Latest posts (RSS 2.0)All the blog posts in the world wouldn’t be able to properly deconstruct the problems with the false notion of “reverse racism” white people pull out when they get tired of being held responsible for colonialism.
But we’ll save that discussion for another day.
It’s exam season and I want us to have something a tad lighter to focus on, like ESPN’s latest Outside the Lines episode on white men as a minority in the NBA.
In a dramatic voiceover, we’re told that middle America’s biggest nightmare has come true: black men have taken over the NBA. From out of nowhere, our OTL hosts pull out stats that 71.8 per cent of NBAers are African-Americans, 18.3 per cent are international players and only 9.9 per cent are white Americans. For shame.
The episode takes us on a journey with wannabe-baller Kyle McAlarney, who bemoans the discrimination he’s faced because of his (white) skin. He tells us that he wants to make the NBA a more inclusive place for “guys like [him.]” He forgets to tell us he was invited to the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer league and promptly booted to the D-League for improvement. He forgets to add that many players, including black and Asian ones, have been dealt the same fate.
You know what? Last I checked, white men are still the commissioners, coaches, general managers, commentators, referees and the majority of courtside seat holders in the NBA and in most other professional sports.
Don’t even get me started on hockey.
