Staring at the Game Thru My Rear View: Part I

Staring at the Game through My Rear-View



Part I: Basketball: A White on White Crime

It’s funny in this day and age how white basketball players are discriminated upon. However they are discriminated against mostly by a group that you might feel is nearly impossible. This group specifically holds white basketball players to a stereo-type. This group of ignorant “INDIVIDUALS” feel that white ball players have to be fundamentally sound, have a respectable attitude, are willing to sacrifice their whole game for the team, have a pure shot, however but only shoot when open, make the extra pass, and play extra hard. They can not see for some reason a white player with some flavor in his game. They are blinded and do not believe it is possible for a white player to have style, flash, finesse, or any shake in their game. They don’t believe it is possible for a white player to throw a no-look pass, shoot a MJ fade-a-away, or come off the dribble hitting the defender off with the hesitation and pulling straight up in the defender face while connecting on the shot. If the player is capable of doing all these things and does these things all well, why should he not be able to play this way just because the color of his skin?
The ignorant group of individuals that I am speaking of is White basketball Coaches. Some might say that this isn’t possible, how can one discriminate against their own race, well walk a day in my shoes and you might just understand. But that’s a WHOLE other story. Now why do white basketball coaches stereo-type white players to certain characteristics? That’s one question I’ve been trying to find out over the years. This past season my assistant coach told my white teammate “Pete Dunbar”, “You’re not from Brooklyn; you’re a white point guard from Indiana, start playing like it.” This was after Pete threw a one handed pass. I didn’t know up until this moment that you had to be from Brooklyn to throw a one handed pass, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen it happen elsewhere. This coach expected Pete to just purely run the offense, be fundamental, shoot open jumpers, and distribute the ball. He wanted nothing to do with Pete if he were to try to be a playmaker for others, he wanted him to just simply distribute. The thing is Pete has play making ability therefore you should let him make plays. If a Coach saying such an absurd comment isn’t stereo-typical, Webster might have to change the definition they have in the dictionary. Another example of white coach’s stereo typing white athletes happened this past season also. Before the game we were in the locker room going over the other team’s line-up. As my coach is telling us about the opponents he comes across one player and part of the description my coach had written on the board about this particular player was that he was white. As I read that and heard my coach say that I was wondering when you are describing someone’s game what does them having to be white actually have to do with anything? I don’t know what it is but some of these white coaches actually think all white kids play alike and if the kid doesn’t play to this certain stereo type they don’t believe the player is any good. Now on the other hand I feel that the white coaches give the black basketball player the first look and at least at the beginning the benefit of the doubt. Now I’m not saying this is the black players fault, actually I feel that at least a black man is catching a little bit of a break somewhere in this society, however I still feel that a coach needs to see a player for the player he is. To me it seems that a black player almost has to disprove that he can play, and a white player has to prove that he can play. I feel that most white coaches assume that the black player is going to be gifted athletically, that he is going to have some street and flair in his game, and that he might not even have the greatest attitude. These coaches I feel let their attitudes slide sometimes because they just feel that was how the player was brought up because of his surroundings. Again here is a coach pre-judging a player before he even see’s him play. What ever happened to coaches watching a player play the game and then deciding the capabilities of the player?

The Black Coach-
Now there is another basketball coach out there that I feel see’s the game at its purest form in this era. That would be the black coach. I believe overall he see’s the game for the game, the player for the player a lot better then most white coaches; he isn’t as ignorant to the game as white coaches are. He watches the player play the game of basketball and see’s what the player can do. He doesn’t have the player’s game pre-determined and then if the players game is different then that they have to try to fight out of a hole to show their true game. He lets the player prove to him what he can and can not do, and what type of player he truly is. The black coach doesn’t let different players have different attitudes he treats every player the same. He isn’t going to let the black player get away with co-ping an attitude, the same thing a white coach might let slide. However the black coach isn’t going to let a white player catch an attitude either, he treats everyone equally. A great example of this is in the movie “Remember the Titans” even though this is a football movie it shows my very point with coaches. The head coach played by legendary black actor Denzel Washington benches a black offensive player for not performing and then not being able to take the criticism he is given. The white assistant coach see’s this and quickly comforts and babies the black player and tells him to come play defense for him a side of the ball the player has yet to ever play. The head coach see’s this and is agitated. He later tells the assistant coach to treat all players the same. He tells the assistant coach not to baby any of the black players because he surely isn’t babying any of the white players. He lets the coach know to never do that again, or to ever undermine his decision making of benching a player, after he tried punishing the player the assistant coach pulled his feet from right underneath him by playing the player on the other side of the ball. After being confronted the white coach finally realizes what he has done, without even really having a clue before as to what he had actually done. Maybe most white coaches out there are like this, they are treating different players differently and don’t even realize it. Maybe they just need a reality check, one good smack up side the head to get them on the right track.

