On a recent Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel I watched NBA legend Bill Russell and NFL great Jim Brown talk about their activism during the 1960s. I was really interested in Brown's assessment of Michael Jordan's and Tiger Woods' lack of activism in the face of gang violence and overt racism in coaching ranks of the NFL and Major League Baseball. There is also the issue of the unavailability of access to major competitive golf by African Americans and other American minorities.
My question to Mr. Brown is this, "What were you fighting for?" Were you fighting for the rights of Mr. Jordan and Mr. Woods to be whom they please or where you fighting a battle that will never be won? The world that Mr. Jordan performed in and in which Mr. Woods continues to perform is a vastly different place. Your world was marred by racial hate and violence. Mr. Woods' parents are interracial and Mr. Jordan is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. In your world, African Americans galvanized around one common cause. In their world African Americans have become a fragmented society with upper-classes assimilating into American culture and the lower-classes relegated to the fringes.
You expect Mr. Woods and Mr. Jordan to go wading off into the battle of young African Americans killing themselves when that world is as foreign to them as African-American women were to you during your film career. Michael Jordan grew up with a loving father and mother who were the caretakers of his dreams. Tiger Woods was playing golf on TV when he was two.
Tiger Woods At 2 Years Old - The funniest movie is here. Find it
I agree with you that these two ultra-competitors should take a more social role in the world they live in. However, both of these men contribute to the fight quietly and with a modicum of dignity. Yet, you chide Mr. Woods for teaching kids to play golf.
As an African-American educator, I see the devastation caused when our African-American students who don't have access to these worlds are left on the fringes. I'm more interested in the fact that Mr. Jordan is keeping kids in school in his home state and that Mr. Woods is active in opening up all areas of athletics to all people.
My question to Mr. Brown is this, "What were you fighting for?" Were you fighting for the rights of Mr. Jordan and Mr. Woods to be whom they please or where you fighting a battle that will never be won? The world that Mr. Jordan performed in and in which Mr. Woods continues to perform is a vastly different place. Your world was marred by racial hate and violence. Mr. Woods' parents are interracial and Mr. Jordan is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. In your world, African Americans galvanized around one common cause. In their world African Americans have become a fragmented society with upper-classes assimilating into American culture and the lower-classes relegated to the fringes.
You expect Mr. Woods and Mr. Jordan to go wading off into the battle of young African Americans killing themselves when that world is as foreign to them as African-American women were to you during your film career. Michael Jordan grew up with a loving father and mother who were the caretakers of his dreams. Tiger Woods was playing golf on TV when he was two.
Tiger Woods At 2 Years Old - The funniest movie is here. Find it
I agree with you that these two ultra-competitors should take a more social role in the world they live in. However, both of these men contribute to the fight quietly and with a modicum of dignity. Yet, you chide Mr. Woods for teaching kids to play golf.
As an African-American educator, I see the devastation caused when our African-American students who don't have access to these worlds are left on the fringes. I'm more interested in the fact that Mr. Jordan is keeping kids in school in his home state and that Mr. Woods is active in opening up all areas of athletics to all people.
I think it is time that we look at this fight in a different light. Muhammad Ali's fight was a fight against injustice and I applaud you for stepping in and supporting him when you did. However, the battle is different and you may be asking two people who are unequipped to lead the fight. You and Mr. Russell created Michael Jordan and Tiger woods. You should be proud, but don't blame them for just being themselves, it is what you fought for.
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