BLACK NFL ATHLETES’ POOR CHOICES STAIN THE COMMUNITY AND THEMSELVES

By admin
Dec 18, 2008
4:00 am

The recent personal choices made by many black athletes reflect ignorance
and self-hatred. When black athletes consciously choose to involve
themselves in illegal and violent behavior, these decisions reveal their
feelings towards their race, communities, occupations and identities.

For decades, African Americans have fought to overcome stereotypes
and transform a society rife with discrimination. Pioneering black athletes
such as legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, who rose to the pinnacle of
his sport, used his earnings to establish neighborhood businesses. Hank
Aaron broke barriers in becoming the single season home run king and
an icon of baseball. Venus and Serena Williams have dominated women’s
tennis for a decade and serve as educated, determined role models for
girls everywhere. These are a few of the titans that have paved the way for
future black athletes to follow.

But, sadly, the behavior of many black athletes is lowering the standards
that those who came before them worked to establish. In the past
two years, No. 1 Nfldraft pick and superstar Michael Vick was imprisoned
after being found guilty of dogfighting, and the infamous Adam
“Pacman” Jones has been implicated in fights and shootings. Super Bowl
star Plaxico Burress recently carried an unregistered gun into a nightclub
and sustained a self-inflicted wound and now faces possible jail time.

True greatness lies in realizing your self-worth. Black athletes have the
potential to become legends and icons of their sport, but Burress, Vick,
Jones and many others will lose these opportunities if they continue to
choose self-hatred as their next play. With the first black president-elect
of the United States of America about to take office, it’s time for black
athletes and the black community to change the negativity that hinders
our people and instead become the champions of the future. –kim smith

BLACK NFL ATHLETES' POOR CHOICES STAIN THE COMMUNITY AND THEMSELVES

WHY OUR DAUGHTERS
SHOULD BE LIKE
MICHELLE OBAMA

First lady-to-be Michelle Obama is often
compared to the late former first lady Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis. Although she
wasn’t born of wealth or privilege, Americans
are enchanted by her, and many celebrate
and idolize her.

Mrs. Obama, the younger child of
Fraser and Marian Robinson, a city worker
stricken with multiple sclerosis and a stay-at-home mom, has a chic, elegant and an
innate fashion sense. Mrs. O grew up in
modest surroundings on the South Side of
Chicago, attended Chicago public schools
where she excelled academically, and
then Princeton University. She studied
sociology and African American studies,
graduated cum laude in the class of 1985,
and earned admission to Harvard Law
School, graduating in 1988 … In 1992 she
married then-community organizer and attorney,
Barack Obama. She’s the mother of
two girls – Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

The ellipsis in the above timeline represents
a period in her life that tabloids
are unable to poke holes in. There isn’t a
criminal record, sexually explicit pictures
or videotapes, allegations of drug use, or
cheating on an exam to speak of. Even the
media’s fusillade, dubbing her ungrateful,
unpatriotic and militant, after she said she
was proud of her country for the first time
– referring to her husband’s bid for the
White House – was short-lived.

The wife, mother, public servant and
former practicing attorney, is selfless. She
realized early in her career that her calling
was to serve the community, so she abandoned
her six-figure salary at the corporate
law firm where she met the president-elect.

Instead of living a life in pursuit of possessions,
Obama was honing her skills to
think analytically and speak forcefully on
behalf of the disadvantaged. She was also
preparing for her coveted position; now
she’s American royalty, the first black female
to bear the title first lady. The queen
assumes her place, in Christian covenant
with her husband, as one of the world’s
most famous icons and venerable role
models.
–yvette caslin