Brown vs. Black - A Story Started Way Before Ferguson

This situation is starting to become very redundant:

Black kid walking/running down the street...

Cop or some wanna-be alleged authority approaches said Black kid...

Some form of harassment occurs...

Black kid ends up dead!

Let's switch trains, something I will do throughout this post, for a few ticks. I have a love-hate for Hollywood because there is so much dysfunction there but they somehow seem to sneak a lot of truth into those movies. Denzel Washington, one of the greats, had a scene in The Great Debaters I would like to reference: The Great Debaters Clip

"Take the meanest...most restless nigger, strip him of his clothes in front of   the remaining male niggers, female niggers, and nigger infants. Tar and feather him. Tie each leg to a horse facing an opposite direction, set him on fire, and beat both horses until they tear him apart in front of the male,female,and nigger infants. Bullwhip and beat the remaining nigger males within an inch of their life. Do not kill them, but put the fear of God in them,for they can be useful for future breeding. Anybody know who Willie Lynch was? Anybody? Raise your hand. No one? He was a vicious slave owner in the West Indies. The slave-masters in the colony of Virginia were having trouble controlling their slaves, so they sent for Mr. Lynch to teach them his methods. The word ''lynching'' came from his last name. His methods were very simple,but they were diabolical. Keep the slave physically strong but psychologically weak and dependent on the slave master. Keep the body, take the mind."

The scary part about Michael Brown's murder is that after he was killed, his body lay in the street for hours uncovered for all to see. Denzel said it, "strip him of his clothes in front of the remaining male niggers, female niggers, and nigger infants....tar and feather him..." They killed that Black boy in front of all those people and left his body, putting the fear of God. 

Since 2011, a little over 7,500 people have been shot with 1442 murdered in the Chicago, mostly Southside. Since 2001, the War in Afghanistan has resulted in the deaths of 2,238 soldiers. In Washington DC, there have been 72 murders, all but 2 are Black or Hispanic deaths. Less than 5 miles outside of DC in Landover, Maryland, a 3-year old girl was shot, accidentally, by an 18-year old Black male. The killer, Davon Wallace, 25, became upset over a shirt and decided to shoot up the entire house, killing the baby girl. You can read the details here. Just so we are clear, Davon became upset over another man wearing his shirt so he pulls out an automatic weapon and shoots up an entire house.

Following the Rodney King incident in 1991, the Los Angeles riots of 1992 occurred after all the officers were acquitted. The riots tore apart the homes and businesses in the Black community even though it was White officers who beat up Rodney King. Twenty-two years later, Michael Brown is murdered and Blacks riot in the neighborhood where the shooting happened...their neighborhood. They do not riot in the neighborhood of the officer who pulled the trigger. Why?

"Keep the body, take the mind." Credibility and consistency are things, that quite honestly, the Black community lacks and it shows through our actions. There is a war going on, literally, in Southside Chicago where more people, on average, have been murdered than the War in Afghanistan. As a culture, what have we done significantly to stop this? Yes, there are individuals who have taken the initiative to do something about this genocide but what are we doing as a people? 

A baby, a 3-year old child is killed right outside the nation's capitol over a damn shirt and not a peep, not a soul said a thing. As of today, Davon Wallace has been apprehended for the murder of this child but no one seems to be "rioting" over this tragic and senseless death! Why?

Why do we (Black people) not get upset over Black-on-Black crime versus when a crime is committed against us by a White person? Why do we riot and destroy our own neighborhoods and businesses when a crime is committed against us by a White person?

BECAUSE WE DO NOT SEE THE VALUE IN OURSELVES! We do not see value because our culture has been diabolically and psychologically torn down so that we are weak and constantly dependent on the master? Who is the master? Giver you a hint, throw you a lifeline....

How are other cultures supposed to value our lives if we do not? If I am White and I am taking an objective perspective, I see Black people kill themselves without conscience and consequence but if someone else does it, it is a problem. Let's be clear, I am no way condoning murder in any way, shape, form or fashion but if we are going to riot, if we are going to demand change, let's do it with credibility and consistency. You cannot demand change in Ferguson if you do not take a stand in Chicago. You cannot demand the Stand-Your-Ground law be changed in Florida if you are not willing to do something about the bogus No Snitching "rule" that exists in our culture, in our neighborhoods. 

If a man walked up to you and called you a "nigger", would you punch yourself in the face? Well why would you destroy your own neighborhoods and burn down your own businesses when someone is killed? That makes absolutely no sense. I do not condone rioting and the destruction of anything, but if you are going to do it, let's not destroy our own but of those who trespass against us!

What is the solution? Where do we start? Our culture is psychologically weak, un-educated, and mentally under the control of others. What has to happen is a massive deprogramming that will start from the grassroots, it has to be intentional, and it has to be organized. I am talking about a major shift in the way we think, what we do, what we say, how we present ourselves, how we make and spend money, etc. 

Education - this does not just mean finishing high school, going to college, etc. We have to place an emphasis on the education of our culture and what we have done that has contributed to the success of the United States. We have to tell Nat Turner and Toussiant Louverture (Haiti) stories and how these men liberated Blacks and Haitians respectively, regular heroes. 

Presentation - grasping the concept of how we present ourselves to the world. First, PULL YOUR DAMN PANTS UP! Second, understand how you dress, how you look, how you present yourself to the world has a direct effect on how you are treated by others in the world. Is that fair, absolutely not. Is it reality, you are absolutely right! 

Media - understand how the media plays a strong role in how are culture is presented to others and how we can control what the media says about us. A great article on how the media treats White suspects and killers versus Black victims can be read here. Another example of how the media manipulates how we present ourselves can be seen here. The media manipulated the words of a four-year old! The point is, we have to understand that the media is as strong as any chain used to handcuff your wrists but, instead, they handcuff the mind. 

