NBA Stars Showcase "I Can't Breathe" Shirts

LeBron James, Barclays Center, Brooklyn
(Image: chicagotribune.com)

In the past few days, a number of pro basketball players ahve worn "I Can't Breathe" shirts during pre-game activities. The tops refer to the Eric Garner case, in which an undercover New York City policeman used a fatal chokehold on a man arrested for illegally selling loose cigarettes. The stars included LeBron James (who also spoke out after the George Zimmerman "stand your ground" case), Kevin Garnett, and Deron Williams. The first out of the gate, so to speak, was Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, who wore the shirt at the Bulls' Saturday night game. Today's Chicago Tribune noted the tributes, as well as Rose's role as the first NBA player to go public with the shirt.

Five NFL Players Stage Pre-Game Ferguson Protest

The St. Louis "Five's" Protest
Over the Michael Brown-Darren Wilson Incident
in Ferguson, Missouri
(Image: nbcnews.com)

On November 30th, five St. Louis Rams players walked onto their hometown field with their hands up. The gesture imitated the "don't shoot" protest style seen recently in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri. The five made their visual statement before the game against the Oakland Raiders began.

NFL headquarters wisely dodged the issue when quizzed for its response. For a league that has fined players for wearing accessories the NFL did not sanction, its matador PR move was highly unusual. Alas, a spokesperson for St. Louis police officers reacted in ways long on anger and desperately short on brains.

Major pro sports arguably have the highest profile for race relations in the United States. In the 1980s,  many NBA fans were divided along racial lines in the Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird debate. Some Caucasian baseball players openly expressed their displeasure about an Obama presidency, including a few who repeated the lie about BO "not being one of us." NFL players have traditionally been condemned to political silence via restrictive contracts and reactionary owners; the St. Louis "Five's" actions should be considered in that context.

The majority of pro athletes come from less than prosperous backgrounds. In the case of African-American players, it's safe to say most are making more money and have achieved more prominence than anyone in their family, among their friends, or in their original neighborhoods. Their material success is often fleeting, while hard times and mean streets stubbornly endure. The black athlete also viscerally understands how young African-American males are viewed by police officers.

It's a wonder that more NFL and NBA players didn't express their opinion about the Ferguson incident during their most recent games. However, one should not interpret their silence as acquiescence to a society that once imagined itself "post-racial".

Report Finds Deep South Was Epicenter of Election Day "Hate" Tweets

One historic aspect of this year's presidential election was the first re-election of an African-American chief executive. Ever since Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2008, one wondered whether he would be one-term president, or even be alive to complete a first term. Race was always hanging around this presidency, and certainly so during the 2012 election campaign. Obama v. Romney included offensive episodes such as Donald Trump's repellent, insulting $5 million dollar offer for the 44th president to produce his college records. In this case, we're talking about a doubting a president who was a Harvard Law grad.

While few people told pollsters they were voting against Obama simply because he was a brother, racism was unquestionably a factor Democrats and Republicans took into account in certain states. However, evidence of articulated racism is a little tricky to identify.

According to a story appearing in today's online edition of the LA Times, during the final days of the election period, and Election Day itself, some academic researchers "analyzed 'hate' tweets by geography." The results: Alabama and Mississippi led the pack in this shameful category, with many states of the former Confederacy following close behind.

It's an interesting story, and one that won't vanish after January 20, 2013.

Ishmael Reed's "Juice!"

Ishmael Reed's most recent book, Juice!, reminds me why I've enjoyed his work over the years. The novel uses trickster characters to deliver humorous and sharp observations of life in these United States. His book is filled with spot-on observations regarding race, social class, politics, and the media. Reed's darts, aimed at those who profited from the Simpson circus, are particularly effective. He also points out that backdoor racism, notably bubbling around some of President Obama's critics, is not news for minority groups that live in America. It's an everyday event, especially for African-American males.

Satire as a means of intellectual expression has a long, honorable history. Juice! is a worthy addition to works that compel readers to consider look at themselves and the society in which they live. It's a book of imagination, style, and intellectual courage that's sorely needed now. For a taste of Reed's current ventures, take a look at Konch Magazine.

Abercrombie & Fitch's "Jersey Shore" Situation

Today's publicity stunt involving Abercrombie and Fitch and MTV's Jersey Shore series generated the attention both firms most devoutly desired.

However, it raised issues that ironically get to the malignant heart of both brands' success. According to The New York Times article on the manufactured flap, A&F offered to pay MTV so that Jersey Shore's actors would not be shown wearing its clothing. As A&F noted in a statement, "This association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans."

