Racism Go Away!

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

That is my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quote of all time. It just says so much about who Dr. King really was and what his dream was. He wanted equality for man kind. He was not just talking about black and white either. He was talking about the whole human race. He really wasn't talking about American when he was saying nation. He was talking about the world.

I actually think in the U.S. we have come a long way. At least from the 1800's. And compared to other countries. But we do have a long way to go to get to where Dr. King was talking about where we should be.

But I really would like to talk about one thing that seems to something that helps us to forget about racism and inequality. Something that helps us to see the same color and not see religious differences. Something that helps us just be together as humans and enjoy ourselves.

That something is SPORTS.

A few years ago I was coming home from a business trip in Boston. On the way come, cutting through Connecticut, I was listing to the Stephen A. Smith radio show on ESPN Radio. He was talking about how crappy the Knicks were doing. I had a long stretch of CT to drive through so I decided call in and join the vent-fest of callers.

I must have waited on hold for 45 minutes. The call screener kept coming on the phone and telling me to hang in there, so I did.

Meanwhile, Stephen A.'s topic switch from the Knicks to some stupid comment that Bryant Gumble said on HBO about racism. I forget what the details of the story was, but it was maddening that Gumble was bringing it up because he is more white than I am.

But I digress. While I was on hold the call screener came back on my line and asked me if I could talk about this topic. He said I had about 15 more minutes. So I had time to think about it.

So I really tried to think about racism and why we were talking about it on sports radio. But as I thought about it, I thought that sports seems to have a way to neutralize racism. I thought that in sports I never hear somebody say, "he's a pretty good player, for a black guy" or "that Chinese guy can really run". It is more like, "Michael Strahan is a freaking great." The thought that he is an African American just doesn't come up.

Finally, Stephen A. came on the line and I was the first caller after he gave his rant of whatever Gumble commented on. I was able to blurt out to Stephen A. my thoughts of racism and that the topic does not belong on sports radio.

He commented that Gumble had some good points and blah blah blah. I remember telling Stephen A. that it was a dull topic and that we should rather be talking about bad the Knicks are.

Then I remember Stephen A. commented to me that racism will not go away and that we all need to talk about it more. Then I remember I got one last comment on the air and I said in annoyed voice, "It's a boring topic!"

But don't get me wrong, I am not saying that racism is boring or should be ignored. All I am saying is that a better topic would be that sports has done wonderful things for racism. In fact, if it weren't for sports, we would probably still be 75 years behind where we are today.

Think about it, the negro baseball leagues had such talented players that Major League Baseball could not help to want that those players in their leagues. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier but he wouldn't have if he stunk. Same thing with football. Arther Ashe was such a great tennis player that he because a pioneer to force people to consider African Americans has prospects.

But after my call with Stephen A. I thought about what he said. "We need to talk about it more.", is what he said. I really pondered what he said. But then I thought, maybe he needs to talk about it more, but "we" do not. If he needs to get past hurts to him or his ancestors, than by all means, talk about it. But I think in the setting of therapy or a support group would be better, not on the radio.

Again I am not trying to be cold. I just think amongst the industry that he and I are in, we should celebrate what we have done for race. I think Dr. King would smile and nod at what sports has done for racism.

Morgan Freeman was on 60 Minutes a few years ago. Mike Wallace asked him some questions about racism. Freeman grew up in the poor sections of Mississippi. He grew up in the heartland of the Klu Klux Klan. But Freeman, did not stop smiling when asked about racism.

In fact, Freeman said something I will never forget. He said, "Racism will go away when we stop talking about it."

At the time, I thought that was a funny thing to be coming from an African American. But it made sense. If we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist.

I don't think Freeman was talking about stuffing it under the rug. I think what he meant was if we constantly bring it up for unwarranted reasons, than we are just fueling anger. What is the point of that? That is not what Dr. King was talking about.

However, racism is real...we cannot forget it, ever. Dr. King never wanted us to forget it. But we have to remember what his dream was about; "To be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character."

But today, on Dr. King's birthday, instead of pondering about racism, why don't we think of how far we have come? I say we celebrate sports today, and sports role in fighting racism!