There are a number of areas that need to be addressed as part of the "deprogramming" process which will take years to complete. Michael Brown is one of many young men whose lives have been cut short for no reason. Why? How do we stop it? I am for one tired of all the speeches, marches, riots and articles that will continue until the next tragedy occurs. When will we attack the issue head-on and start re-building our culture so we can be consistent in our actions and methods while maintaining credibility in the eyes of others. We have to give the same attention to Southside Chicago as we do Michael Brown; we have to be as upset over the 3-year old girl in Landover as we were over Trayvon Martin. Our actions have to be, again, consistent and our message unified. 

We have to take back our minds and keep our bodies strong!

United States "Sterling" Silver

"Sometimes I dream, that he is me, like Mike, I wanna be like Mike. I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be like Mike!!!" I use to dream as a kid of being like Michael Jordan and then that famous Gatorade commercial came out and all you heard on the playground was, "I wanna be like Mike!" Do not really remember any fellow basketball dreamer ever yelling, "I wanna be like Donald Sterling" or "I wanna be like Jerry Buss!" Kids do not know the owners of the sports team they love, heck, sometimes the players that play on these professional sports teams do not even know who the owner is!!!

Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, for like the 20th time, is in the papers, AGAIN, for being a bigot but this time he got caught on tape by his, by now, Mexican and Black Ex-girlfriend. I mean this guy...I cannot even explain it, you have to listen for yourself here. Just in case you need to be convinced he is a repeat offender:

• 2006: U.S. Dept. of Justice sued Sterling for housing discrimination. Allegedly, he said, “Black tenants smell and attract vermin.”
• 2009: He reportedly paid $2.73 million in a Justice Dept. suit alleging he discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, and families with children in his rentals. (He also had to pay an additional nearly $5 million in attorneys fees and costs due to his counsel’s “sometimes outrageous conduct.”)
• 2009: Clippers executive (and one of the greatest NBA players in history) sued for employment discrimination based on age and race.

Needless to say, Black folks are very, very upset. The day the tape was released, the Clippers had a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Sterling was instructed by the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, not to attend the game. The players decided to play the game but in protest, they decided to not wear their warm-ups with the Clippers name on the front and wear black socks. Other teams followed suit in solidarity during their playoff match ups; both the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls rocked black socks and headbands in support of their Clipper Brothers!

Tons of opinions have been flying and there has not been five minutes where something does not pop up on the Internet about this shameless debacle. I have had very spirited conversations about this topic with very good friends of mine and needless to say, we all have differing views and opinions on what should be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done.

The biggest opinion I have heard thus far involves the players not playing; a lot of people feel that Chris Paul and his teammates should have sat out that playoff game Saturday. The Clippers had a team meeting along with Head Coach Doc Rivers and they decided they were going to play. They were not playing for Sterling, they were playing for themselves, their coaches, their fans, for the city of L.A. Because they took the court, the players have been compared and likened to slaves on the plantation playing for the old white slave master.

There are some issues with this comparison and some questions that need to be asked and addressed. First, the concept of slavery does not exist today and it is a slap in the face to our ancestors to even dare say that multi-million dollar basketball players are slaves. The slaves, from what I understand, were beaten, never paid for their work, and were considered property that was bought and sold by slave masters. Now in defense of the comparison, the mentality of the slave master still exist. The institutional manifestation of slavery still takes form not just in professional sports but in all arenas. But to call professional athletes slaves is taking it a step too far.

Next, I love my Black people and the raw emotion and passion we exhibit especially during times like this. It makes me proud to know that people still do care and are willing to fight for what is right. It is very important to know and understand that it is okay to be emotional and to have an opinion; your opinion is not about being right or wrong, it is just important to have one. A good friend of mine passionately gave me his opinion yesterday morning on why they should have sat out Saturday. He used examples like Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown to show that today's professional athletes have no backbone and do not stand for anything. Is that a fair comparison? Are today's athletes as strong-minded, Pro-Black, and opinionated as the athletes from the 60s and 70s?

The average age of an NBA player is around 26 which means they were born in 1988. Anybody remember what it was like in 1988 and all through the 90s? For most of these kids, the most they had to worry about was the speed of their computer and how much bandwidth they could get to watch videos on their cellphones! None of these kids had to deal with real struggle like our grandparents did or have to know what it was like to play in arenas where you had "objects" thrown at you by the fans while they spit and screamed at you calling you the N-word. I would not be surprised if there were some athletes in any professional sport that have never been called the N-word! How can we compare an NBA player today to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's of yesterday; two different times, two different NBAs, two different struggles. I would not expect Chris Paul to know or to understand how to think in a situation like this because he probably has never bee in a situation like this! But I do give these young men kudos for keeping their cool and being composed. 

Which takes me to my next point, why is it that every time a white man says or does something to Black folks, we go off and want to hurt ourselves? Let's take a look at the Rodney King case back in 1991 (by the way, there are some NBA players who were not even born when this happened) when LAPD were caught on tape beating a helpless Rodney King. After the police officers caught on tape beating Rodney were acquitted, Black folks rioted and tore up their own neighborhood. They did not take to the streets of Beverly Hills and loot the very people that actually committed the beating, no, they looted their own people? Was this suppose to stop police officers from beating Black folks in the future? No, because it still seems to happen!

I look at it like someone coming to me, looking me straight in the eyes and calling me a "nigger" and then I proceed to punch myself in the face!!! That's exactly what we do; sometimes, someone does something to us, ala Rodney King, and then we go and beat up each other? Does this make any sense? Why should the players sit out a game they love for a man who, in the grand scheme of things, cuts the checks? I understand that would show solidarity, it would show unity, it would show, maybe, that this generation stands for something. But, again, I do not think I want them to punish themselves for the ignorant words and thoughts of another man. FYI, if they did sit out, they would also not get paid their hard-earned playoff money (click here). In addition, according to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a player is docked 1/110th of their salary for missing an Exhibition, Regular Season, or Playoff Game. No, it is not about the money, but again, why should I hurt my pockets for what another man has said? That just does not make any sense. 

