Speak for yourself Sheffield

Comments made by Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield has cause something of a controversial stir in the sports world. Responding to a question about why were there more Latin players in Major League Baseball than African-Americans, Sheffield said, “Where I'm from, you can't control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that's a person that you're going to talk to with respect, you're going to talk to like a man.”

As I ponder Sheffield’s claim I find it somewhat difficult to debate. First, unlike Sheffield, I have not played 20 years in the Major League and do not have inside access to know what does and does not happen in the MLB. Who am I to say he's wrong especially when Sheffield's Venezuela teammate, Carlos Guillen, agrees with the 20 year veteran?

“I’m happy he said it,” Guillen told the Detroit Free Press. “I’m glad somebody spoke up.”

But despite Sheffield ascertain and Guillen’s co-sponsor, I can’t debate Sheffield’s claim because more than my lack of access is my lack of understanding; his thoughts are awful confusing to me. “You might get a guy to do it that way.” What is “that way”? I don’t understand. What benefit is Sheffield talking about, and if the guy received the benefit and it’s the end [end of what?],what does the dude need to worry about respect for at that point?

Sorry, the brother has puzzled me.

Now what I assume Sheffield to be saying is that Latin players are docile, which management prefers, oppose to signing militant Black players from the hood who won’t take shit. Is that what Sheffield means by control? If so, I say what an incredible ignorant thought.

Is this nation still in the days where one group of people controls another group? How incredibly naïve I am!

Again, I don’t know what Sheffield was attempting to say, but he threw a culture of Black folks under the bus by making African-Americans appear to be nomadic creatures that lack the ability to conform to law and order. Simultaneously, he threw Latin players under that same bus by making a broad stroke generalization suggesting that somehow they don’t mind bondage.

While I believe that management and media’s tolerance for Black athletes is located at the lowest level of the totem pole, I also know that in today’s marketplace ballplayers, whatever color they are or whatever country they come from, makes no different if they are able to perform on their respective playing field. Trust me, an owner and manager will not turn a deaf ear to a militant brother from the hood that can hit .300 with power and play Gold Glove defense.

C’mon Sheff!

Sheffield tries to offers as proof, to his claim, that Major League Baseball is instituting baseball academies in foreign countries and not in inner-city neighborhoods.

“When you see Major League Baseball putting academies in other countries, obviously that throws up a red flag,” Sheffield tells EPSN.com news service. “You wonder why they ain’t going up in our neighborhood.”

Good question Sheff, but I bet there’s more of an answer than the narrow view that you’ve taken. The majority of inner-city kids are trying to be the next LeBron James, Michael Vick or Jay-Z. This isn’t because the NBA, NFL and record labels are establishing academies in inner-cities, but because basketball, football and hip-hop have a greater appeal to African-American kids. James has been on basketball's national radar since his early high school days. Name one tenth grade baseball player of any hue who is or has been as publicized as well as James was when he was in tenth grade. Name one baseball All-Star game that has the notoriety of the McDonald’s (basketball) or Army (football) All-Star games. And while baseball has just [June 7] televised its first professional draft, basketball and football have made televising drafts a staple of their marketing mix. In addition, African-American professional basketball and football players return to their hood to host camps, play ball and serve as mentors. And lets not forget, football and basketball are more lucrative, provide greater fame and both can be accomplished without having to spend three and four years riding the bus in a minor league.

While I won’t debate Sheff, boy do I think he poorly articulated his thoughts, which were ambiguous. In addition, he made Black folks and Latin players look ignorant.

Speak for yourself Sheff. We, the African-American community, definitely do not need you as a spokesperson, and I bet Latins feel the same.

Jason Whitlock: Talking loud, but doing nothing

I must admit Jason Whitlock delivered an opinion that needed saying regarding the fuss surrounding the deplorable comments made by former CBS radio host Don Imus. To paraphrase Whitlock, a Kansas City Star columnist, Imus’s remarks provided Black folks with yet another opportunity to avoid the real problem; that being self-hatred.

