Sports Personalities, Race and You

Non-Phish General
#1

Lots of wacky comments recently.

Don Imus, Jemele Hill (not race, necessarily, but she brought up Hitler), Johnny Miller (that one was a stretch) and Dick Enberg. Dick Enberg, for God’s sake.

What do people think of race-related comments made by sports commentators and media personalities in general? It’s not like this is something new. This has been happening for years.

IMUS: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88sYPwyr_nXjvWrDPYQmUZu5yvgD91GBGI00

HILL: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/31639-jemele-hill-of-espn-suspended-good-call

MILLER: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hMn0aOm3TRKLAL-erfc-W0LNoIxgD91F0VH00

ENBERG:
http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2008/06/dick-enberg-already-bringing.html

#2

For one, I’m a white dude so I can’t comment on whether any of this stuff is “really” offensive…it obviously ain’t for me but I don’t think you could offend me if you tried.

The one that bugs me is the Imus, not for what he said but considering that it happened yesterday MORNING and was a national news story by 3 that afternoon with soundbites already circulating. This means to me that someone who does NOT like Imus is clearly monitoring his show AND taping it and waiting for him to say something so they can start circulating. It’s an obvious witchhunt by people who don’t like his show so they can take him off the air and ruin things for the tons of folks who do like his show. Can’t say I’m a fan of a select few determining who the majority can listen to. Hopefully his station stands firm and keeps him around. Rush Limbaugh’s been a racist on the radio for years and there’s no one clamboring to get him off the radio.

The other three incidents are a joke and a classic case of people overreacting to a reference that obviously wasn’t meant to be offensive.

Stevo

#3

Imus has always been a racist. Howard has been saying it for 20 years, noone listens. They’ll keep giving him his job back so it doesn’t really matter.

#4

It’s seriously getting to the point where you can’t say anything. I’m totally against obscene racial remarks, but we need to lighten up people. Were all different in our own unique way and I guess that’s easy for me to say being as majority as you can get in our country: White Male. Nevertheless isn’t it kinda ironic how guys like Barkley can basically say whatever he wants (except about gambling now for some reason) and get away with it. I seriosly am never offended by white-boy smack talk, but that’s just me. It does kinda seem hypocritical though when you hear Stephen A. Smith raggin on a European player though.

#5

Sorry…that’s part of the reparations. They’re allowed to do it but white folks aren’t. That’s the compromise.

Either way, I still don’t get why people keep listening to people they really don’t like. Don’t like Imus? Don’t listen to him. Rush Limbaugh’s a racist too but I don’t record his show and send out possibly racist comments out to major news organizations…I just don’t listen. It’s this attitude that small groups are trying to control what we listen to that bugs me.

Stevo