So what should be done, what can be done? First, we have to establish what the goal is, what do we want to see as the end result? A lot of times we react off of emotion and do things that do not make any sense and do not change the behavior or thoughts of the people who actually sparked the controversy in the first place. My goal is to not punish the players, but to punish Donald Sterling? How do we go about punishing a billionaire? 

You hit them where it hurts? In the pockets! You take away what they love which is the game of basketball; you take away the Los Angeles Clippers.

Suggestion #1 (a personal favorite)

Head Coach Mark Jackson of the Golden State Warriors suggested that the fans should boycott game 5 at the Staples Center. He then went on to say, "I have an idea that's even better...If I was a white person in LA holding a ticket to game 5, I would find any and every black person I could find and sell my ticket to...Fill every seat in the arena with African Americans while Sterling sits in the front row and they all stare at him. Homies for days in the arena!!!" I love this suggestion by Coach Jackson. If the fans boycott the games, this cuts off ticket revenue. An arena full of Black people would just be CLASSIC!

Suggestion #2

Donald Sterling is removed as an owner. Now this is a very, very slippery slope and if you have been following the comments of Dallas Mavs owner, Mark Cuban, he makes some great points. The NBA Constitution is confidential and not available to the public but some who have access to it have leaked and commented on what the NBA Commish, Adam Silver, and the rest of the league owners can do. Article 35 allegedly gives Adam Silver the power to levy a sanction that would require Donald Sterling to sell the team. Other lawyers are arguing that the "broad powers" of Article 35 do not apply to Sterling's situation. Here is Article 35, you be the judge. 

Michael McCann of SI.com reports that "The NBA's constitution reportedly contains language permitting owners to authorize the league to sell a team without an owner's consent. The language only covers very limited circumstances and these circumstances concern league finances--namely, when an owner can't pay his bills. There is reportedly no language authorizing the NBA to sell a team because of an owner's hurtful remarks or embarrassing behavior. Even if conditional language could be construed to authorize a forced sale of the Clippers, NBA owners would likely be reluctant to do so given the precedent it would set."

I am sure you are asking why would ANY NBA owner be reluctant to push another owner out like Donald Sterling? This is the slippery slope I am referring to; at the very core of this whole controversy, we have a woman who secretly recorded a conversation that went viral. Did we not just go nuts over the NSA and how they were spying on American citizens illegally? What is the difference between what the girlfriend did and what the NSA did? At least the NSA can say they were doing it to protect Americans, the girlfriend just wants money! If the NBA team owners all got together and removed another owner, their brother (because it is a fraternity), for essentially voicing his own thoughts that he did not know were being recorded, we are tinkering on privacy rights while stomping on major parts of the United States Constitution. Regardless of what he said, Donald Sterling has every right to be a bigot, it is not a crime to be racist in America. But we do have laws that protect the privacy of every citizen. As an owner, they have to think about how this could be turned and use on them one day. 

Suggestion #3

There is a way the owners can be taken off the hook for the removal of Donald Sterling. It would require all the players of the NBA to get together and demand their respective owners to vote to get rid of Sterling and if they don't, they will not play next year. That would mean that there would not be an NBA next season and that would affect the pockets of all the NBA owners. Right now, just about every NBA owner has come out and voiced their position and all have said they do not support the Sterling in any way, shape, or form. If that is the case, the players should make the owners put their money where their mouth is; they should go on strike for the 2014-2015 NBA season until Donald Sterling is forced to sell the team. You can take it a step further and demand that the NBA sell to a Black man, preferably Magic Johnson. Not one NBA team is owned by a Black man and maybe it is about time, well, the perfect time, for that to change.

Sometimes I dream...sometimes I do dream that one day we will use the power that we do have and use it in a manner that does not hurt ourselves but hurts those that trespass against us!!!

Bullying in Incog - Kneegrow

First I would like to give a special shout out to all the veterans and wish you all a Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you for all you do!

Over the last couple of weeks the biggest sports story is the Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito "bullying" case.  Opinions have been flying while parts of the story still continue to come out. If you are unfamiliar with the case, Martin and Incognito are both Offensive Lineman for the Miami Dolphins and apparently they are not playing well together.  Martin is accusing Incognito of "bullying" him via rookie hazing; Incognito has apparently pulled pranks and left very nasty voicemail messages on Martin's phone.  Incognito has come out with his side of the story. You can Google any one of these names and more than a dozen stories will come up if you want a more detailed account of the situation.

After trying to read all the facts, gathering as much information as I can, and listening to all the talking heads there appears to be plenty of blame and a lot of important lessons to be learned. It took me a while to figure out how I felt about this debacle and it has caused an even more difficult time trying to write about it.  Then I went to church...

I attend Reid Temple in Maryland as often as I can and this week guest Pastor Tobias did his sermon on 1 Kings 18: 40-46; God is about to reign in your life.  It was Pastor Tobias' eloquent (and I use this term loosely) delivery of this sermon that helped me get over the hump and decide where I stood with all of this. I will come back to this...

Let's take a look at some different perspectives (Question/Answer):

Question: One might ask how does a 6'5'', 312-pound offensive lineman get bullied in the NFL considering he is probably one of the biggest players on the team?

Answer: Very easily! Anyone is susceptible to bullying because it has nothing to do with how big you are, it has everything to do with how mentally tough you are.  Bullies are weak people who prey on other weak individuals.  Bullies stop bullying when the person being bullied stands up for themselves and punches the bully in the mouth or does something that shows that the bullying will stop.  It does not have to be something physical that stops the bullying but oftentimes this is the best remedy!

Question: Why didn't Jonathan Martin stick up for himself and do something to stop the bullying from Richie Incognito?

Answer: Jonathan did do something; he broke down in the cafeteria (where the last prank by Incognito was conducted), pretty much threw a tantrum, took a leave of absence from the team only to tell very few that he was leaving because of the constant "harassment", "abuse", and "bullying" from his teammate.  Martin finally told the Head Coach that he mentally could not perform because of Incognito so he was not going to play until further notice.  A lot of people feel as though that Jonathan took the right course of action; he did not take matters into his own hands by "fighting" Incognito but he decided to tell his coach and leave the team.

