I read this Washington Post piece about Jeremy Lin and racism. Jeremy Lin and race: Bigotry in sports is nothing new
I'd heard the comments. I've read the tweets from Mayweather & others. Would the media be making such a big deal out of Jeremy Lin if he wasn't a Asian man from Harvard? Honestly? Probably not. But isn't it fun to see greatness on the basketball court from an unlikely source? Yup. Isn't that what sports is all about? Fun. Competition. Great moments. Unexpected greatness. Aren't we at the point in our society where we can just enjoy greatness and not worry about the color of someone's skin?
I consider myself a young man, but I remember in my lifetime when ignorant people thought that the idea of a black quarterback in the NFL was ridiculous. Can you imagine? But it wasn't that long ago. Now in the NFL we can enjoy Tim Tebow & Cam Newton both shining in the NFL and nobody is dumb enough to point out the color of their skin. I never start counting the black or white players on a NFL field. Who is playing what position? Who cares......
Remember Larry Bird? I do. As a kid in Boston during the 80's, I watched Larry Legend win 3 championships. There were rumblings that Bird got a lot of attention because he was white. Isiah Thomas was one of the more famous ones to do so. Bird is a legend and rightfully so. Watching him make winning shots night after night, playing hurt, playing with heart was amazing. Yes he was white. So what?
As a kid I remember having an elderly neighbor who was a huge Red Sox fan like I was. However I could never enjoy talking about the Sox with him. No matter what we would be talking about, he would always come around to saying "I wish there weren't so many N***ers on the team." I would always end the conversations at that point with him & tell him that I couldn't speak with him if he spoke like that. I was a young man, but I was lucky enough to have kind parents that taught me to love everyone & not worry about the color of their skin.
Don't be like that angry old white man. Don't be like Floyd Mayweather. Enjoy sports. Be color blind.