If the fans are "distressed," then they have way too much time on their hands. However, A&F makes it clear the issue is entirely about social class. Jersey Shore is popular because it's a caricature of perceived lower class stupidity and foolishness. In the bad old days, condescending, demeaning shows used African-American caricatures as entertainment vehicles. That faded away in the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement. However, the mockery of lower classes has returned more or less in tandem with the recent, increased division of America into a "have" or "have not" society. Jersey Shore has successfully tapped into this unsavory zeitgeist, the same one that produces Abercrombie and Ken's "aspirational" branding.

Jersey Shore has something else in common with the old minstrel shows. Its principal character, Snooki, is "swarthy." She is as distant from the look of, say, Pippa Middleton or any number of pouty Russian blonde supermodels, as one can be. Snooki doesn't portray a very bright woman. She celebrates her grotesque cheapness, which enables an audience to indulge in feelings of class superiority. Snooki's dark complexion and moronic character are part of the "lower class" package, a backdoor form of racism that has morphed into classism.

Depressingly, American classism extends across ethnic lines, age, sexual preferences, and gender. It's now routine for American discourse to coalesce around assumed class structures. NPR, for example, has implied its audience's level of sophistication is essentially a matter of class. "Aspirational" fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie and Fitch are entirely about social striving. Sex and the City was basically a valentine to decidedly unswarthy women whose greatest goal in life was to enjoy the bourgeois life of America's "aspirational" capital, Manhattan South of 96th Street.

A different Abercrombie and Fitch message was heard on Wall Street last week, when A&F announced quarterly earnings. As financial journalists often say, "analysts were disappointed," and A&F's shares promptly fell 8 percent. If that corporate performance continues in the same way, Abercrombie and Fitch may end up worn by the "wrong" people, seen in the "wrong" places, and perceived the "wrong" way. A&F will be on the wrong side of the social tracks, and they won't get Snooki and The Situation to wear their clothes. Even if Abercrombie and Fitch paid them.

The photo shows Jersey Shore cast members; the shrimpy woman is Snooki.

The Donovan McNabb Benching

The Washington Redskins, which entered the season touted as a playoff contender, have played poorly nearly all season. Someone had to take the fall for their tawdry record. Coach Mike Shanahan decided it wouldn't be him. Instead, he chose to bench his starting quarterback Donovan McNabb for the season's final three games. Further, Shanahan implied McNabb would not be with the Redskins next year, or any year after that.

Washington traded with Philadelphia for the rights to McNabb earlier this year. The Skins gave up a second round draft pick, and a lower pick, for the player they envisioned as one who could get the team to the playoffs. That 2nd rounder, along with Michael Vick's incredible year for the Eagles, is making the deal seem like a steal for Philly.

The fact is McNabb plays on a bad team now. Washington can't run the ball. It can't pass protect. Some starters have had more experience on the practice squad than against bona fide NFL teams. The Skins have more than the usual quotient of prima donnas, even for a glamour franchise such as Washington. The coaches are blessed with very high opinions of their own abilities that do not consistently correspond with their performances. Somehow, McNabb was supposed to transform this base lead into playoff gold. He never had a chance.

McNabb's career has been haunted by a weird combination of outsized expectations, underestimation of his skills, solid performance, and disappointing games. He has endured draft day boos from Philadelphia fans. He managed to co-exist with coach-killer teammate Terrell Owens. McNabb's Super Bowl puke moment continues to dog him. Unlike many other NFL quarterbacks, it was always McNabb's fault when his team didn't make the playoffs (which was rare). It was infrequently noted that Philly's receivers in McNabb's best years were dog shit (except T.O.), and McNabb made the best of the situation. That included a decade in which Philly was a consistent playoff contender, and McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook were the essence of the offense. All they did was win.

McNabb also happens to be the highest profile African-American quarterback in the league. Race baiters view McNabb as a target. Most notably, he was the victim of malicious, highly public racist statements in 2003 from unfair, unbalanced closet drug addict Rush Limbaugh. McNabb showed in that episode such strength of character that it should have presumably ended all questions about his heart and mind.

Nonetheless, complete respect for McNabb's career accomplishments continues to elude the Chicago-born player. Washington coach Shanahan's entourage has leaked various

unflattering comments about McNabb's work ethic, mastery of detail, and other flaws. The spin just doesn't add up, and the evidence from the Redskin players says as much. Shanahan's coterie, which enabled surly drunk Jay Cutler in Denver, at one point painted a picture of a "lazy" McNabb who "lacks the necessities" for the position. The parallels with racist smears are disturbing ones, and especially unseemly in a city whose population is predominantly African-American. Anyone who thinks these ideas don't come from Shanahan himself should look up the former Denver coach's deep desire and willingness to exert iron control.

I hope the Skins drop McNabb. He can follow former Redskin (and African-American) quarterback Jason Campbell out of town, someplace far away, someplace where McNabb will finally be appreciated for what he brings to his job every day. Campbell has never looked back to DC, and I don't think McNabb will, either. However, DC will look back at them and ask why they are successful elsewhere, but not in Landover. The answers won't be pretty.