Harris-Perry as I drawn on her two critical inquiries.



I have felt cheated throughout my academic career. It is my opinion, that teachers, instructors, and professors have become lackadaisical in the area of educating. My educational process has consisted of the teacher/instructor standing in front of the class reading directly from PowerPoint slides, while offering no additional thought provoking information during the lecture. This process does not consist of any intellectual dialogue and mired with the expectation that we educate ourselves without any further knowledge of where this information is located. Dr. Harris-Perry reminded me that there are instructors who still believe in “teaching” young people to think critically beyond the information that she has within herself. Her willingness to share the knowledge and expose her intellectual thinking processes was something I have not encountered in some time. She reminded me that teaching is about sharing the knowledge and information that you have and empowering those who will listen to engage in that knowledge to expand their horizons. These two examples from her talk are only a peep at the information she shared with us, so I hope that you might do more research on her as I plan to gain more from her teachings.



In a nutshell, I am Dr. Harris-Perry’s new BIGGEST Fan! I want to transfer to Tulane to take her course. I want to search the internet for any glimpse of information that she has shared. I want to make a daily check of her website hoping that she has bestowed new and refreshing information about the world that we live. I immediately downloaded her book Barbershops, Bibles, and BET onto my IPad and began reading the text upon the close of the conference day. Thank you, Dr. Harris-Perry, for restoring and renewing my dedication to my personal education and the work that I declare to produce in the future.

Betting the Odds: The REAL Michael Oher Story

Thanks to my IPad and Amazon, my pre-ordered book "I Beat the Odds" arrived as promised on Tuesday, February 8th.  After viewing the film The Blind Side and reading Michael Lewis' The Blind Side, I was anxious to finally hear Michael Oher's side of this amazing story.  I harbor deep feelings about sport films, so it was not uncommon for me to do further research on the accuracy of the story that was told on the movie screen. It is critically important that we begin to become more interested in the complete story when supporting movies that protray real stories. 




I have to disagree with Joy Behar, as she stated on the The View that "The movie was pretty accurate".  I argue that as surface level as movies come, this movie was only accurate in accordance with that form.  If you were inspired or even simply found the story compelling, you MUST read I Beat the Odds to obtain the full accuracy of Michael Oher's story.  It is clear, from his own words, that the movie painted the picture of the "Great White Hope" storyline that is so common in films sharing the success stories of African American men, especially athletes.  If I was not a Sandra Bullock fan, I probably would have bypassed this movie as I suspected that the African Americans in the film would be painted as "The bad guys".  Unfortunately, I was correct with the exception of the single tender moment that was shared between the movie portral of Leanne and Michael's mother. 

As I am in the process of writing a book review that compares the 3 difference versions of Michael Oher's story, I will not use this space to share those thoughts.  I did want use this vehicle to encourage those who watched the film, plan to watch the film, or simply find this an interesting story to take the time to read the Michael Oher version. 

Eagles Players Pledge to Protect Young Boy

With all of the attention surrounding social networking and recruiting, I thought this story was a refreshing break from all the drama of life in sports.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to watch the segment of The View, where 3 Philadelphia Eagles players stepped up to acknowledge the awful ordeal that Nadine has endured and show their support for him in the future. It is clear that Nadine has a supportive family (Father, Mother, and Sister), but it never hurts to feel the amount of love that was shown to him by the Eagles players. They showed up today, in a big way, for this young man and this is why I LOVE ATHLETIC STARDOM!! People can say what they want to about athletes, but most of them take the time to use their celebrity for good and not evil!

As reported by The View hosts, these players rearranged their personal schedules in order to be present for this young man today. I imagine that the relationship that was developed today on the show is something that he will never forget. As he watched the players walk into the room, it was clearly a dream that was so unimaginable to him it brought tears to his eyes. On top of the emotion that his reaction brought to everyone in the room, even stone faced Whoopi, DeSean Jackson goes above and beyond consistantly putting his arms around the young man to assure he was ok! They declared on national television that they consider this young man apart of their family, and made it official when DeSean took the jersey off his back and signed it for Nadine. Topping off this generous act, the players declared to the young man that if he ever found himself in trouble again that they would be there to support him! I hope no one is crazy enough to mess with him again, because The View women even weighed in on this, and who wants to hear their mouths when it hits the fan!

This story has inspired me to keep a database of "Athletes Caught Being Good"! When I was in middle school, we had "Caught Being Good" awards from our teachers at the end of the week. Our C.B.G. awards were so impactful in my life that I am glad to use this to honor Edison Middle School for noticing that being good is a choice! It is easy for us to focus on the bad things, where the good things seem to just pass us by. I will be sure to upload any stories that I find. If you know of any please share them with me also!

In the words of the acclaimed Whoopi Goldberg and sometimes Barbara Walters.... "Take a little time to enjoy The View"!

The Ultimate Princess Collection

Like most people, the excitement over the new addition of the African American princess to the Disney collection has been delayed due to the question of if or when they would add her to the infamous princess collection. As you can see from the photo above, the time has finally come. Each time I go to the grocery store or the department store, I make it a point to visit the toy department to examine what I hoped to be an updated princess collection. I have been frustrating seeing that the update had yet to occur. I decided that I would not purchase any toys or apparel for the new Disney Princess Tiana until I saw that she had been incorporated into the collection. Seeing this new gift, with Tiana prominately placed in the middle makes me proud to purchase this item for my nieces.