But as I read Whitlock’s commentary, “Imus Isn’t The Real Bad Guy,” (which I agreed with in part) and listened to his comments on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 (which again, I agreed with in part); and thinking back to other commentaries written by the former Ball State offensive lineman, I began to wonder if there is a distinction between Whitlock and those socially deviate people (defined by Whitlock’s writings) – Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and the hip-hop artist – he considers problematic.

While I readily acknowledge Whitlock’s writing are filled with strong opinions that deserve a place for discussion amongst African Americans, I’m becoming a little tired of how eloquently “Big Sexy,” as he refers to himself, writes about the problems that affect Black folks, while elusively doing nothing to right those problems.

It’s been said that evil occurs when good men do nothing.

Yes, Whitlock uses his pen to speak truth to power, but if indeed truth is being spoken to power, then it appears the truth is “Big Sexy” may just be big on talk and very little on action. What has he done to abbreviate the problems that affect the African American community – write about it? While he’s quick to point out the problems with Black America, he’s slow to understand that in many ways he’s no different than Jackson, Sharpton, rappers or the Black KKK strolling the strip in Vegas during the All-Star game that have been the subject of his honesty.

If you’re not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem.

Whitlock talks about self-hatred, and to a degree he's on point. He also talks about divisiveness; and again it is difficult to deny his opinion. But self-hatred isn’t just rappers spitting misogynistic lyrics. “Divisive methods of seeking social justice,” as Whitlock describes Jackson and Sharpton’s action, can just as easily be defined as someone who criticizes without providing resolutions. Self-hatred and divisiveness, among African Americans, is Black folks who always diagnose the problem, but never deliver solutions for those problems. “Divisive methods of seeking social justice,” include Black folks who use their personal pulpits to divide by spewing their wrath of righteousness, rather than supporting with works of rectitude. Standing on your pulpit above your congregates or in Whitlock’s case, his readers, preaching about the predicament is painless. In contrast, stepping off your soapbox; strapping up your boots and getting out in the field and performing the needed labor to effect change is the grueling task – a task many folks choose never to engage in.

Where ya at Whitlock, in the pulpit or in the field?

While Whitlock writes his thought provoking commentaries, I’m curious does he make himself available to provoke thought in tomorrow’s potential leaders. Does “Big Sexy” visit recreation centers in his hood investing in young brothers so that they don’t become as those brothers he fairly writes about; or is the gifted scribe simply using those brother’s degradation to fill the pages of his column to make himself look like the “Great Black Hope?”

Whitlock, in my opinion, is an exceptional writer. And I respect his spirit to hold people, whomever they may be, accountable for their actions – Lord knows we need brothers willing to speak out, especially against those relics looking to gain face time on national television. But the African American community also needs more brothers who are willing to do the work. The community needs brothers who will help pave the way; not just "pen" the way.

It appears that Whitlock understands the concept of getting in the trenches and paving the way; while at Ball State he blocked for Bernie Parmalee, a 10-year NFL veteran. It’s time for “Big Sexy” to strap up and use his big butt to block for the next generation, just like Rosa Parks [Whitlock has reference Parks on a number of occasions] strapped up and blocked against an oppressive society. Her actions, not her talk, is one reason Whitlock enjoys the freedom to write his thoughts for the Kansas City Star, and offer his opinions on CNN, NBC, Oprah and all the other shows Whitlock has recently appeared on at the expense of of being critical of Black folks.

If Whitlock wants to check brothers on their righteous card, that’s cool; but know he will be checked as well. The scripture reads, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted,” Galatians 6:1.

Whitlock is accountable, like Jackson, Sharpton and hip-hop artist. He too will be called on the carpet when his attempts at social justice, with his pen, run amuck.

Whitlock must continue to use his pen to speak truth as he sees it. But if he ain’t ready to get dirty in the trenches and build a better tomorrow, then he’s nothing more than a poverty pimp using the ignorance of those he chastises to elevate his geniu$.

This commentary first appeared in the Gazette (Prince George's County) in the April 19 edition.

Rev. Jackson where are you?

OK Jesse, your efforts to have Don Imus fired proved successful. As you demanded, MSNBC and CBS booted the shock jock last week. So now, what social cause will you fight to eradicate next? Will it be the dismal public educational system that’s failing African American youth nationwide? Or perhaps you will put up a vigilant fight against the unjust judicial system that appears to prey on young Black men.

