Playing On A Different Field:
The recent crisis
in the NFL highlighted by a domestic violence act by Ray Rice and accusations
of child abuse by Adrian Peterson has encouraged a national debate on violent
sports and the abilities of athletes to control their rage in their personal
and very public lives. And in the
process, the conversations have forced a return to the national discussion on
race relations, the differences between whites and non-whites, and social
economic divides.
I think that there are two things to consider 1) is the written description of an event and 2) is the visual image of an event. Both have played specific roles in framing our national conversations, and further divides the views of whites and blacks on virtually every topic.
Since Rodney
King’s beating was televised to a national audience, the American public has
reacted with a different ferocity to visual images as opposed to images created
by word of mouth narratives. Clearly our
imaginations of events are not enough –was there massive outrage when Robin
Givens and Mike Tyson revealed to Barbara Walters that Tyson hit her? In fact in a biography Tyson was quoted with
a description that left little to the imagination saying: “She flew backwards,
hitting every wall in the apartment … That was the best punch I’ve ever thrown
in my entire life.” [1]
So it should not
be a surprise that the now infamous elevator video of the confrontation between
the Ray Rice and Janay Palmer, his fiancee, or the pictures of the bruises
inflicted on Adrian Peterson’s young son have caused massive outrage that are
much stronger than initial reactions from hearing these accounts on nightly
newscasts.
However, in spite
of the shouting, posturing and veiled threats from sponsors, no one has
proposed a solution to theses incidents outside of banishing the players from
the NFL and stripping them of all possible endorsements, which effectively will
stop them from earning a living in the field in which they have devoted their
lives to achieve. And as has already
been demonstrated, more players will get in trouble before the end of this current season. In reality, in next year’s draft
are another group of future abusers.[2]
No one should feel
sorry for Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald or the dozens of
other NFL players that have committed acts of domestic violence over the last
decade. Each player clearly went over
the line and committed a serious offense.
Yet, they should not be the scapegoats for a much larger issue. Daily, other public figures commit heinous
acts or commit crimes but are not chastised by the public, threatened with the
loss of employment, and taken to the town square for shaming. In fact, most guilty politicians do not
volunteer to resign and must be forced from office. Actors do not relinquish staring roles, and
businessmen do not step down for moral indiscretions. Equally private citizens guilty of the same
offenses are usually not fired from their positions. There are millions of people found guilty of
domestic crimes still employed.
So why after
reading and learning about acts of domestic violence by countless professional
athletes that date back to the 1950s, have the baby boomers and their children
decided that enough is enough?
It is somewhat
telling that the current group of accused is solely African American,
especially in light that many of the offenders in the sports world are white
(particularly baseball and hockey players).[3] But rather than have an honest discussion on the
role of violent sports and the treatment of women and children, the
conversation has returned to the familiar criminalization of the African
American male and the questioning of the integrity of black men and women who
do not take a stand in denouncing their men.
Many
whites were dismayed that celebrities like Charles Barkley and D.L. Hughly came
to Peterson’s defense in pointing out that virtually every black family
employed some form of physical punishment regardless of the age of the
child. Yet when African Americans also
pointed out that Southern whites engaged in similar practices, there were no
white voices confirming or denying the statements.
Others,
particularly white women, were equally angered when the Rices married in March,
shortly after the famous incident, that Janay Rice did not testify against her
husband and did not denounce him to the NFL commissioner, the Ravens front
office or Ravens teammates. Feminists
were equally disappointed that Mrs. Rice stood by her husband at his press
conference, and posted comments on Instagram in September that suggested that
the world was negatively intruding in their lives. And, that Palmer-Rice’s father gave Rice a
vote of confidence.
All of these
sentiments reveal that the white community is in denial of the differences
between the races and classes. (But whites are equally not willing to admit differences within their own communities, especially if there are similarities between working class whites and blacks) Black
children have always been raised differently than their white
counterparts. Historically, black
parents have beaten their children sometimes to the point where black kids are
afraid of their parents. These beatings
have taken place in the confines of the home and sometimes in the street. And that abuse and humiliation that
accompanies it, has scared them in ways previously not considered by larger
audiences. Yet, blacks continue to beat
children through whippings with a switch, belt, extension cord and other
devises believing it will foster discipline and protect them from a violent
white world.
Apologists and
defenders insist that African Americans live in a different America. This
America is poorer, with less opportunity for success, and often violent. African American psychologists push the
curtain back a bit more by suggesting that racism and intra-racial racism play
a large role in the ways that African Americans must raise their children. That there are various life lessons that
black children must learn at an early age.
