Racism? I Doubt It
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by user JuTMSY4
With the recent reports of investigation on Jason Grimsley, we are forced to open yet another incredible (Or less than credible) chapter in the steroids scandal. The potential to blow the entire scandal wide open is upon us and the fuse is getting low. Now, with every journalist both far and wide prepared to give his two cents, we are left with lots of unanswered questions, finger pointing and a mound of court documents.
In a recent article written by the Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock on ESPN’s Page 2, Mr. Whitlock states "Maybe Grimsley can force American sportswriters and broadcasters to open their eyes and realize that performance-enhancing drugs are far, far bigger than Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth's legacy and Hank Aaron's record." He goes on to essentially bash our society's need for "pill-popping" and suggests that "we must recognize that performance-enhancing drugs are rampant and widespread in all professional sports, and we're not going to get rid of them by vilifying the users." At this point, we must reconsider exactly what is Mr. Whitlock is trying to explain.
Is it mere suggestion that we should simply accept that our most revered athletes cheat. Whitlock's Coup de Grace is his statement of the past, "We ridiculed East German sprinters and Chinese swimmers. Nancy Reagan said "just say no" while politicians locked up black folk and won voting support." My Jaw dropped upon seeing that line. Whitlock once again manages to underline every concept he has ever written about into a debate about racism.
Don't believe me, read it for yourself. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/060608
The steroids issue is not about racism. Repeat. The steroids issue is not about racism. Just how, Mr. Whitlock, does any sort of racial argument factor into this scandal. Gary Sheffield (Black) used steroids, so did Rafael Palmeiro (Hispanic) and so did Jason Giambi (White) and the common ground for all of these characters is not their remarkable difference in skin tone, but the fact that they all cheated. The only thing worse for baseball than the steroid scandal is the mere suggestion that this might have anything to do with race. America didn’t care that Giambi was white or Sheffield was black, they cared about the needle, a silver object that pierces the skin regardless of color.
Fact is, most people are not disgusted by Barry Bonds because he’s black, but more because of the steroid cloud hanging over him and the attitude which he carries on and off the field with him. America believes in second chances but only to those who earn it, not athletes who “vilify” the fans and media who made them.
Whitlock continues by claiming that if we were athletes we would do the same thing. That sport will never be clean and that fans are merely hypocritical if they attack these athletes for the remedies they use with the assumption that if we were in their shoes, we would to. Ridiculous, I say, for a writer to consider himself above the common man, to supply the thought that the fans are ever wrong. They make the game, Jason, they make athletes who they are.
When you watch your favorite team, do you care what color a player’s skin is? The answer is no, the only color you care about is the jersey. The bottom line is, Jason Whitlock is a fraud, contempt with racist thoughts and no understanding. His concept that all of sport is racist and evil is absolutely wrong. Does racism exist? Yes. Are the racial actions in sports? Yes. Does the average fan like you or I ever commit conscious racial acts? No. This is where you Mr. Whitlock. We don’t hate a steroid user because he’s different, we hate them because they cheated at our game.
Date
Fri 06/09/06, 11:43 am EST