Just Being Real-
I’m just trying to be as real as possible, and tell you the way I see it. Maybe most of these white coaches are right. Maybe most white ball players or the average white ball players aren’t as athletically gifted and have to be more fundamental players to be able to succeed at a higher level in this game. Maybe some of these white players still today are growing up on these Indiana farms, where they have a hoop in a field and so they can only work on their jump shot, therefore that’s all they can do. Maybe these white players still exist where ever since a young kid they have had to give up every bit of individualism they have just to be able to help their family survive and make a living on the farm. So when these kids make a basketball team it isn’t a big deal for them to give up every bit of their game for the team, because they have been giving up everything of there’s their whole life. However there are still those other white ball players out there that don’t fit this script. Believe it or not there are some white ball players from the city, and there are actually several cities scattered around the corn fields of Indiana. These kids have grown up watching A.I., Kobe, MJ, and have been playing street ball their whole life. Some of these kids do have flavor in their game. Some of these white kids are athletic and can make athletic moves. However there’s usually a white coach around to down play this white athlete and rather then saying the player is athletic they use the term crafty because they feel a white player can’t be athletic. Some of these white players can really play the game of basketball with style. However the white coach feels that the white ball player should be willing to sacrifice their whole game for the team, the so called “Greater Good”, give me a break. I believe my boy Pete Dunbar said it best, “I’ve already sacrificed enough”. Meaning by this he has sacrificed his whole life for this game to make himself a better player. Its players like him that have put in the hard days of work and countless hours of being in the gym at ridiculous times of the night to make himself a player, not a white player a damn good basketball player period. After sacrificing so much of one’s life why should any player of any race be expected to give up everything they have worked for their whole life simply because of the color of their skin. Any chump off the street can pass the ball around, run around with their head cut off as if they are playing hard. Players that really play hard, might not really look as if they are playing hard for they have been playing hard in there endless individual time, so when they actually get on the court in the real game it looks as if they are going easy because they are making things look so easy and effortless because of all the hard work they have put in away from just team practices. Why should anyone give up all this hard work when they can really be a playmaker in the game of basketball, and why would any coach of any sort if he has an ounce of a clue, try to suppress any players skill’s that really has ability? This is the question I have been looking for every since about the age of fifteen when I really started realizing how things were in this hoop game. Seven years later at the age of twenty-two and my college basketball career almost at an end I am still looking for this answer.

Clarifying Things-
I just want to make a few things clear for everyone who has read this article clearly. I am not saying that all white coaches discriminate against white ball players; however I am saying a lot do. I am also not saying that all black coaches see the game pure or don’t discriminate against players, I am just saying I feel a lot more black coaches see the game more purely than most white coaches. I just feel that overall these coaches need to start recognizing a player for his skill not his color. The main type of white player I feel gets discriminated the most is a white guard that’s game is defined as a slasher. How many white guards playing the 2 or 3 spot do you see that are slashers. The numbers are pretty low from the beginning. Then I would say how many white players do you see that are slashers that are under6’6. Every inch you go down there less and less of a chance that you’re going to see this type of player. I’m not talking about players at your local fitness club, I’m talking about players at the D-1 level and in the NBA. I don’t think I can name one white player in the NBA that is around 6’3 that is a true slasher. It’s a breed that doesn’t make it for some reason, or over time they are switched from their true game and are formed into a different type of player by their coaches.