It's nearly impossible for something I hear on television to wake me out
of my sleep. Some exceptions might be the start of a nuclear war or the
voice of
Beyonce Knowles. But this morning, I heard a
voice that yanked me out of La-La land faster than you could say,
"Whatchu talkin about, Willis?"
Sports commentator
Dick Vitale was on the
ESPN
show "
Mike & Mike in the Morning" talking about
the possibilities of trading of NBA superstar
Carmelo Anthony.
The hosts were discussing the rumor that Anthony may copy
LeBron
James and join forces with two other superstars headed to the
same team.
In reference to his frustration about the idea of men like Anthony
choosing their own fate, Vitale said that such moves were like "
inmates
controlling the asylum."
What in the f&%* did he just say?
I then heard Mike & Mike (two white male hosts who have been accused
of making racist comments, such as
"Martin Luther Coon," in the past) go on
to state how "
Dicky V" was right in his comments and
that if you are NBA commissioner David Stern, you'd be frustrated about
the fact that guys like Carmelo are engaging in such outrageous behavior
(Greenberg, the one who referred to MLK as a "coon," was most adamant
in his agreement with Vitale).
It was interesting to hear a group of white males agree that
black men choosing their own professional fate reminded them of a pack
of out-of-control inmates.
During
Black
History Month, one can't help but see the irony of their
remarks when put in the context of our nation's past, where white
male–dominated systems have managed the personal and professional
decisions of African-American men.
I wonder if Dick Vitale, as a 72-year-old white male who's earned
millions from the unpaid labor of predominantly black NCAA athletes,
realizes the massive implications of comparing a group of athletes to
"inmates."
His comments take you back to those of
Cleveland Cavaliers
owner
Dan Gilbert, who expressed
serious outrage over LeBron James' decision to (gasp)
decide where he wanted to work the following year.
For some reason, men like Vitale and Gilbert somehow believe that
athletes are commodities that they own who've been put on this earth for
the sole purpose of providing them with entertainment.
Let's be straight about the issues here:
NCAA athletes, who butter the economic bread of Dick Vitale and keep his
bank account full, are among the most-exploited group of Americans in
existence. The league earns billions of dollars from the labor of
athletes, and most of the individuals who provide the dominant source of
the entertainment are black men who come from poverty. All the while,
the beneficiaries of this form of "athletic apartheid," are old white
guys like Vitale who see no problem with stripping the labor rights of
other Americans in order to fatten their pockets.
The NBA is another shop where athletes are significantly
underpaid relative to what they would earn in a free and fair market.
Due to highly restricted collective-bargaining agreements, NBA salaries
have not risen very much relative to what they were in the mid-1990s.
For the first three years of his career, LeBron James only earned
roughly one-tenth of the massive value he brought to the Cleveland
Cavaliers, in large part because of salary caps that would be illegal in
almost any other industry in America.
Part of the reason that legislators allow the NBA and NCAA to get away
with gross violations of the
anti-trust law is because the
individuals being affected are African American.
In no sports
other than basketball and football do you see ridiculous age limits
telling athletes when they can and can't go pro (these age limits force
athletes to work for free in college, supporting the NCAA revenue
stream).
So individuals like Vitale and Greenberg, who are accustomed to seeing
black men controlled and managed like animals at the zoo, become
outraged when these men utilize what few labor rights they have to make
decisions that are best for themselves and their families.
There is only one place beyond the NCAA where black men are
more readily used as commodities, and that's the prison system itself.
Given that prison inmates are also controlled like cattle, have nearly
all of their labor rights stolen from them and are utilitized for the
economic gain of predominantly white institutions, it's almost
subconsciously magical that Vitale would refer to a group of
predominantly black male athletes as "inmates."
But the truth is that there is a pattern of paternalistic white
privilege that underscores this disturbing link in terminology and
Vitale needs to realize that athletes are not inmates and that they
desire to be free men just like him.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is
the founder of the Your
Black World Coalition To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to
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Google+ is sponsoring and live streaming a four-game NBA exhibition tour starring LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and other big stars next month.