What will be your next success story?

Last week the former Duke lacrosse players charged with rape had all charges dropped, not solely because they were innocent, but because they had the financial wherewithal to reveal their innocence. In contrast, America’s prisons are filled with innocent Black men whose lives are void powerful and influential people who will help discover their innocence. Will those brothers be your next success story, or are you just waiting for the next high profile atrocity to surface before you resurface – no doubt when national television is part of the equation.

Lights, camera – Jesse!

Hey, I might be out of place – if so please accept my apology – but before Imus’s disrespectful comments about members of Rutgers women’s basketball team, I had not seen you; not since that high profile Duke rape case. Before that, the government’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath was the last time you reared your head publicly.

Maybe I have not seen you because you were working diligently to implement fatherhood initiatives to help young brothers become good fathers and strong husbands. No, I have not seen you because you were using your tremendous power and clout to help reduce the proliferation of Black mothers burying their sons, while yet another set of Black mothers watch their sons buried in the penal system. No, maybe your public presence took a back seat to your fight to exterminate the HIV/AIDS virus that’s killing our African American sisters.

I’ve been told that most reverent work is performed without notice. I concur. However, the harvest of any planting eventually becomes visible. Where is the harvest?

According to my research, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer for African American men, who also have the highest rate in the world. African American women are diagnosed with breast cancer less frequently than white women, but died at a higher rate; and HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women between ages 25-34. I apologize for my ignorance, but what health initiatives have you brokered that has reduced these debilitating diseases crippling Black folks? Your visibility in those fights haven't been as public as your visible efforts to have Imus terminated.

So what am I to think? I’m truly confused, because you maintain that you championed the causes of Black America.

Rev. Jackson statistics indicate the unemployment rate for African Americans males is currently 9.8 percent and hovers north of 45 percent in some cities. Black men are dying at a proportionally high rate (who’s brokering the peace); Black boys are being displaced in the public educational system as early as the third grade and justice as it relates to Black folks is just that – ‘just us.’ Your presences with those causes haven’t been as visible, but then again I don’t watch a lot of television so I just might be out of the loop.

I mean you are the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but you know that. And you are the founder of the RainbowPUSH Coalition, whose mission according to your company websites reads, to serve as an “International Human Rights Organization committed to economic development, voter registration and participation, healthcare, job, peace, education and justice.” I shouldn’t expect anything less from you but for you to fight for those social issues that affect “the least of these,” not because I think you should wage that fight, but because that’s what you promote that you do.

I’m opened to the possibility that my vision about your servant leadership may be skewed. How could I ignore your efforts in the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act, which was awarding no-bid reconstruction contracts, to rebuild New Orleans, to President Bush’s cronies! And I know, you put the fire to Coca-Cola and Anheuser Busch and pressured them to increase their minority hiring.

But Rev. Jackson, with high percentages of health concerns, unemployment and incarceration in African American communities, combined with depressing percentages of educational success in those same communities, I’m not sure of what to think.

Look, I concede. I’m ignorant, uninformed, undereducated as is relates to your current efforts and accomplishments with regards to the liberation of Black people. One might, rightful, even describe me as possibly being unappreciative for all that you’ve done for Black folks; I’m not. Please be clear, I don’t believe the solutions to these pervasive social ills that affect African Americans solely fall on your shoulders, and truth be told I gotta look in the mirror about what role I’m playing to reduce those ills; but bruh, where are you and how do those African American’s whose issues don’t attract prime time media coverage find you?

This commentary first appeared in the Washington AFRO-American Newspaper in the April 21 - April 27 edition.

Lesson to be learned from the Duke rape case

With their pending rape charges recently dropped, David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are living examples of the slogan, “No Justice, No Peace.”

For 395 days, the three accused former Duke University lacrosse players lived a nightmare because justice for them was denied. But with one spoken statement, “We believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges,” the accused were no longer out on bail, and for the first time in more than a year were able to experience a piece of peace.

For many African American men, living a nightmare as a result of “rogue prosecutors” and polluted police officials are as commonplace as reading a daily newspaper. However, for many white men the thought of justice denied is foreign.

