A lot has been made in recent weeks about the comments made by Jalen Rose in the ESPN documentary "Fab Five" and the reactions by former Duke star Grant Hill.
In the film, Rose talks about the type of players that Duke University recruits to play basketball and calls the black players that go to Duke to play basketball "Uncle Toms."
Grant Hill, one of the black players who attended Duke during this time (and perhaps one of the greatest college basketball players of his generation), called Rose's comments "sad" and "pathetic" in a recent reaction letter that went viral on the Internet.
Now, a Duke recruit from the class of 2012 has his own comments to make, and they are available on ESPN.com.
Austin Rivers is the number one rated high school player in the country and has committed to Duke. He makes comments throughout his article, which is supposedly written by him, about his perceptions on race in sports today and Duke University in particular.
My issue is not with the fact that he posted this article; in fact, I think he should be commended for being educated on the situation and having an opinion (unlike how he said he wanted to "Destroy" LeBron James on the court one day, but that's another story). However, take a look at how the story is written.
College athletes are always scrutinized for not being held to the same academic standards. Derrick Rose was a high recruit, too, and it looks like he didn't even take the SAT. Rivers is going to Duke University, which I'm sure does a better job than some colleges at making sure they are accepting worthy students not just worthy athletes. However, Rivers does himself no favors by coming off seemingly unintelligent. I think in this case it would have been better for him to keep his thoughts to himself.
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