We here at
the “RaceCard” like to get deep into symbolism and social memes in sports. Saturday night’s Kentucky vs. Wisconsin game
was simply put worth the appointment-viewing label. It was the best game of College Basketball I
have seen in a while but I could not help but notice the obvious and the effect
it had on me as a black viewer. Watching
the game, I noticed the game was an inverted version of the 1965 Texas El Paso
vs. Kentucky game that for the first time featured an all-black line up. This time it was Wisconsin in the Texas El
Paso role living up to every racial stereotype by scheming buckets through back
door cuts and the extra pass. They
played a brilliant game, seemed to find wide open three’s and somehow even I as
a Midwesterner couldn’t get down with them.
Hmmmmmm, I
wonder why.
Mind you, I
started my day at the gym arguing with a homeboy who argued “Brady” (not
Bradley) would KO Pacquiao next Saturday.
His premise was that Bradley was the superior athlete, which could not
be further from the truth. Yet, when
Kentucky seven footer Marcus Lee dunked on Frank Kaminsky I was “all in” with
the young bruh’s from the bluegrass state.
I was roped in by the optics and the eb and flow of the game, like
millions of you I gave my allegiance to those who looked like me. When Dakari Johnson gave Kaminsky the “get up
off me” shove under the basket Greg Anthony and Steve Kerr (both equally smart people)
inherently got behind their own tribesmen.
Sports can do that to you, and you don’t have to be a flaming racist to
acknowledge this truth. Anthony was a
Running Rebel in the early 90’s, so you cannot tell me that part of him didn’t
have a paternal instinct toward Johnson.
He knows what can happen, and “it” often happens to young black men in a
group setting. Steve Kerr did a great
job of redirecting the debate because the contrasting picture of the game was
enough to open up discussions we do not want to have.
Like the
fact that African American “one and done” basketball players are demonized as
people when white tennis players go pro at 15.
Adolph Rupp must be rolling over in his grave watching his Kentucky
become the clearinghouse for black ballers who aint cracking one book. Villanova coach Jay Wright believes Coach Cal
is the only one who can be successful in the model because out of 30 kids who
believe they are “one and done” he gets the three who really are. Culturally the game must be an inconvenience
for newly minted NBA commissioner Adam Silver who will try to push for a two-year
minimum. The way the game ended proved
that freshmen (Aaron Harrison) can close games out and execute in the clutch,
why would anyone deny them employment?. There once was a freshman named Jordan who hit
an NCAA Title Game winner who stayed around to average 13ppg and make millions
for UNC. I also found the game unique
because the black team represented the “establishment” while the white team was
decidedly counter culture.
The reason I
root for Kevin Love and will root for Doug McDermott to “ball out” is that we
should always root against entrenched establishment. Basketball is beautiful, but nothing is more
beautiful without inclusion and full participation. Golf, Hockey, and Boxing are dying without
diversity and the NBA is the vanguard of progressivism in pro sports. Kentucky’s ability to roll out five black
freshmen every year makes them an establishment outfit today just as they were
it was five whites in 1965. For the
culture to change in earnest all 24 players must participate in the revenue generated
from the event. Team owners were not
told when they could start making real money; there is no age restriction on
men with the capacity to become billionaires.
The game last Saturday was a contest between the “Soon to be Rich” and
the “Soon to be comfortable” which keeps the status quo intact for the “I want
it yesterday” crowd who build monstrosities like the one the game was played
in.
