I often speak alot about “lazy journalism” in regards to the mainstream media. Sometimes it is just easier to go along with the stereotype than do some research.
Go back to the NFL Draft.
Who did you hear Texas Wide Receiver Jordan Shipley compared to?
Wes Welker
Who did you hear Stanford Running Back Toby Gerhart compared to?
Mike Alsott
Just a little research that Shipley compares more to Derek Mason style receiver while Gerhart runs similar to Brandon Jacobs.
But that isn’t easy. Just compare the white guys to the white guys and move on. It is a common theme in sports and it is a common theme in life.
So was I shocked (or appalled) when I read this quote from The Big Lead in response to Jesse Jackson’s “slave mentality” comments about Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert? :
Jackson’s comments have drawn ire from a number of critics, including Jason Whitlock and Black Sports Online, which, as the BET of sports blogs, should hardly be confused as a voice of racial reason, but is significant nonetheless as the “#1 ranked independently black-owned sports web site” according to the web site.
No I wasn’t because it is easy.
I am young black man born and raised in hip hop culture, who routinely uses colorful analogies and phrases to make my point, who is outspoken, outgoing and not afraid to say what is on my mind.
So lets just compare him and his site to BET.
Because his site has “Black” in front of it, lets assume he could never speak on a racial topic reasonably. Black men aren’t reasonable, we are angry, loud and biased right?
How could a black man, with a black site, who has model friends ever be “impartial”.
I mean T.O. is a Thug right? Marvin Harrison is the “good guy”?
Lazy journalism just doesn’t apply when we are talking about athletes, it is also when we are talking about ourselves and our profession.
To his credit the author of the post, Geoff Decker, did contact me after I voiced my displeasure via twitter. He didn’t deny that the BET reference wasn’t a compliment and that is was made because of the correlation of promoting scantily clad women and models between BSO and BET.
You know something— I have no issue with that because it is based in logic the problem that I have is in the context of when the reference is made.
If you want to preach about that, that is fine, but when you address a serious issue like slavery, that is not the time or place to get your point across by stating that I like to post Kim Kardashian pics.
Furthermore, there is no excuse for the statement claiming that I should not be confused with the voice of racial reason.
If anything, I am more qualified to speak about race issues than most reporters because I come from where these guys come from.
Every crew from where I come from has a Michael Vick, an A.I., a T.O., a Marvin Harrison and a Tiger Woods.
I went to The Ohio State University, I know the Roethlisberger types.
So if you are going to question my “racial reason”, I would like to see that proven. And the fact that I present scantily clad models on my site is not “proof” enough. Because for every model photo displayed on BSO, I have fifteen more articles with content that is bar none some of the best sports analysis online.
Furthermore, I have nothing against BET and their station—I watched the BET Awards this year and witnessed the cry seen ’round the world’. But some have argued that BET doesn’t do much for our culture or our race. I will have you know that in the case of my site, BSO has been one of the few level-headed, not quick to crucify not just Blacks in sports, but sports figures in general. While other sites (cough, cough) rush to judgment, I make sure to verify all facts before reporting any story.
Then again, I could have just been like Jesse Jackson and said they just trying to keep me down like a “slave”, but that wouldn’t have been very “reasonable” now would it?