RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE SUPER BOWL AND RACE… 2007-02-05 19:22:48 | By: Cort Reynolds Isn’t it a bit ironic that in the NCAA Div. I title football game last month, and then in the Super Bowl a month later, the team which lost returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown? And then only managed one other TD the entire game! Some other thoughts that have been running through my mind in this racially-charged sports atmosphere, and month... It seems to me that Bear QB Rex Grossman has come under a little too much criticism all season. After all, due to severe injuries in the recent past, the Chicago signal-caller is basically a rookie playing his first full season. Yes, he has had his ups and downs, but still his team reached the title game. I may be wrong, but my experience and gut tells me that some of the extra venom he seems to engender comes from a possible prejudice. I don’t even know if Rex Grossman is of Jewish ancestry, but his last name is one that is often Jewish. And sometimes perception is as important as reality, at least in creating images and planting thoughts, especially in sports where many of the "reporters" today are ex-players who really are not too smart or interested in seeking the truth or working too hard. The fact that there have not been many recent football stars of Judaic ethnicity reinforces to some the stereotype that Jews are not athletic and are best suited for the classroom, the court or board room, the hospital or some pursuit that demands much more mental capacity than physical. The disdain in announcer voices at times when saying “GROSS-man” is almost palpable. When Chicago was running away with the weak NFC North many TV experts were still calling for his replacement by the well-traveled and solid, but basic backup QB Brian Griese. Of course this ignores the idea that for a long time, Jews were not as open to enter many fields just like blacks were not. Blacks tended to filter into sports and entertainment, areas where performance and competition and hunger ruled, while the Jewish culture tended to place great emphasis on education and achievement in more overtly intellectual fields, leading to disproportionate numbers for both in some highly-visible categories that also tend to perpetuate the idea that anyone can "make it" in America if they just work hard enough. Many pre-game stories surrounding Grossman stated that he should just “try not to lose the game” instead of winning it, as if he was not capable and were some stooge who should just hand the ball off and stay out of the way. If this is true, it’s sad. In a month where black history is being promoted in this country, and a whole lot has been made of two head coaches of African-American heritage facing off in the Super Bowl, one would think more tolerance would be extended to all minorities, perceived or not - or just everyone in fact, hopefully, whatever color or gender. Rex Grossman may not even be Jewish – I don’t know. Sure, American pro sports history is not heavily littered with many great Jewish athletes, particularly over the last 40-50 years or so as many of those in that race have moved upward in America socioeconomically. Sid Luckman was a great Bear QB in the 1940s, Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher in baseball from 1961-66 and arguably the best ever for that remarkable six-year span. But, his career was cut short by an arm injury, and even though Koufax was a truly great pitcher (and a pretty good basketball player too, who went to the University of Cincinnati to play basketball first), the early retirement at age 31 seemed to confirm to some biased folks that, after all, Jews are physically inferior. What a silly stereotype. In the first half of the 20th century, many of the top basketball players were Jewish, leading some to call it a “Jewish” game in a somewhat similar way that many now erroneously think blacks are inherently superior athletes, particularly in basketball. Hall of Famers Nat Holman, Dolph Schayes and Larry Brown, along with Jack Molinas and Art Heyman, are just a few of the top hoopsters who are of Jewish descent. While on the subject of race, basketball is the one main team sport where it seems to play the biggest and most misunderstood role. The players wear less uniforms and equipment and thus the color of their skin is much more noticeable. Were you aware that over 70 percent of NFL players are now black, almost as much as the NBA? Many teams boast all-black starting defensive units. And the NFL would be as black as the NBA if not for a few positions like kicker, punter and, to a lesser extent QB, which are still mostly "white" positions. Plus, in basketball the players are closer to the fans in the stands than other sports and skin color is more noticeable. Darker skin also subliminally tends to register in most minds as denoting more athleticism in large part because, especially in our society where looks have come to mean more than substance, darker skin shows off muscular definition much more starkly. Big muscles and the occasional spectacular play seem to equate superiority to the MTV, short attention span, instant