Question: What is wrong with Jonathan's approach to the situation? He took the high-road and decided to go to the authorities put into place, express his feelings and frustrations, and remove himself from the situation.

Answer: There are a number of problems with Mr. Martin's approach and I will try my best to present all of them to you:

1. A man has to have rules, a code, for himself that he lives by and these rules, if broken, have consequences. Jonathan Martin was being bullied by a teammate and according to all accounts, he never approached him like a man and said, "Hey Incognito, enough is enough. I know I am the young guy in the locker room but I think I have taken enough abuse.  Please stop." As a man, when you make a statement like such, you have pretty much drawn the line in the sand and basically have told all that I am done taking abuse and if it continues, I will be forced to "thrash" you.  A man will respect that sentiment and leave you alone; a bully will ignore you and keep bullying thus forcing you to do something you don't want to do but HAS to be done...a punch in the mouth (the consequence).

According to Incognito, this is what he was trying to do to Martin. Martin was left a vm by Incognito and it contained many references to the N-word.  Also, somewhere it was said that Martin was required to pay for a dinner tab that amounted to $15,000 (some reports have said $30,000).  Remember those rules I mentioned earlier that every man should have...well...Martin's "rules" must not have included being pimped for money and being a called a racial epithet.  At any point should anyone do anything that they are uncomfortable with in any situation, in particularly the locker room, they should not do it.  Sterling Sharpe said it way better than I could.

2. The locker room is a sanctuary, a place for a team to bond, socialize, build, and most of all, trust.  The locker room is a place for athletes to air out problems that exist within the team (e.g. player's only meetings), to celebrate, to cry, and oftentimes fool around because boys will be boys.  All locker rooms are different and have their own rules.  Most, if not all, have rookie "hazing" traditions that can date back years.  Some veterans make the rookies carry their bags on road trips, some rookies are required to buy breakfast and/or coffee and donuts for some of the vets while other rookies are required to sing the team fight song in front of the entire team.  Activities like these provide humility to the rookies and it allows them the ability to become part of the culture of the team.  As a rookie, you want to be part of the team, you do not want that guy who thinks he is better than everyone else or is not liked by his own teammates because in sports like football and basketball, no one individual can win the game, it is a team sport thus it takes the TEAM to win.  Rookie hazing activities help to drive this point.

3. If Martin could not approach a teammate or the team captain about Incognito, shame on his teammates. Shame on the leadership of the Miami Dolphins for not stepping in and taking care of one of their own.  This media circus surrounding this issue should not have occurred.  The sanctity of the Miami Dolphin locker room has been broken and what gives a team its mystique, what makes a team special is now broken and been exposed for the world to see.  This should have been handled in-house.  If you have a system to "break-in" rookies then you should have a system that protects them also.  There is always one or two teammates that take the hazing a step too far and it is up to leadership to keep those guys in check.  This did not happen and Martin's teammates are the blame.

4.  I mentioned the sermon delivered to me by Pastor Tobias this past Sunday. The lessons to be learned that day:

• If you are God-Fearing man, you will have problems, you will have struggles
• Be willing to climb that mountain; basically, DEAL WITH IT!
• If someone tries to stand in your way, throw up your gang sign (make your arms into a Cross)!!!!

Ironically, Pastor Tobias is a native Washingtonian that attended Coolidge HS and played football.  And he talked about how they would always get their butts kicked by Cardozo HS every year. But, during his Senior year, Pastor Tobias and his teammates decided one glorious day that they would triumph over their arch rival! And sure enough, they did!  

Jonathan Martin is a professional football player which means he has played the game and dedicated his life to it.  Not only is Martin in a profession he loves but he is getting paid to do it!! Despite these facts, he let one man come and take it all away from him. Martin allowed Incognito to force him to walk away from the sport he loves and has dedicated his life too. We all have struggles, we all have mountains to climb, and we all have that one person or persons that will try to prevent us from what is rightfully ours and that is the person you throw your gang sign up to! That is the person you stand up to...

I remember getting my butt molly-whopped as a kid in my neighborhood.  A lot of times I would avoid fighting by running back into the house until one day my Father got sick of it and made me go and fight the bully.  I was not allowed back in the house until I fought. Well, I got my butt kicked again! I had no choice, I wanted to go home at some point...lol. But I learned some valuable lessons:

• I fought, lost, and got back up. I fought another day...
• I met my mountain head on and climbed it..I got over the fear of losing, being humiliated
• I stuck up for myself.  I did not know what I was sticking up for but I was fighting. 

Jonathan Martin was supposed to fight for what he loved.  Jonathan Martin was supposed to prove that he could fall down and get back up because that's what men do, fall and get back up. Jonathan Martin was supposed to stick up for himself and what he believed to be a wrong being done to him. Jonathan Martin was supposed to throw up his gang sign! Jonathan Martin was supposed to be a man....

Grambling State Football Team: Higher Learning

Grambling State University is located in northern Louisiana, Lincoln Parish, in a small city with its namesake. For 56 years, the Grambling State Tigers Football Team was coached by the Eddie Robinson, the second winning-est coach in NCAA Division 1 history.  He is recognized by many college football experts as one of the greatest football coaches ever to pace the sideline.

During Mr. Robinson's tenure, he compiled a record of 408-165-5 and sent over 200 players to the professional ranks.  Numbers matched by very few in his profession, Coach Robinson taught offense and defense, mowed the football field, fixed sandwiches for road trips through towns that would not serve blacks in restaurants, taped his players' sore joints, and even wrote game stories for then newspapers. Then as now, he had strict standards of personal conduct and educational achievement for his players.

