I found a great article on knowhuddle.com about this topic. It is well thought out.
LT's Not So Kind Words
By Nathan Miller
"Doesn't matter how small, slow, or white he may be. He's a player."
-San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson on the team's second-round selection Jacob Hester.
I read this quotation in this week's ESPN the Magazine last Saturday while curled up on the couch after a marathon graduation party. At first, I thought the six hours of open bar and non-stop dancing had affected my brain. I reread the quotation. It did not change. In fact, if you were to pick up a copy, you would be hard pressed to find the quotation. It is not the subject of a major article; it is not even questioned by the editor. It is tucked away on pg. 78, at the very bottom of a section of blurbs regarding the NFL.
It is upsetting that I even have to preface this article, but in a racially charged world, everything one says can be misinterpreted. I do not think LT is a racist, and I do believe this comment was made in jest. I do think statements like these are made all of the time in sports, yet I cannot believe that this has not been a major media story.
In a world where Spygate requires a Senate investigation, "making it rain" has entered the common vernacular, and a hot tub party stirs up the Inquisition, I find it hard to believe that one of the league's best, most marketable players can say something so overtly racist without consequence. Yeah, it was probably a joke, but it does not make it okay to say.
Is it now okay to openly mock white athletes? Are we going to see Hester and St. Louis Rams' running back Brian Leonard on Real Sports next month complaining about the plight of the white skill position player? I would certainly hope not, but this raises a greater issue. Recently a friend of mine mentioned that he believes the worst thing anyone can say about an African-American (athlete, businessman, politician) is that they are articulate, as if all African-Americans have trouble forming a sentence. I agree with him, and I hope you would too. While there is a difference between calling a race of people unintelligent and another race slow, it speaks to a higher concern about the state of color in sports.
Imagine if a white receiver said, "Doesn't matter how dumb, inaccurate, or black he may be. He's a quarterback," about his teammate. The guy would have been run out of the league, sent to sensitivity training, and vilified forever next to Jimmy the Greek, Marge Schott, and Don Imus on the Mount Rushmore of sports racists. Yet, LT says essentially the same thing, conjuring up negative stereotypes of white athletes, and nothing happens.
This invokes a memory from an early episode of The Simpsons. In this scene, Homer was watching a black comedian perform standup. The comedian said, "This is how black people drive in a car," and proceeded to slyly mime his arm on the window frame, lean back, and begin to smoothly scat. The comedian followed by saying "And this is how white people drive," and put both hands on the imaginary wheel, stuck his butt up in the air, and made doofy noises. Homer was amused and yelled, "It's true! We are so lame!"
Essentially, LT reiterated this sentiment in the world of sports: white athletes are slow and small, while black athletes are fast and sleek. Of course, that is just one set of ideals. Rush Limbaugh might believe that white athletes are smart and well-mannered, while black athletes are dumb and uncontrollable. When Rush said something to that affect, he was fired from his position at ESPN and has not made a return to sport. LT is simply buried on page 78.
Honestly, if this story was being flashed on Sportscenter every five minutes, I would be sick of it after two. I do not believe LT is racist, and I am sure he was merely joking. However, the fact that such a negative statement can be made about white athletes with no repercussions is somewhat alarming. I am not calling for blood, just for discussion. Is this right?