Tip of the hat to Kenny Smith

[Dattier]

I heard Kenny Smith on a radio show this morning, talking about his activism along the lines of Melo's, et al. Really good stuff. He was talking about giving back to impoverished, disenfranchised communities -- communities many NBA players come from. It was proactive, and while not skirting the issue of systemic racism and the need for reform in policing, his focus was much more on what he, NBA players, and community members themselves can do to improve things. That type stuff has always been going on, but because it has lacked the visibility of NBA players' being attached to it, all some people hear are the pleas for help beyond their community. Without knowing all the efforts being done in such communities, a lot of people incorrectly and negligently think those pleas are the first thing anyone does, and they unfairly interpret them as expecting "handouts."

Anyway, kudos to the Jet for putting his money where his mouth is, taking responsibility, and having the heart to give back.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I heard Kenny Smith on a radio show this morning, talking about his activism along the lines of Melo's, et al. Really good stuff. He was talking about giving back to impoverished, disenfranchised communities -- communities many NBA players come from. It was proactive, and while not skirting the issue of systemic racism and the need for reform in policing, his focus was much more on what he, NBA players, and community members themselves can do to improve things. That type stuff has always been going on, but because it has lacked the visibility of NBA players' being attached to it, all some people hear are the pleas for help beyond their community. Without knowing all the efforts being done in such communities, a lot of people incorrectly and negligently think those pleas are the first thing anyone does, and they unfairly interpret them as expecting "handouts."

Anyway, kudos to the Jet for putting his money where his mouth is, taking responsibility, and having the heart to give back.

 

[UNC71-00]

Thanks Dat. Drop by anytime- the board could use an intelligent liberal who doesn't take shit personally.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Here's my thing when it comes to the media wanting athletes to speak out and be more active with social and political issues...

....why?

No offense to pro athletes, but most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers. Even if they're not dumb, they still usually lack awareness and education of American politics, social struggle, et al. Why? Because they're really damn good at sports and since age ~14, have lived in a cocoon where their entire life is made up of gyms, weight rooms, stadiums, cars, women, fancy houses, plane rides, and all of that. It's not their fault; it's just the lifestyle and experiences that elite athletes face. A lot of these guys are so good that they skip college altogether, or they go to college but let's face it, they're focused on their craft as an athlete, not on watching CNN every night.

So why on earth do we want athletes or actors or any celebrities to be more involved in political and social activism...? 99% of them are grossly unqualified to speak about such things, regardless if they skew liberal or conservative. I do not understand why the media constantly begs for athletes to take a stand on political and social issues (although I have a working theory . . )

 

[tarheel0910]

Here's my thing when it comes to the media wanting athletes to speak out and be more active with social and political issues...

....why?

No offense to pro athletes, but most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers. Even if they're not dumb, they still usually lack awareness and education of American politics, social struggle, et al. Why? Because they're really damn good at sports and since age ~14, have lived in a cocoon where their entire life is made up of gyms, weight rooms, stadiums, cars, women, fancy houses, plane rides, and all of that. It's not their fault; it's just the lifestyle and experiences that elite athletes face. A lot of these guys are so good that they skip college altogether, or they go to college but let's face it, they're focused on their craft as an athlete, not on watching CNN every night.

So why on earth do we want athletes or actors or any celebrities to be more involved in political and social activism...? 99% of them are grossly unqualified to speak about such things, regardless if they skew liberal or conservative. I do not understand why the media constantly begs for athletes to take a stand on political and social issues (although I have a working theory . . )

 

[Archer2]

Here's my thing when it comes to the media wanting athletes to speak out and be more active with social and political issues...

....why?

No offense to pro athletes, but most of them are dumber than a bag of hammers. Even if they're not dumb, they still usually lack awareness and education of American politics, social struggle, et al. Why? Because they're really damn good at sports and since age ~14, have lived in a cocoon where their entire life is made up of gyms, weight rooms, stadiums, cars, women, fancy houses, plane rides, and all of that. It's not their fault; it's just the lifestyle and experiences that elite athletes face. A lot of these guys are so good that they skip college altogether, or they go to college but let's face it, they're focused on their craft as an athlete, not on watching CNN every night.

So why on earth do we want athletes or actors or any celebrities to be more involved in political and social activism...? 99% of them are grossly unqualified to speak about such things, regardless if they skew liberal or conservative. I do not understand why the media constantly begs for athletes to take a stand on political and social issues (although I have a working theory . . )

Agreed, they're some of the least informed people in the country and live in a fairy land world that most Americans can't even begin to relate to in any real way. By and large, they're politically and socially ignorant. The bad thing is that their views carry weight with much of the uninformed masses, who take it as gospel.

