Last Time I Checked David Stern Didn't Have A Wicked Jump Shot

A few days ago I was watching ESPN and the Dan Le Batard show came on. It was the usual rundown of the hottest trends in the sports world until the guest came onto the program. Le Batard had former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Tim Legler on the show. At first the conversation was fairly normal, but midway through Le Batard asks Legler what it was like being a white player in the NBA. Legler goes on to talk about the struggles of being a white player in the NBA. YES, this (around 10mins into the podcast) just happened. Now as an African American male I do not expect the average white person to understand what being an African American is like in this country. But suffice it to say, when I hear a white male talking about the struggles he had to endure as a guard in the NBA, it sheds some light on really how little white people actually think about race and how it affects people on a daily basis. I mean we are a far cry from the days of bus boycotts and sit ins, but this idea of a post-racial society is ABSURD. But wait, there's more.

Legler goes on to say that after toiling in the developmental leagues and the amateur circuit he contemplated "giving" up and wait for it.............APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL AT VILLANOVA! This took the cake for me. How many African American players have the option to go to law school, let alone finished their undergraduate degree (NBA only requires 1 year of college)?? To many African Americans the NBA is a way to break out of the cycle of poverty and provide for their family. Additionally, a lot of times these athletes come from environments that  do not afford them the same educational opportunities and they have to go through the daily pressures of living in a country that expects little to nothing of them. In fact, if it wasn't for their athletic prowess they would most likely be unemployed, behind bars, or dead. The fact that Tim Legler can go on and be whatever he wants, while the NBA player next to him ONLY has his talents speaks volumes to the inequalities that still pervade our society. But wait, there's more.

Legler goes on to talk about how it was especially difficult as one of only 13 or so guards in the league at the time. Really Legs? Try being the only African American kid in a class of 32. Or the only one at a job interview. You didn't feel welcome because there were only 13 others like you? Try being the minority, every time you step foot outside of your home or walk into a college classroom. This dynamic is seen in Gerald Early's article, "Performance and Reality: Race, Sports and the Modern World." He writes:

"White athletes, even when they play sports dominated by blacks, are still entering an industry not only controlled by whites in every phase of authority and operation but also largely sustained by white audiences."

Forget the sporting industry. White people run the PLANET! And last time I checked David Stern doesn't have a wicked jump shot, nor does he need one: HE RUNS THE NBA! That is something that white people can look up to and aspire to be because of white privilege. Or in the case of Legs you can follow your dreams of being an NBA player, bottomline is that you have options; something that isn't just handed to you from where I'm from just because of the skin you were born with. Again, this just reenforces the idea that there is no such thing as post-racial until we have an honest discussion of race to begin with.