In the press conference following the announcement of their innocence, Seligmann revealed his ignorance of America’s unjust judicial system.

"This entire experience has opened my eyes up to a tragic world of injustice I never knew existed,” said Seligmann. “If police officers and a district attorney can systematically railroad us with absolutely no evidence whatsoever, I can’t imagine what they’d do to people who don’t have the resources to defend themselves.”

What they would do Mr. Seligmann is “systematically” convict those people without as much as a minimal care.

Darryl Hunt, a Winston Salem native was wrongly convicted and sentenced in 1984 to life in prison for the rape and murder of a white woman. Convicted at 19, Hunt served almost 20 years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence. According to the Winston Salem Journal newspaper [they conducted a six month investigation] the evidence proved that questionable police tactics and witnesses were used to twice convict Hunt.

Marvin Anderson also convicted at 19 for alleging raping a white woman in New Hanover County, Va., (Richmond suburbs) was sentenced to 210 years in 1982. He served 15 years before DNA evidence proved his innocence. Like Hunt, poor police work solely based on race combined with an incompetent lawyer help put Anderson behind bars.

Hunt and Anderson represent just two of hundreds of African American men who are falsely accused of rape – usually by women of different ethnicities. These innocent victims spend large portions of their lives imprisoned despite no forensic proof, medical evidence or reliable eyewitness account to justify their convictions. Often times these convictions are based on racial intolerance by a community or officers of the court using those innocence men as political stepping stones.

Acknowledging that stereotypes and personal political agenda impeded justice, Seligmann continued with his press conference comments by saying, “So rather than relying on disparaging stereotypes and creating political and racial conflicts all of us need to take a step back from this case and learn from it. The Duke lacrosse case has shown that our society has lost sight of the most fundamental principle of our legal system – the presumption of innocence.”

If presumption of innocence does exist and justice is truly blind as is indicated in every American courtroom with the presence of that lady wearing the blindfold, then a nation must do as Seligmann suggested and learn from the Duke debacle; so that no other offspring of America suffers from unjust neglect. Unfortunately the lady peaks sometimes.

If white folks are wondering why a black woman would falsely accused three innocent white men of rape then wonders why a community of black folks would be in such a uproar before any guilt was established, white folks must first understand that black folks have been on the opposite side of this nightmare for centuries. Lies and hate planted means lies and hate harvested.

History reminds us that in 1925 the community of Rosewood Fla., was invaded and burned by an angry mob of white men who believed Fannie Taylor, a white woman, had been raped by a black man. After burning down the community and killing several African Americans it was established that Taylor had never been rape, but beaten by a white man. Then in 1931 nine black youth, called the Scottsboro Boys, were charged with raping two white women. Despite one woman recanting her story, the boys where still convicted and sentenced to death. They were eventually acquitted after serving several years in prison. And in 1955 Emmett Till wasn’t accused of rape, but was brutally murdered by a mob of white men. Allegedly he whistled at a white woman.

The more thing change the more they remain the same!

If it be the desire of America to live in harmony the constituents of this society must understand that forming alliances along racial lines when a crime or alleged crime is committed opposed to bonding based on what the authentic evidence reveals does nothing to foster harmony, it facilitates hate.

History’s blueprint reveals that it is reasonable to believe that a woman of one ethnicity will again accuse a man or group of men of another ethnicity of rape. But that blueprint also exposes the destruction that will occur as a result of those accusations when a society loses sight of the most fundamental principle of America’s legal system – the presumption of innocence.

If a society plants injustice, then injustice is what that society will harvest.

George Wilhelm Hegel, a 19th century philosopher of history said, “What experience and history teaches is this; that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles.” How sad it would be if America proved Hegel’s assertion correct.

Evans, Seligmann and Finnerty, by many accounts, represents the best the country has to offer. They are products of well-to-do families; educated at one of America’s most prestigious universities, and their potential is limitless, in part because of their hue. With their press conference remarks, three of America's assumed best placed America on notice; informing her that she must mead out justice for all -- in all situations. If not, America should engage in a conversation with the three former Duke students who were almost duked. They clearly can share their reality that there is “no peace when there is no justice.”