In December of 1997, Latrell Spreewell of the Golden State Warriors allegedly choked his coach, P.J. Carlesimo. Did you hear about that? Sure you did; everybody did. Why? Because before any investigation or trial could begin to take shape, the media had the story on every news channel. Every media outlet, from local news stations to national network programs like 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and Dateline, all had the scoop. And it’s the same with any African-American accused of a crime. Yet Kevin Greene, a Caucasian player of the Carolina Panthers, attacked his coach and this attack was even caught on tape. Did you know that and did you see the tape? If not, it’s because you weren’t tuned in to Sports Central at exactly the right 2.3 seconds that day. Despite the media’s predilection for showing real-world inflammatory tapes like this over and over, in Kevin Greene’s case, his violent tantrum apparently wasn’t worthy of major news coverage.
In October 1997 Jim Harbaugh, a Caucasian player of the Indianapolis Colts, punched a sports announcer after a game because the announcer made a derogatory comment about him. Result: no major news coverage. And in April 2000, Mark Chumara, a Caucasian of the Green Packers, was arrested for rape. Yes, you are reading correctly: Rape, not assault. A felony. Yet the media coverage was so short you could almost hear the yawn.
Sports commentators have always treated the black athlete differently in another respect too: by highlighting the athlete’s physical prowess instead of his or her inherent or proven mental abilities, strategies, or training. For example, “look at his leaping ability” or “she is very fast” or “he is such a great athlete.” For the white athlete, “he is such a hard worker” or “she plays with her head” or ” what a work ethic.”
Is it any wonder that many people believe that black athletes achieve greatness by some fluke of evolution instead of just plain talent and hard work?
Last year, less than 50 of the 1500+ pro black athletes (that’s 3 percent) got into trouble with the law. But because of the sensationalized, over-hyped coverage of this 3 percent, the media has effectively undermined the image of all professional black athletes.
YAAAMS does not condone any negative behavior and understands that individuals are responsible for their own actions. But we also expect the media to keep things in perspective, instead of using its power-deliberately, accidentally, or subconsciously-to mislead and distort the truth.
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