by Fred Perdue
USC is throwing jabs at Alabama before their big week 1 showdown
The Florida Gators name their starting QB
College Football Is about a week away… Time to get Hyped
Fred Perdue for War Room Sports
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I’ll be honest, I’ve never participated in the “Kobe v. LeBron” or “Kobe v. MJ” debates and I’ve refrained for a simple reason. None of the aforementioned names come anywhere close to being the “greatest” in basketball. I love Floyd Mayweather and he has a success story which is filled with hard work and dedication, yet in still he can never be the “greatest”. I just watched the Super Bowl and was rooting for the Patriots, though after the victory I refused to engage in the “is Tom Brady the greatest?” discussion. Why? Because the greatest is named Jim Brown! The greatest in basketball are named Bill Russell & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! The greatest boxer is named Muhammad Ali!
How do I define greatness, or the “greatest”? I define it by one’s performance on and off the field. To be the “greatest” means that you persevered through far more than anyone else, emerged victorious and uncompromised. How can Michael Jordan, or LeBron James, or Kobe Bryant be the “greatest”? I’ve never heard of MJ speaking up for the inner city youth that die for his shoes, much less the Chinese youth that make them. I appreciate LeBron’s speaking up on issues and his philanthropic efforts, but how does any of that exist without Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? If we are to talk hardware, Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships and did so as both a player and coach in one of the most racially hostile cities in America (Boston). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (aka Mr. Never White America’s Negro) won 6 NBA championships. If we are to talk about more than championships, Bill and Kareem have been avid advocates and spokespersons for Melanin/Hebrew/African-American people! They stood with boxing’s “greatest” Muhammad Ali, as he took on the racist and biased institution.
Jim Brown? Well he only won 1 NFL Championship, yet his fight of racism and injustice, his youth work and his constant advocacy have more diamonds in them than any ring!!!!
Thats how I define greatness……so sorry….MJ never has a chance, Kobe not even close, LeBron (I guess we can wait and see) can be 3rd at best! Brady, no way, Montana, never heard of him. Marshawn………heeeeyyyyy……..ask Jim about that one!
Who can forget that heart felt, tear-jerking, deep speech that had most of us staring at the ceiling a couple of months back? I’m talking about that Kevin Durant MVP speech in which he thanked his mother and called her “the real MVP”. In many Black households, the mother is the alpha and the omega. The father and the mother. She is the first to wake and the last to go to bed. A strong mother who does all is nothing new in the Black community. She is celebrated and in some instances, unappreciated. Yes, unappreciated and even blamed for the misfortunes of her offsprings. One of the worst cases is this despicable video being circulated on Facebook (Video at the bottom of the page). I came across the video a few weeks back and it left me outraged, but thought to let it go. Then it showed up a few more times on my newsfeed, and I decided to say something about it. In summary, the 7:02 minutes long video entitled, “Black Mother and Effeminate Black Sons”, stated that most black gay men become so due to the influence of a strong “masculine and overweight” single mother. If a black man was present in the household the result would be a heterosexual son. In The video we see a woman talking to her son about rape and the videographer says, “R-A-P-E…WTF?!!… As a result, some of them reject their masculinity altogether and embrace femininity”. Really?!!! Raping women makes one a straight man? How is teaching a son how to respect women emasculating? The video doesn’t stop there, as it continues to showcase many youngsters dancing and singing along to Beyonce and Rihanna, as further proof of the numerous gay youngsters, in an effort to add credibility to the point. In summation, the video states that homosexuality is a learned behaviour taught by the single and over-weight black mothers, with overbearing attitudes.
This whole topic had me thinking about this other related notion that I keep seeing and reading about. The notion that the media is emasculating the black man by putting black actors in dresses, with that movement being led by none other than Tyler Perry and Madea. Does seeing RuPaul in drag make a straight black man turn gay? Research has shown that homosexuality in males is partly genetic, with environmental and social factors playing part in determining sexuality; meaning a person can be born with a gay gene. However, who they are sexually attracted to is a whole different story. In other words, biological male homosexuals’ choice of mates is largely influenced by their surroundings. So in some ways, the maker of the video is right; nurture does play a role, but what about all of those strong successful heterosexual black males who come from a single parent home (usually a mother since she is always the one left to take care of the child when a deadbeat father vanishes without a trace). What about those gay sons like Magic Johnson’s and Cookie’s son “EJ”, who comes from a two-parent household? How does one explain their existence? The research on the issue of nature vs. nurture is unclear, and the author’s claim about single black mothers is even more equivocal, but since the research shows that social factors are definitely in play, isn’t the absence of a father more problematic than having a strong, over-bearing mother?