gratification society in America that permeates pop culture. Virtually all competitive caucasian bodybuilders tan to darken their skin and thus show off their definition better. So in a sport like basketball, a very pale-skinned player like Larry Bird needs to be two or three times defined as a very dark-skinned player like Michael Jordan just to look as good. My contention that whites are just as good a basketball players as blacks can be borne out in a few ways. One is to comprise a team of the best white players ever and match them up against a team of all-time black superstars. I think, if the rules are enforced strictly against palming and traveling, two violations that are not called much but give a great advantage to players who grow up playing that style of playground basketball which has overtaken the higher levels of play in America, as opposed to those who grow up playing the style not practiced at those levels, it is pretty clear to me that the white team is at least a good as the black team. Here’s a potential all-white all-time team in hoops that can play with anyone… Centers: Bill Walton, Dave Cowens, George Mikan. Forwards: Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Bob Pettit, Rick Barry, Kevin McHale. Guards: Jerry West, John Stockton, Bob Cousy, Pete Maravich, Steve Nash. Honorable mention: Jerry Lucas, Billy Cunningham, Chris Mullin, Dave DeBusschere, Bobby Jones, Paul Westphal, Mark Price, Gail Goodrich, Paul Arizin. Blacks… Centers: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Forwards: Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Elvin Hayes. Guards: Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Walt Frazier, Earvin Johnson, Isiah Thomas. Honorable mention: Willis Reed, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Connie Hawkins, Kobe Bryant, Dave Bing, Hal Greer, Tim Duncan, Moses Malone, Scottie Pippen. At the risk of stereotyping, I would say the white team has the better shooters and passers, and the black squad has a little better rebounding and defense, mainly because of Russell and the other biggger, shot-blocking centers. In a seven-game series between the two teams, I think it would go right down to the wire. Now I would say that there have been more very, very good black players in the NBA than whites, but that the top line players are pretty equal. Of course this supposes that the best players are in the NBA, which is fodder for another debate since the league promotes mainly a certain style of play that is skewed one way, much like the NFL is skewed toward passing QBs instead of running QBs - a homogeneous style of play that not only makes for uninteresting clashes of similar styles, but also discriminates against those with different skill sets and sizes. The difference is more caused by sociological effects than physical ones. Most top athletes in the non-moneyed sports like golf, tennis, yachting, swimming, skating, etc. – come from lower socioeconmic backgrounds, and probably always will be. Hunger plays a large role in anything, especially sports. And when one sees his compatriots doing well in a certain field, it encourages the oppresses to achieve in that area, and may also discourage others of a different race too when it seems one race is dominant and that also the cards are stacked against you. One could make that argument for part of the reasons blacks get discouraged and do not enter many mainstream fields of work. There is one difference, though - that notion is generally accepted today, whereas it is still foreign for most people to think that whites may be discriminated against or discouraged from playing in the NBA. Basketball, like soccer which partly explains its immense popularity world-wide and in thirds world-type countries, is a very inexpensive sport to play. Blacks tend to come from less affluence on average than whites. This also explains in reverse, in part, why whites totally dominate sports like tennis and golf, with only a few athletes like the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods at or near the top in their sports. I think it is also interesting that Woods is always passed off as black when he is only half-black – his mother of Thai descent. Yet in the context of sports, people tend to always notice and accentuate the black part of an athlete. Were Woods a computer programmer, I wonder whether it would be the same… As to the myth about whites not being able to jump, well that's also not true. Most of the best high jumpers from around the world are and have been caucasian. What about great white NBA leapers like Bobby Jones, Jim Pollard, Danny Vranes, Tom Chambers, Herb White, Rex Chapman, Paul Westphal, Brent Barry (the only caucasian to win the NBA slam dunk contest), Bob Sura and others? If there were never any good white leapers that would be one thing. But the fact that there are and have been shows it is more than possible, and suggests that the way players of different races are coached to play and made to believe what they can and cannot do is the culprit. The major media seizes on the notion and points out when a white player has the "disease" and then focuses way too much when a black