Anyone that has ever played collegiate football or been close friends with a player who played college football can probably attest to the extremely regimented life they live.  For the price of tuition, room, board, books, etc., a college football player is required to perform on the field to the best of their ability while attending class and maintaining a minimum GPA.  This is accordance to NCAA rules and restrictions that prohibit collegiate athletes from working and earning wages to do basic functions like feed and clothe themselves; they cannot as much accept monies to go home for a funeral unless it is cleared by the NCAA.  

The daily life of a football player consists of practice, weightlifting, meetings, media functions, alumni functions, class, tutoring, games, travel, etc.  Some of these things happen multiple times a day, therefore time management becomes critical. When you sign up to play collegiate football, it is a good chance you have given up Thanksgivings and Christmas' for the next four years.  It is a virtual guarantee as a collegiate basketball player.

In contrast, the chemistry major attending school on academic scholarship is not required to do any of the aforementioned except attend class and maintain a minimum GPA.  Even then, if the student is smart enough, they may not even need to go to class. 

Obviously, I am missing a lot of other points but I think it is clear that there is a stark difference between the student-athlete (on athletic scholarship) and a regular student on an academic scholarship.  It is not even close.  

Grambling football players made the news the last few weeks because they refused to play a game at Jackson State and threatened to boycott the season if changes did not occur.  Here are some of the highlights of the letter they wrote to administrators at Grambling:  

• Sports complex is littered with mildew and mold. The mold and mildew are so rampant, Lamar University came to play and they refused to go into the locker room during halftime
• Weight room, game, and practice gear are in terrible condition.  The floor in the weight room is coming up causing players to trip; equipment is falling, tearing and ripping apart.  Uniforms (game and practice) are poorly washed which have led to multiple staph infections among the players
• Since the summer, they have never received Gatorade or muscle milk and forced to drink water out of house underneath the stadium.  Practice is in grass up to their knees and players were not even given housing for football camp and this is while they were paying for summer school out of pocket
• Road games scheduled in Kansas City and Indianapolis were taken by bus that took over 14 hours minimum to reach and they immediately returned home after the games.  In contrast, both the President and AD traveled by plane to both games.  
• Funds donated to the football team were diverted or rejected because they were earmarked for the football team and not the university.

In a college environment, rarely do you see young men prepared for the rigors of adulthood. They can't process, or even properly distinguish, the various lessons, influences and characters they'd be presented with, during a time in which they are still trying to find themselves.  Here you have a team of 18 to 22 year-old who decided to take a stance against what could be considered, how dare I say it, modern day slavery. Of course there will be critics out there that say, "they are receiving a free education." If that is the case, why aren't the students who are on academic scholarships held to the same rules as the athletes?  Give you a hint, throw you a lifeline....because one brings in money to the university and the other does not.  

These brave young men took a stance, as a team, and said you must change our conditions or we will not play for you.  They did not ask for money, awards, or accolades; they asked for decent equipment, clean uniforms, and some Gatorade so they can at least have a fighting chance to compete against their peers. I do not see the Chemistry majors being denied the Bunsen burners they need to complete labs. Why should the football players be denied their basic needs to compete since they are a MAJOR funding resource for the institution.  

Grambling is known for so many traditions; a slamming band, the Bayou Classic, and Eddie Robinson. When you speak of HBCUs, no doubt you have to talk about good ole Grambling State.  Now when you talk about Grambling, you have to mention the 2013 Grambling Football Tigers that took a peaceful stand against the administration and won.  They received all they demanded and returned to the football field with their pride in tact and smiles on their faces.  

Eddie Robinson, proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha, had a great saying, "I do not just want to win the game, I want to win the guy." Eddie is in Heaven right now cheering his Tigers on and probably could not be anymore prouder of his team.  I have never step foot on Grambling's campus and may never but right now I am their biggest cheerleader.  They became men right before our eyes because they did something never done before and they did it for all the right reasons.  They did it as a team, their presentation was flawless, and they represented themselves the best way anyone could ask for. They learned the biggest lesson you could learn in school:

"Don't live only to learn what you're told to know. Live, learn, and become familiar with as much as you can, so that you can shape the person you're capable of becoming."

GO TIGERS!!!!

Profiling: The $300 Belt Story

I first want to apologize for taking so long putting together another Man Code; my Master's program keeps me writing every week ....but no excuses, LET'S GET BACK TO IT!

This past week Barney's in New York has been accused of racial profiling.  A young man (19) came in to buy a $300+ belt and the young lady behind the counter thought the credit card used was stolen and so she called the authorities.  Turns out the kid saved up his money (approximately $350) to buy the Ferragamo belt and the credit card belonged to him.  He is now suing everyone and their mother!!  You can read the story right here.

I am going to share many different views and angles in this blog so stay with me:

Lady behind the counter:  It is no secret a place like Barney's has been accused of racial profiling many times in the past but it is also fair to say a place like Barney's experiences a lot of credit card fraud and theft. As a high-end retailer, it is important that they maintain their bottom line! If you have ever worked in retail, it is important to recognize or "profile" customers for their own safety and the safety of the store.  From her perspective, a 19-year old is buying a $350 belt...that comes off a little strange.  Why is a teenager attempting to buy a belt that men who have jobs can barely afford? Why would a teenager want to spend all of his money on a belt??

Maybe she asked these questions and more to herself and deduced that there has to be something wrong; he must be using someone else's money and/or credit card.  Interesting enough and as strange as it sounds, she is giving credence because her thought process is based on the assumption that a 19-year old would not buy a $300+ belt.

The Young Man Profiled:  The story says the young man (essentially a teenager), a college student, worked to save up $350 for this belt; I have no problem with any young person saving up their hard earn money to buy whatever they want to buy.  But that is not the point!  A very fitting quote for this teenager's actions: "No 14-year old boy should have a $95 shirt unless he is on stage with his 4 brothers!" This coming from the infamous Gordon Gartrelle episode of the Cosby Show.