And, that these lessons must either be learned at home or in the streets.
What is so
important in these conversations is that the essence of “blackness” is being
formed at an early age. This concept of
“blackness” has nothing to do with skin color or complexion, but rather
culture. It is what was once called
cultural pose or a masculine pose but now is referred to as
swag. Being a man, being cool, fitting
in, and doing well in whatever you do has become the image of “blackness”. The concept is emulated by dozens of visible
personalities, athletes, actors and even Barack Obama whose pictures in varying
poses and silhouettes line the walls in African American homes.
For many youths,
conformity to this “blackness” is necessary for survival. However, when adhered to consistently and
perhaps inappropriately, it can cause death.
Swag, however, is based on cultural values. Culture can be influenced by strong parentage, degrees of wealth and levels of education. Yet the interpretation of swag is often seen as a singular attitude, an attitude of defiance. It is the code which instills many to act in a particular way, and often not be willing to see an alternative posed by the larger society. In turn, the larger society rejects the depiction of swag as something that is fictional within in some contrived context.
The deaths of
hundreds of African American males by law enforcement officials of every race
is tied to the same issues that have made Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and others
such contested figures in American society.
White America continually sees African Americans as brutes. There are a wide chronology of these
brutes-from the stereotypical brute of Antebellum America, the brute portrayed
in Reconstruction America in D.W. Griffith’s Birth of A Nation, the brute of the
Black Exploitation movies, the brute on the professional fields and courts of
America’s arenas to the brutes in America’s ghettos and inner cities. These brutes are consistently violent, exceptionally
strong, and hyper-sexual. Many of these
images are found in music videos and predominately black films.
And while America loves to capitalize
financially on these portrayals, in secret they are afraid of the monsters that
they have created. For example, the nation watched the video of Rodney King's beating and then heard audiences give different versions of what transpired. African Americans thought King moved from the force of the blows, while whites felt he was moving attempting to get up. Michael Vick offers another illustration of this stereotype as his dog-fighting operation was seen as cruel and unusual. It seemed strange that Vick, at that point the NFL's highest paid player, would be involved in such a barbaric sport. And the fact that he killed a dog with his bare hands might have sealed his conviction. Yet, dog-fighting is common in various parts of the nation, especially in the south and often portrayed in hip hop videos.
In both examples and in countless others, the commonly held white notion that blacks can "Hulk-Up" is a constant theme regardless of the size or strength of the accused. It makes the Kings and Vicks of the world deadly opponents and ones who cannot be trusted. And it re-enforces our idea of the "Black Brute".
Hence, "blackness" is problematic. More than one hundred years after emancipation, America is still living with the fear that the former slaves will seek retribution. That these brutes will kill whites and possibly other blacks. Conversations on black criminality and police brutality always encourage defenders to invoke the topic of "black on black crime." Yet, while this is an important topic, it is not connected to this matter.
Our fears of these black men, these stereotyped characters, being a constant threat to our personal safety and that of our families, leads to black men being shot whether or not they have committed a crime. Luckily, celebrity saves athletes and entertainers from acts of extreme police brutality. But tragically, for the average African American male there is no safety net.
Yet there is hope. Several law enforcement organizations are willing to work with the communities they serve and have open dialogues to close the gaps between perceptions and realities. Some politicians are willing to serve as mediators in public forums. But wholesale change has to come from other quarters from the press to the man on the street. We must break down barriers and walls where all Americans can understand racial and social differences.
Ultimately,
nothing is going to change until we have frequent honest public discussions on race, class,
criminality and social equality. It is only then that the games can be played on level playing fields!
[1]
From Jose Torres, Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson as written in
Deseret News Saturday June 24, 1989
[2] If
professional sports is a pipeline of athletes involved in domestic violence the
NBA can illustrate this point. Karen
Crouse wrote in the New York Times: “In the NBA alone, a starting lineup could
be made of former first round draft picks who since 2012 have faced legal
troubles connected to domestic abuse..” Karen Crouse, “Ray Rice Is An Outlier:
Most Suspects Play On” New York Times Friday September 12, 2014, p. B13
[3]
For instance, in 2006 Brett Myers a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies was
charged with assaulting his wife. He was back on the field pitching less than
36 hours later. Semyon Varlamov of the
Colorado Avalanche was arrested in October 2013 for assaulting his
girlfriend. In both cases the charges
were dropped and these events had no impact on their careers. See Karen Crouse,
“Ray Rice Is An Outlier: Most Suspects Play On” The New York Times Friday
September 12, 2014 , p.A1.
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