Barry Unfairly Targeted | Barry Brings it On Himself
Is Racism Holding Barry Back?
By Ray Holloman, AOL BlackVoices
Hitting a baseball may very well be the only thing Barry Bonds does better than dividing public opinion.
There’s definitely nothing he does more often.
When the 2005 season gets under way in three weeks, Barry Bonds will once again take aim at Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs. When he does, he’ll do it under a cloud of suspicion that makes the Mount St. Helen’s explosion look like a puff of smoke.
So we asked you: Is the media criticism of Bonds fair? If Barry Bonds were a white star like Mark McGwire would the nation fixate on the steroids scandal or would we celebrate him regardless? Here’s what you said. Read our top responses first and be sure to click on a viewpoint above to get more of your responses. And don’t miss former Major League pitcher Chuck Smith’s response.
Got a topic you want to discuss in BV Sports Town Hall? Drop us an e-mail and we’ll serve it up.
Your Responses:
If people learn nothing else from this discussion, let it be this: Race matters in everything in sports.
If Barry Bonds were white of course all this would be different. When a minority -- someone like Barry Bonds -- does not value the opinions of, or goes out of his way to accommodate the majority -- as in majority of the sportswriters in the country being white -- that majority considers the sins of the minority greater.
Heck, it doesn't even have to be a sin. Curt Schilling risked his career with extremely risky surgery to pitch in the World Series. That bloody sock was symbolic of his supreme fortitude and courage. Fast-forward a couple of months. Terrell Owens risked his career with extremely risky accelerated rehab (including a hyperbaric chamber in his hotel room) to play in the Super Bowl. His actions became emblematic of supreme selfishness and jeopardizing the Eagles' chances.
In interviews, white players (Jeff Kent, Pete Rose) coaches (Bob Knight, Bill Parcells) who behave like jerks are considered intense. Black players (Bonds) or coaches (John Chaney) who are intense are considered jerks.
Roger Clemens doesn't run out a weak grounder to the pitcher and he is conserving his energy. Barry Bonds doesn't run out a pop up in the infield and he is lazy
The first game following a team mutiny that forced a great coach, Brian Hill, off the Orlando Magic bench, each black starter was booed lustily during pre-game introductions. The one white starter, Rony Seikaly was greeted with thunderous cheers. When I asked a good 'ol boy sportswriter what the deal was with that, since the whole team said Hill had to go, he responded that it was because of Seikaly's "work ethic."
On a Sunday night broadcast, Brett Favre scrambles and unconscionably flips the mother of all careless passes out in the flats. It is nearly intercepted, but he is not scolded by the enamored announcers for it. He is instead lauded for being a gunslinger and almost making something out of nothing. Donovan McNabb does something less egregious, and with far lower risk, and he is pilloried for being undisciplined.
Example
Announcer Speak:
Talented = black
Plays with his head = white
Great athlete = black
Plays with heart = white
Gifted = black
Not gifted, but makes up for it with effort = white
Talent Evaluation, Football
The kid's a Steve Largent type = white receiver
The kid's a Steve McNair type = black quarterback
Baseball
He's good for the ballclub and a good guy to have in the clubhouse = a .213 white player
He's in AAA = a .213 black player
I could go on, but you get the point. Race matters. And if you are Barry Bonds and get asked every day about how you may have cheated, while others get nowhere near the scrutiny, you'd be "intense," too.
Turner1961
Prejudiced America tries to put the spotlight on sports where there are a majority of black players. America skips over white violence in sports like the No. 1 sport of violence, hockey, not to mention soccer, lacrosse and others. This country is so hypocritical and there is always a double standard. It's just like the white-collar criminal gets to rob and put away the loot until he gets out of jail. He does a short sentence in a not so bad prison and then he's off to the Bahamas once he is released. The black man who commits the robbery because he can't find work or wasn't afforded and equal education is put in the worst of jails for a longer amount of time. Sports is the least of the problems!
A. Lebby
SumAGoodFood