Why not simply put that money in a savings account for a "rainy" day?  Why not invest your money in the myriad of opportunities being presented by the new phenomenon of crowd-funding?  Why not re-invest in yourself and your own idea to change the world??

A friend of mine came back from a pilgrimage to the Silicon Valley, home of start-ups like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other big companies like Amazon, Ebay, Apple, and Microsoft.  He said that when talking to the employees of these companies, it was not a question of "if we can change the world", it was a question of "when and how we will change the world."  In that part of the country, nothing was impossible because they had already created what was not even fathomable 10 years ago.  Their community, that culture, strives on innovation and creation which is why they have changed the world!  Imagine being around people who are always pushing you to come up with and implement ideas that can CHANGE THE WORLD???  I am sorry but it seems people have created more with less than $350.

From an article written by Nicole Kenney of the NAACP: "We must stop the massive "leakage" of our money out of our communities. Currently a dollar circulates in Asian communities for a month, in Jewish communities approximately 20 days and white communities 17 days. Black community, 6 hours!"  African-American buying power is at 1.1 Trillion; and yet only 2 cents of every dollar an AA spends in this country goes to black owned businesses."

Now I know I am going to hear about how our businesses lack good customer service, blah blah blah, but it is up to us, it is our duty, to not only support Black businesses but to help correct the wrongs we see with the business.  I have been to all types of businesses that have poor customer service so that is not an excuse to not support our own.  This sentiment is very important because it takes me to my next point...

Gentrification:  We are all seeing a massive overhaul of our Nation's urban dwellings; it is happening across the country from LA to Chicago, Washington DC to Brooklyn where urban dwellers from 10 years ago are being "displaced" and "replaced" by a younger, wealthier demographic.  How does this happen?  From an article written by Dave Roos:

There is no definitive answer, but experts agree that before an area can be gentrified, it must go through a period of disinvestment, during which older buildings are left to languish, median income levels decline steadily and businesses move out [source: Slater]. Some neighborhoods still maintain a vibrant social culture and sense of community, while others devolve into urban wastelands.

Then the "urban pioneers" arrive. Urban pioneers are usually young, educated, adventurous, predominately white, often artistically minded individuals who don't fit the traditional demographic of the neighborhood. They build artist lofts in abandoned industrial spaces, open underground music venues and begin to leave the imprint of their alternative tastes and bohemian lifestyle on the neighborhood [source: Hampson].

Once a few pioneers have staked their claim, the neighborhood begins to earn a new reputation in the minds of real-estate developers and upper middle-class folks who used to consider the area unsafe or unwelcoming. As home prices increase in the nicer parts of the city and the suburbs, more adventurous investors are attracted to the character of some of the buildings in the neighborhood (crumbling Victorian mansions, stately brownstones with stoops) and their low sales prices [source: Hampson]. They begin to snatch up bargain properties and make attractive, modern renovations. Developers follow suit, buying up old apartment buildings and converting them into luxury condos.

For a short period of time, there is an uneasy balance in the neighborhood. Long-time residents are nervous about the infusion of outsiders, but admit that the new playground makes the park a lot safer for the kids and all of the new restaurants and construction work mean better-paying jobs. But then the lease expires on the apartment and the new landlord wants to raise the rent by 50 percent. Long-time homeowners have sold off and left town and rumors abound that some developer bought five apartment buildings on one block and evicted everyone. And then the inevitable happens -- the first Starbucks opens.

I have seen this first hand living in Washington DC. My friends and I laugh because there are "indicators" that show the process starting in a certain neighborhood:

1. New pavement for the streets and sidewalks

2. White people walking their dog or jogging in the early morning or evening

3. Starbucks opens on the corner

I laugh but it hurts because this is serious. This gentrification process leaves a lot of people that look like me without a home and sometimes a city without an identity.  I spoke earlier about how money stays in our community for only 6 hours.  Well, that's the "disinvestment" that starts the gentrification process.  If we are not spending money in our own neighborhoods,  how can you renew older buildings?  How can businesses pay their employees and maintain median income levels?  How can you prevent businesses from shutting down or moving out? Bottom line, if you do not spend money in your own neighborhood, someone else will spend their money in YOUR neighborhood and start demanding that YOUR neighborhood change.  

Ever heard of Chinatown? Sure you have because they exist in cities like DC, NY, and San Francisco.  What about Little Italy? New York. Little Cuba? I think I even know of a Little Haiti?  Anyone ever heard of "Little African-American" or "Blacktown"? Yea, I have not also!

Is it a stretch that I took a teenager who spent $350 on a belt and was profiled for it to the gentrification of our neighborhoods?  Should I have focused on the profiling instead like many of us have?  

Anytime anything "happens" to me, I always take the time to look at myself first and make sure that I am doing the best I can to be the best I know I can be.  That includes understanding AND challenging not only myself but others about how we think.  Was it wrong that this kid was profiled? ABSOLUTELY!!!  

I am 35 and right now when I take a look at my spending habits, the only dollars I know I consistently spend at Black businesses is the Black Barbershop (Shout out to Changing Faces) I go to every week where I spend a mere $20.  I am part of the problem because I did not understand the concepts presented at an early age which is why I am "programmed" a certain way now.  I am trying to de-program myself so I can do better.  This includes educating and creating forums to talk about how we think, what we do, and how we can change.  I am not worry about who is watching because we have been laughed at for so long, we just do not know it.

Rutgers Basketball: The Problem is not Rutgers, but the NCAA

If you have not been paying attention, which is okay, sometimes we all need a break from this very depressing reality, Rutgers University Basketball is now in the spotlight.  Take a look at the video by ABC News by clicking:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/losing-rutgers-basketball-coach-mike-rice-18893923.

Yes, close your mouth, that is the Head Coach Mike Rice throwing basketballs, kicking and pushing players, and calling them not-so-very nice names.  As of today, Mike Rice has been fired, the AD has been removed, an assistant coach resigned and the President is on the hot seat.  As least the reaction was quick and swift but I am exploring this topic because of the varying opinions I have read about this story.  In addition, I will offer my opinion on why this is bigger than just Rutgers, there is something seriously screwed up in collegiate athletics.

