Sunday, September 13, 2009

Black Athletes


Is it just me or do black athletes have a tendency to look crazy in front of the mainstream media? I just witnessed Serena Williams cuss out a referee in tennis and this thought occurred to me. Why do black athletes, as opposed to athletes of other races tend to act out? Is it because the media is racist? Is it because we really are crazier? Or is it because there are simply more black athletes than any other race?

Michael Vick got caught for dog fighting, Plaxico Burrus shot himself, Terrell Owens is well Terrell Owens, LaGarette Blount punched an opponent, Stephon Marbury ate Chapstick and now Serena Williams cussed out a ref at the U.S. Open. These are just a few examples of black athletes messing up and getting caught by the mainstream media. There are too many others to list here.

I do believe that there is a slight bias in the media. It is going to be a bigger story if there is a black athlete is messing up then if a white athlete is messing up. It has become somewhat typical for people to think that this person is going to be black. As of now, people have come to expect it. And I admit that I am one of those people. Oh another professional sports player messed up, and I think to myself I bet he’s black. For example, Michael Vick got caught for dog fighting two whole years ago. And it is still a big story in the media. There were even constant updates while he was in prison. It’s like they just wanted to hammer the point in (he hurt a dog, big deal??? If somebody could explain that to me in the comments, I would appreciate it). Now that he has gotten his career back, people are still criticizing him. On the other hand, Big Ben (quarterback for the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers) has recently been accused of rape (a much more serious crime). And people must have already forgotten about this, because I haven’t heard any updates in a few weeks. The media has decided to let him move on with his life and football career.

And I think that the response to this media bias by the African American community has been to stand behind our athletes. I fully support all of the athletes listed above. I think that they made mistakes but the media has not let them move on from their mistakes. And I also think that they were punished more severely because they are black. In fact, the DA in the Plaxico Burrus case said that he wanted Plaxico punished to the full extent of the law. This to me is another example of racism. Think about this, if a black person carries a weapon, he’s a drug dealer and some kind of criminal. But if a white person carries a gun, the NRA is all over it and defending it as a second amendment right? That does not seem fair at all. I believe Plaxico is being punished for being both an athlete and being black. He did not go out and kill anybody, he accidently shot himself. But yet, the DA wants him prosecuted to the full extent? Something does not seem right.

I know this is a controversial topic. But seeing how the media is treating all of these people really made me angry. It made me see that something isn’t right in the way that these people are being covered by the media.

3 comments:

  1. You are so right!! It is not fair at all. I totally agree about the Mike Vick thing. If it were your average Joe I bet the media would have made one story if that, but because it is Mike Vick they cover it for years.

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  2. The media is so bias, it's not even funny. T.O. is my favorite! I love his new show. =]

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  3. Serena might have gone overboard but that little pos line lady deserved it

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