player can really leap without pointing the ones that can't get off the ground, such as Charles Oakley. On the other hand, announcers tend to note when a white player does something "intelligent" much more than they do when a black player does it, reinforcing those stereotypes. But getting back to the NBA, let’s consider the influx of European and foreign-born players, mostly white, into the NBA over the past 10-15 years. Many are among the very best players in the league (Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Andei Kirilenko, Peja Stojakovic, etc.) and it could be argued that their passing, shooting and movement away from the ball saved the NBA from what had degenerated into an isolation game, with a lot of dribbling, bad shooting and thugging. Once good outside shooting came back into the NBA, it allowed for more cutting and driving lanes, scoring went back up and the game became much more entertaining to watch again. Great Euro players of the 1980s paved the way for the recent influx such as 7-3 Arvydas Sabonis of Lithuania, versatile German forward Detlef Schrempf, Yugoslavian sharpshooting guard Drazen Petrovic (who was the first Euro to make All-NBA before a car crash claimed his life at the peak of his career when he had made third team all-league in 1993), speedy guard Sarunas Marcilionis, forward Toni Kukoc and center Vlade Divac, to mention a few stalwarts. In fact, Sabonis is the most talented and skilled 7-footer offensively in basketball history. The man could shoot with deep range and accuracy and pass better and more creatively than almost all guards, rebound, block shots, and before surgeries to both knees and Achilles, could run and jump like a deer. The American public never saw the real Sabonis, who came to the NBA in 1996 already in his 30s and slowed greatly by injury. Still, he was able to play at a high level because of his great skill, size and bball IQ. He destroyed David Robinson at the 1986 Goodwill Games and in the 1988 Olympics, when the USSR won gold and the USA limped home with a bronze. Dan Majerle of Traverse City, Michigan was the top scorer on the 1988 U.S. Olympic team coached by John Thompson - and was the only caucasian on the team. Did you know that blonde/red-haired/blue-eyes German tennis great Boris Becker had a Jewish mother and a Catholic father? I didn't until I recently read that. Anyway, did you know that Colts head coach Tony Dungy roomed in college at Minnesota in the 1970s with current Detroit Pistons head coach Phil “Flip” Saunders, who was the captain of the Golden Gopher hoop squad? Did you know that the Boston Celtics, considered by many to be a traditionally “white” team in a racially-troubled city, were the first NBA squad to start five blacks in the mid-1960s? And that in player-coach Bill Russell, they had the first black head coach of a major American sports franchise back in 1967? TRIVIA QUESTIONS (inspired by and in recognition of the month)… Can you name the other black men who have been head coach of the Celtics? Who was the first black baseballer to play in the American League? Can you name the four black men who were all head coaches of four major college and pro sports teams at the same time in Indiana four years ago? Who was the first black major league baseball manager? Who was the first black major league manager to win a World Series? In what year did two black head coaches first oppose one another in an NBA Finals? Who are the three black men to coach their team to the NCAA men’s Div. I basketball title? Who was the first black QB to win a Super Bowl? TRIVIA ANSWERS Other Celtic black head coaches besides Russell include current mentor Doc Rivers, M.L. Carr, K.C. Jones (who won NBA titles in 1984 and 1986), and Tom “Satch” Sanders. Larry Doby broke the American League color line in 1947 as a member of the Cleveland Indians with much less fanfare than Jackie Robinson. The versatile outfielder was eventually inducted to the Hall of Fame a few years ago. Isiah Thomas was head coach of the NBA Indiana Pacers, Tyrone Willingham was Notre Dame’s head football coach, Dungy was the Indianapolis Colts coach and Mike Davis was the head coach for Indiana University men’s basketball, all at the same time, as recently as 2003. Hall of Fame slugging outfielder Frank Robinson managed the Indians in the mid-1970s, then skippered the Expos and Nationals more recently. Cito Gaston quietly managed the Toronto Blue Jays to the 1992 and 1993 World Series titles. In 1975, Al Attles led Golden St. to a 4-0 sweep of Washington, led by K.C. Jones. Ironically, the landslide choice as series MVP was white superstar Rick Barry. John Thompson, one-time backup to cerebral Celtic great Bill Russell, became the first when he led Georgetown to the 1984 NCAA crown. Nolan Richardson guided Arkansas to the 1994 title and Tubby Smith did it at Kentucky in 1998. For extra credit, can you name Tubby’s given first name? It is Orlando. He was given the name because he liked to spend a lot of time in the bath tub, despite having 16 siblings. Doug Williams led Washington in 1987 to the Super Bowl crown over Denver.
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