Some comments I have read:

1. The kids could not retaliate because they are on scholarship and did not want to put that in jeopardy...

2.  The kids were afraid of being labeled as "un-coachable" or problematic

3.  No one would believe these kids were taking abuse from their Head Coach

4.  The kids have a close relationship with the Head Coach and they have bought in to his way of "coaching"

5.  The kid, if he retaliated, would have been arrested and charged with assault

6.  The kids have dreams of playing professionally and did not want the risk of being kicked out of school and not being able to play basketball anymore or worse

7.  The University allowed the coach to get away with this...

Are all of these comments wrong? Far from it, as a matter of fact, all of these comments are on point and I whole-heartily agree with them.  AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!!

Let's rewind to circa 1986, I was eight years old.  My parents told me that if someone called you a "nigger", you were to fight them on sight!!  NO if's, and's, no second chance!!!  As the letter 'r' rolled off their tongue, your fist should be entering their mouth and knocking out some teeth! That was the rule.

My Father told me that if another person, outside of him or my Mother, were to put their hands on me without their permission, I was permitted to defend myself which means I needed to "put my dukes up and throw some hands!"  That was the rule, you did not start anything but you better finish it!

I use to get into fights in my neighborhood all the time, well, I would not call them fights, more like me getting my face punched in.  Sometimes I would take the beating, other times I would run back home and stay in the house until the next day.  One day my Father was home and when I was about to get my face smashed in again, I ran home but to my surprise, I was in for something a little different that day.  My Father grabbed me and dragged outside and told me to go fight.  He said, "you are not going to run anymore, you are going to go over there and fight that boy and you are not coming home until you do."

See back then, Child Protection Services could not save you and if you threatened to run away, your parents would help you pack what little you owned! But I digress...

Did I stand up for myself that day and fight. Yes I did! Did I get my ass whooped again. YES I DID! But after that day, something in me changed.  I no longer ran from confrontation.  I eventually learned how to defend myself and then I actually started winning some of those fights.  I still lost some but I won a lot more.  My Father taught me a lot that day; he taught me how to fight, how to defend myself, to stop running, but most importantly, he taught me how to be man.

These lessons have evolved over the years.  Am I willing to get into a fist fight at my age now? HELL NO, fist fights hurt!  But I am not afraid to stand up and defend something I know is wrong.  I know how to use my mind and communicate how I feel so I can diffuse a situation without it coming to violence. But it had to start somewhere...

Fast forward...

What is going on in college athletics that a student-athlete feels as though they have to be submitted to abuse because they are on scholarship? Or afraid of how the media is going to betray them? Or afraid of being kicked out of school?

What is going on in college athletics where such behavior is not only condoned but it is almost encouraged and explained as a tool for motivation? What is going on with the coaching profession that I have to call a kid a "fagot" or a "p*ssy" to get him to play harder?

What is going on with college athletics and its numerous student-athletes that they do not have the passion or motivation to play their respective sport at a high level?  What is going on with these athletics not defending themselves when they are being physically abused?

There appears to be an absence of rules, a culture based on money.  Personal values and development have been cast to the side for million dollar coaching salaries and the University's bottom line.

As a basketball coach, I love my kids too much to ever want to try to hurt them or revert to tactics of a Mike Rice to motivate them to play harder? Have I and the rest of the coaching staff ever been in a position where we felt the kids were not motivated to play? Absolutely! What did we do about? Well I can tell you what we did not do!

The thing that bothers me the most is that the head coach is in a position of authority and at any moment, he can take away the scholarship these kids need to remain in school.  In essence, the head coach holds the future of these kids in his hands.  The head coach knows it, the assistant coaches know it, and most importantly, the kids know it.  So why abuse that power?  Back in the day, we had a name for guys like that, we called them bullies.  Bullies prey on the weak or less powerful because they can.  Would Mike Rice square up with someone that did not have anything to lose, someone he did not control? Maybe, maybe not. I would have a little more respect for him if he could answer that question with a yes!

There are some clear issues that are part of a bigger problem that the NCAA is going to have to take a look at one day.  From a cultural standpoint, men are not taking their responsibility of teaching boys how to be men very seriously.  We are not teaching the rules that govern our manhood so that we all know the difference between right and wrong.  These kids took this abuse not because they wanted to but because they actually believed it was motivational. They took this abuse because they were not taught that there are other avenues that can be explored to motivate a student athlete.  They took this abuse because of the absence of genuine leadership and manhood.

The worse part is that an assistant coach, Eric Murdoch, stood up and made a claim last year that this was going on.  Because he stood up for what he believed in as a MAN, he was fired from Rutgers and will probably never be able to coach at the collegiate level again because he broke the code of silence that governs the coaching fraternity: You never rat out the head coach.

What are we teaching here? What are we selling to our high school athletes about collegiate sports? Hold on, let me take a shot at this:

"Son, going to play basketball at the collegiate level will entail daily practices, oftentimes occurring multiple times a day, no holidays, no spring breaks, rarely coming home to see family, being broke, subjected to mental and physical abuse by your Head coach and the coaching staff, and being pimped by the University as they make millions off of your name and talent and you receive not one red cent.  There is a good side; you have a less than 1% chance of going pro and if you do not go pro and you may have actually been able to be successful in the classroom despite your full-time job as an athlete; you will receive that Communications degree and be able to join the millions of others in the world who cannot find employment right now."

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a privilege and an honor to receive a scholarship and be able to play the sport you love and earn a degree for free. I do, I do, I do.  But do I believe it is worth your pride, discipline, self-esteem, and self-worth? Never, you cannot ever put a price on those things.  A man has to have rules, he has to have a line that cannot be crossed or he will never stand for anything. Ladies, you ask all the time why are the men acting so weak these days? They do not stand for something, THAT IS WHY!!!

