Originally posted by newAD:
Originally posted by jeans15:
As a black man, I can tell you I'm tired of hearing about racial issues. We all do the samething just a little different. You might find out you like another way better.
Agree totally! I'm just trying to point out that basketball's history is intersects with numerous stories that involve race. As I mentioned before, The Texas Western/Kentucky story is one of the most famous games in the history of the sport. It will always be there.
Larry Bird's career will always be linked to the Isiah Thomas' comment about if Bird was black, he'd just be another "good guy."
NBA TV every so often plays a 2 hour show about Bird and Magic Johnson's rivalry and friendship. There's all sorts of racial aspects brought up in that show.
I brought up the Fab 5 in an earlier post. You can't talk about the Fab 5 without bringing up the negative letters sent by alumni with nagative racial comments about the team. These things are history, and shouldn't be forgotten, as it's not only history, but microcosms of our society.
My point is that there are reasons why Wisconsin's racial make up is what it is, and it's of interest to people, or the story wouldn't have been written. Race and basketball collide to this day, down to the youth level. I've seen it and heard it. As long as it exists at the youth level, then people will talk about race and basketball.
When I said basketball is probably the one place where you could have a peaceful conversation about race, this is what I meant. I bet you could put Bobby Hurley, Christian Laetner, Jalen Rose, and Chris Webber (heated rivals 20 years ago) in a room and have them talk about race and basketball. I'd bet there'd be some disturbing stories, but Id but it'd be full of laughter too. As a fan, I'd love to just sit and listen, and I bet people would learn something!
So I don't see talk about race and basketball as a negative thing. Basketball more than any other sport brings people of opposing races together. The players don't have pads and helmets on, so you see who they are. The fans aren't sitting in large outdoor stadiums, they are in close proximity indoors in gyms. People if they are open minded can see that we all do the same things just a little differently and that's ok.