 

[gunslingerdick]

If you're looking to an athlete for your social justice inspiration, then I doubt you're the type of person I hope gets inspired.

 

[Dattier]

There's a pretty solid history of athletes being involved in social justice issues: Kareem, Ali, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Russell. You could make the case that student-athletes were truly student-athletes back in the day compared to nowadays, but then again, it's not like we're looking to those guys to be the brains of the operation. They're citizens with concerns just like any of us, but their celebrity status means they can be more effective spokespersons than the rest of us. If you have the passion to be involved, there's usually a place for you somewhere.

As for issues related to race, police, and violence, a lot of it is complicated by the fact that it's hard to define. Like, unless someone admits openly they are, in fact, racist, how do you ever prove it? Can you prove it? Is that even a legit expectation? We've all witnessed things that appeared to be racist, but upon further inspection, were misunderstandings or/and unintentional, and "That's not what I meant!" is a pretty unfalsifiable response even if it's a lie. The systemic nature of most racism these days means it's not even about individuals who have conscious malice in their hearts as often, so much as people get indoctrinated and used like puppets in some bigger system. So a lot of it, then, is about perception, and regardless of how intelligent someone is or how well trained they are in some social engineering field, they have experience and personal insight into it.

 

[UNC71-00]

There's a pretty solid history of athletes being involved in social justice issues: Kareem, Ali, Jim Brown, Billie Jean King, Russell. You could make the case that student-athletes were truly student-athletes back in the day compared to nowadays, but then again, it's not like we're looking to those guys to be the brains of the operation. They're citizens with concerns just like any of us, but their celebrity status means they can be more effective spokespersons than the rest of us. If you have the passion to be involved, there's usually a place for you somewhere.

As for issues related to race, police, and violence, a lot of it is complicated by the fact that it's hard to define. Like, unless someone admits openly they are, in fact, racist, how do you ever prove it? Can you prove it? Is that even a legit expectation? We've all witnessed things that appeared to be racist, but upon further inspection, were misunderstandings or/and unintentional, and "That's not what I meant!" is a pretty unfalsifiable response even if it's a lie. The systemic nature of most racism these days means it's not even about individuals who have conscious malice in their hearts as often, so much as people get indoctrinated and used like puppets in some bigger system. So a lot of it, then, is about perception, and regardless of how intelligent someone is or how well trained they are in some social engineering field, they have experience and personal insight into it.

Well said.

I don't mind athletes or other celebrities speaking out at all. I will listen when I chose and ignore when I chose. And given today's environment, I don't understand why an athlete is less qualified to publicly comment than someone running for political office.

 

[strummingram]

Even if they're not dumb, they still usually lack awareness and education of American politics, social struggle, et al. Why? Because they're really damn good at sports and since age ~14, have lived in a cocoon where their entire life is made up of gyms, weight rooms, stadiums, cars, women, fancy houses, plane rides, and all of that. It's not their fault; it's just the lifestyle and experiences that elite athletes face. A lot of these guys are so good that they skip college altogether, or they go to college but let's face it, they're focused on their craft as an athlete, not on watching CNN every night.

So why on earth do we want athletes or actors or any celebrities to be more involved in political and social activism...? 99% of them are grossly unqualified to speak about such things, regardless if they skew liberal or conservative. I do not understand why the media constantly begs for athletes to take a stand on political and social issues (although I have a working theory . . )

Take out sports and athletics, and replace them with being lawyers, or born into wealth in general, and you also described just about every politician as well.

 

[Dattier]

Well said.

I don't mind athletes or other celebrities speaking out at all. I will listen when I chose and ignore when I chose. And given today's environment, I don't understand why an athlete is less qualified to publicly comment than someone running for political office.

I don't like the things Curt Schilling tends to say, for example, but it's never about his authority or expertise. He's a dude expressing his opinion. I don't like it b/c I disagree and think he's off-base, not b/c a former baseball player shouldn't comment on the things he observes from approximately the same distance I observe them from.

 

[UNC71-00]

I don't like the things Curt Schilling tends to say, for example, but it's never about his authority or expertise. He's a dude expressing his opinion. I don't like it b/c I disagree and think he's off-base, not b/c a former baseball player shouldn't comment on the things he observes from approximately the same distance I observe them from.

Right. Although I tend to more pay attention, at least initially, to athletes/celebs that I like. Although I probably am somewhat aligned politically with Schilling, I think the guy is a jerk so I ignore him. Whereas I probably was on the opposite end of the spectrum from Dean Smith, but I would pay attention to what he had to say.