Another article to read that falls in line with some of the topics I have touched on here can be read:

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/05/why_do_athletes_tolerate_abusive_coaches/

Post-Election Analysis Part 1: Home Team

I would first like to give a BIG Thank You to all Veterans and say Happy Veterans' Day.

Also, Congratulations to President Barack Obama on his recent re-election! Speaking of, the President's win has seen the emergence of a plethora of negative, racist comments and vile bigotry.  I was recently in a conversation on Facebook with an old friend and one of the things he asked me was why did I vote for President Barack Obama?

I told him I voted for him because one, I am a Democrat, and two, because he is Black.  He took exception and says it is not fair for me to vote for someone because of the color of their skin.  My friend is Caucasian and he is not alone in his opinion.  As a matter of fact, there are some Blacks that feel the same way; voters should look beyond the color of a man's skin and look deeper at his politics and what he stands for.  Here is my take...

"Blacks are mentally inferior, by nature subservient, and cowards in the face of danger. They are therefore unfit for combat."
                               -  1925 US Army War College Study

"There isn't a scout, personnel manager, or coach who will tell you African-Americans are too dumb to read a defense--as they would have in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s."
                               -  Bleacher Report (March 5, 2012)

"Quarterback has long been the position in football that has eluded the Black athlete. For one reason: the deep-seated stereotype that Black people aren't smart enough to learn the complex offense, defensive schemes and that they lack the ability to discern variations in blitzes..."
                               -  SBPDL (December 10, 2011)

I am inching closer to 35 and up until around four years ago, the term "Black President" was a punchline, a myth, urban legend, a rap lyric that likened itself to being a ghost or non-existent.  We would tell our children that they could be anything they wanted to be in the world but in the back of our minds there were some exceptions.  One of them being the President of the United States.

For as long as I can remember, Blacks have continued to break down barriers and be the "First" to do something, even in 2012.  This past Summer Olympics, Gabby Douglas became the FIRST African-American woman, as well as the first woman of color of any nationality, to win the Gold Medal in the Individual All-Around in Gymnastics.

I like using sports as an example for a lot of things because sports is probably the one place where color does not and should not matter.  As you can see by the aforementioned quotes, Blacks were not "smart enough" or "too dumb" to play the position of quarterback, arguably the most important position on the football field.  I have seen firsthand Black quarterbacks play the position all of their lives, even through college, and then get to the NFL and get converted to another position like wide receiver or running back.

Another place where color should not matter is in the military.  Do Blacks and Whites shoot machine guns differently?  I do not think so but 87 years ago a War College Study said Blacks were unfit for combat; that we were inferior and cowardly.  Ironically, today the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Services is Black!!

Have I been told I could not be something, do something, have something because I was Black?  More times than you would care to know.  Am I alone, am I the only Black person who has ever been told that they could not because of they were Black?  Not even close!

Four years ago, a man named Barack Obama (he was not the President yet so bear with me) rose through the ranks and came onto the radar of millions who probably never heard of Mr. Obama, and became the Democratic Presidential Nominee.  Here is a man that has a beautiful family, a gorgeous wife (whom he has never cheated on), two pretty daughters, plays basketball, drinks beer, and has an addiction to cigarettes.  Outside of the cigarettes, this is a guy that I can aspire to want to be like; this is a guy I can sit down and feel like I can invite into my living room to have a beer; this is a guy I feel like I can go play ball with and he can ACTUALLY play.  Here is a guy who grew up in the type of neighborhoods I grew up in and it is likely he has had to face the same racist, bigoted hatred I have had to face.

His politics did not really matter to me because Barack Obama represented something more than just becoming the President of the United States.  And I am not downplaying that position in any way but Barack was about to transcend and change history; he was about to change the way Blacks were seen to the world.  Understand, up until 2008, there was never anyone of color who had a real chance of becoming President.  A win would change perceptions and stereotypes, at least that was the hope.  Barack would change the thought that Blacks were unfit or not smart enough...because you have to be pretty darn fit and intelligent to be President despite popular opinion.  He would change the image of the Black family; no longer would it be a single mother and multiple children with no father in the picture.  Barack would show the world that a Black man could get married, have children, stay with the mother and raise the kids.  He showed, is showing, that this is possible!  Barack will allow me to honestly tell my children that they can be ANYTHING they want to be in the world and there are NO exceptions.  He will show our children that it is okay and cool to be smart, wear your pants at your waist, and not have to rely on sports to change your situation but to use education to help create change. Barack was not just becoming the President, he was changing history, he was creating hope, and he was restoring faith.

As a grown man I see a lot of attributes in President Obama that I aspire to have or obtain that he exhibits everyday.  He demonstrates leadership, poise, calmness, restraint, intelligence, integrity, and transparency.  I emphasize restraint because I have never seen a sitting President so disrespected more in my life than I have seen with President Obama.  From the time the Congressman yelled out "liar" during a speech to the lady pointing her finger in his face when he was about to get on the plane to the multitude of nasty names he is called daily out in the open.  At one point he was called "N*gger" so often I thought that it was his middle name.  But you hear people say that racism has disappeared because we elected a Black President.  I can't tell!

So yes, in 2008 I proudly voted for President Obama because he was Black. And yes, in 2012, I voted for President Obama again.  Does this mean that I agree with everything that he did or did not do the last four years.  HECK NO!!!  President Obama could do a better job working with the Republicans.  I went to a post-election analysis with Charlie Cook and Stu Rothenberg and they stated that out of the 140+ golf games President Obama played in the last four years, he only played with 2 other Congressman.  Out of the 40+ basketball games President Obama had at the White House, maybe 10 other Congressman participated.  President Obama is not "playing" well with others and he needs to do a better job in that area.

President Obama is not perfect and neither am I but at the end of the day, I voted for the man that I felt I had the most in common.  I voted for the man that I knew would help create more hope and faith for our youth.  I voted for a man that I felt deep down he would do his best to create a better America and for that I do not apologize.