So in making this the fault of the over-weight, single black mother, why aren’t we addressing the elephant in the room? Where is the black father? Why let this woman birth these children, carry the burden of caring and providing for them, and then expect her to turn around and also teach them how to be men? How does a woman teach her son how to be a man? Why isn’t the absent black man taking responsibility for his duty as a father? These, the same men, who can’t be bothered to be fathers, are the same ones making such videos and denouncing the Single Black Mother. Why doesn’t the maker of the video call for a strong black household and family unit? Why blame the person who is doing the best they can against all odds? Are some black men so mad at black women for birthing them that instead of lending them a hand, they kick them while they are down? The problem is not the strong no nonsense black mother; the problem is the absence of a FATHER!!!!! Don’t want a dysfunctional son, don’t be an absent father.
by Jon Carroll
(Image via collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com)
Emmanuel Mudiay made headlines this week by signing the richest contract ever for a high school graduate to go overseas and play basketball. Despite reports that this decision was made to escape inquiries into his eligibility and amateur status by the NCAA, Mudiay has insisted that this was about taking care of his family. He told SI.com “I was tired of seeing my mom struggle”. With his decision to pursue the overseas route to prepare for the NBA, Mudiay joins a group that includes Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler, both of whom are now in the NBA. Mudiay’s decision is a rare one among elite high school prospects, even in the age of having to be nineteen to be draft eligible. I hope that other elite high school athletes will give this avenue increasing consideration moving forward for reasons relating to the court and off.
On the court, there is the obvious issue of pay. Mudiay is scheduled to be paid $1.2M to play for Guangdong of the China Basketball Association. The athletic potential of young black men is commodified so early these days that coaches are forced to scout middle school games in order to stay on top. With that commodification comes parasitic behavior which often leaves the athlete with little to no say over their future. When it comes to college, the popular narrative is that elite prospects should be grateful for the $200-300k in scholarship that they could get over four years and forget about any other possible money they could make, not to mention the first class education. I used to buy into this argument as an educator, but it crumbles when you recognize that the majority of the time, the athlete has long ago decided that they want to be a professional athlete. A year of unwanted classes on a full scholarship pales in comparison to $1.2M and not having to check-in at the 9am lecture or 6pm study hall. If they have an opportunity to pursue their passion at eighteen and be paid for it, then why should they be stopped? Olympic athletes, tennis and baseball players have been exercising this option for years. Young, talented basketball players should feel no shame in doing the same. By doing so, they have an opportunity to escape the identity shackles that American culture places on their worldview.
Going to China effectively gives Mudiay a one year fellowship in one of the leading civilizations in the world. He has an opportunity to experience a completely different lifestyle. This next year will have an impact on his life long after he’s done dribbling the ball. Perhaps he learns the language, perhaps his notion of “blackness” evolves, maybe he makes business contacts that he can leverage when he does make it to the NBA as expected next year. Yes, being seen numerous times on ESPN during the college season is a big stage, but so is becoming a star in China. The exposure on national TV also means little if your game doesn’t develop and you can’t make it past the initial three-year rookie contract.
While Jennings, now a Detroit Piston, lamented that his time in Italy was not all fun and games, he acknowledged that he did mature. It also sounds like he was humbled by not being treated like a star while playing for Lottomatica Virtus Roma. A scout noted that he increased his capacity to play defense and that his draft stock had not been harmed. At worst, Mudiay will be immersed in a professional culture that will prepare him for the rigors of the NBA and he won’t have to worry about being dissected at every turn the way Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker were this past year. He’ll be doing this while controlling all facets of developing his brand, which is a key component to being a professional athlete today.
While the overall success of Jennings’ and Tyler’s careers can be questioned as neither has yet become an all-star, what cannot be denied is that they were not adversely impacted by their time overseas. Ultimately it enabled them an opportunity to pursue their chosen professions at a high level and prepare them to play on the world’s most elite basketball stage. Both matured on the court, and I would venture to guess they learned a lot about being an adult. I expect the same for Mudiay and hope that as these examples continue to mount, that the prospect of going to foreign land will become a more tantalizing option for the nation’s elite high school basketball players who do not want to submit to the current NCAA policy.
Jon Carroll, for War Room Sports
by Gus Griffin
(Image via CBSSports.com)
How can a man pose that the NFL penalty for Ray Rice was about right without coming off as indifferent to domestic violence……or is it even possible?
Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports
