SportsTalk From The Soul

Is it time to end the love affair with Spurs' coaching and face reality?

2009-04-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore

The San Antonio Spurs have four games left in the regular season and last night the team gave a dismal performance in the second half to lose 95-83 to the Portland Trailblazers.

The Spurs are now sitting at 50-28 and I have them projected at finishing the season with a 53-29 record.

Four games.

3-1 to finish out the year.

For many diehard faithful they think I'm crazy for uttering the following statement but why would it be so preposterous considering what is going on. If the team goes 53-29 this season it will be the first time since 1999-2000. Does everyone remember what happened that year? The Spurs were second in the Midwest division. Tim Duncan had a leg injury that sidelined him at the end of the season and he was through for the rest of the year. The Spurs went on to lose to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

Okay now let's fast forward to this year and present time. Manu Ginobili is out for the rest of the year and playoffs. There is a distinct possibility that the Spurs will finish with the same 53-29 record and there is a chance that this team could be facing the New Orleans Hornets in the first round.

Seriously do you have confidence in beating a Hornets team that as of this moment of this writing has defeated this team 2-1 in the series and that included a win against them with Manu in the line up?

And so the question needs to be asked with all sincerity and realism; is it time for this city to quit falling in love with the folklore of the past and the 'coaching brilliance' of past campaigns and come to grips that maybe Gregg Popovich's rain as the Spur King is coming to an end?

THE TRUTH HURTS BECAUSE IT IS WHAT IT IS

This may not be a popular stance but then again since when has the truth ever been popular these days.

Sports fans rarely want to hear the truth because it tarnishes the fairytale that they have spun into their own little reality.

I don't believe in fairytales and luck is something that you make from your own choices.

With that said, how can my arguments of Pop possibly looking to ride off into the sunset either this year or next not be realistic. If I am looking at the body of work for this season, tell me why I can't make that argument.

Even with as many games as I have missed this season due to personal improvement, that doesn't mean I haven't been keeping track of what the hell is going on with this team. I've never claimed to be a homer on the take nor will I even shy away from not expressing some bits of reality about the situation. This current Spurs team sucks eggs and you cannot make an excuses for their poor play; especially this late in the season. Yet fans say I'm crazy.

Here is the truth of the matter.

As great of a coach as Gregg Popovich has been over the years, you cannot say that he has done a great job of winning this year.

Even last year, when the 2007-08 roster came up empty against the Lakers, he didn't do a stellar job that put this team into a winning position this year.

Sure the excuse of "Well they had a tough series against the Hornets and then they had to turn around and play the Lakers after sitting on the tarmac wore them out" may be plausible but it is still an excuse. Professional players get paid big time money to be uncomfortable.

But this season is totally different. This season nobody on that roster gave a poop about the playoff picture when it counted.

When did it count?

When they were playing teams with winning percentages.

Ask yourself this question: How good are the San Antonio Spurs this season?

Be honest with your assessment.

Can they beat New Orleans in a seven games series right after playing them on April 15th?

Do you think they can get past their second round opponent who would be the Los Angeles Lakers?

And what of the Western Conference Finals opponent? Could they win that series?

And if they were able to overcome all of these obstacles mentioned, could this current coaching staff and roster be able to defeat a Cleveland Cavaliers team that had just beat their pants with a 20 point win in the NBA Finals? Or Boston? Or Orlando?

Are you trying to tell me that the San Antonio Spurs are better than at least six other teams in this league right now? With Ginobili out for the year?

I didn't think so.

But yet many would say that you don't get rid of Pop because he is a hall of fame coach.

Really? Then what is Larry Brown? Phil Jackson? Rick Carlisle?

Those three coaches were shown the door when their windows of opportunity closed on them.

What would be the difference here?

I say it is time to stop looking at this team and this coaching staff as if they can do no wrong. Maybe that's the problem. Everybody is so afraid to speak the obvious in this town.

But the facts are the facts people and if you are true to your team, you want the truth to be said about how they play and whether the head coach is worthy of his job.

Let's be real about what is going on here.

The Spurs have had a good run and there is no shame there.

But if you are going to start talk about bringing in newer, younger players as the older ones get worn down, shouldn't you be talking about a change in philosophy too?

After all if you don't change how things are done, how can you expect a different outcome?

You can't.

Discrimination and necessity brought about minority media outlets

2009-02-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

Last week I had the privilege of doing a local radio show and discuss the NY Post cartoon that was printed last Wednesday.

In the midst of doing the show, the show host had asked me why did I run a publication/website that catered only to the African American community and not the whole community at large.

To paraphrase his comments, "It seems that you do not want me to read your publication."

This isn't the first time I've heard that statement or to have been asked that question. But being that we are in the last days of Black History Month, I thought it would be very appropriate to not only address why there is a separate media for minorities but to also show that even today, the very reasons why discrimination and racial stereotypes gives credence to the separatist mentality for the minority press.

When the New York Post allowed an editorial cartoonist to show the now infamous cartoon of a dead primate who was shot by a police officer with the bubble caption, "I guess they'll have to find another author for the next stimulus package", they overstepped their ethical duty as a news medium. Both the cartoonist and the publication violated several code of ethics that the Society of Professional Journalists adhere to. Among those codes are: Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context; avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status; and show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.

Sean Delonas, the now infamous cartoonist of the afore mentioned political cartoon has said that he did not mean for his cartoon to be racist.

"Do you really think I'm saying Obama should be shot? I didn't see that in the cartoon," Delonas said in his brief comment, read by anchor Kyra Phillips on "CNN Newsroom." "It's about the economic stimulus bill. If you're going to make that about anybody, it would be [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, which it's not."

Delonas and others who have never had to endure racism or be a part of a community that has to deal with the media stereotypes simply don't get it. It is a slap in the face, especially in this day and time, to think that you will not offend anyone by such actions. It is a thought pattern of stereotyping in this country over the years that has led to the minority press not only being formed but in some cases booming.

BATTLING THE MAINSTREAM STEREOTYPES FROM MAINSTREAM MEDIA

When the San Antonio Informer was formed back in 1988, it was developed to bring about a different way of covering African Americans in this city.

Are we a business? Sure we are and we are about making a profit like any other. But we are also about providing something that many news portals of our genre cannot provide and that is thought provoking, constantly changing news coverage.

Granted like all news media, the economy has hit this industry just like any other but that doesn't stop us or other minority owned media outlets from being the voices of the minority communities.

So the question asked not only perturbed me but it was almost infuriating to have to educate an audience where the good majority of the city is of Hispanic descent.

Now I'm sure the show host was only prodding the question to get an educated response and that's fine but you have to ask the question, "Would you ask Tito Duran why he started La Prensa or why the Express News started Connexion?"

It seems that only the Black press gets questioned about why it is in existence and that is just another stereotype that is fought on a daily basis.

Black newspapers, radio stations, television stations/programming and other media outlets are formed and developed for the same reason that Hispanics have their own media outlets, why the Indian culture have their own media outlets, or why those of Arab/Muslim descent have their own media outlets; they are formed to combat the pervasive stereotypes that the mainstream media in this country still inflicts on the American public.

Yet unlike many other minority media outlets, which are formed not just to inform that particular community but to also showcase its heritage to the rest of the world, the Black press has been developed out of the necessity of being shunned by White America back during segregation days and even in today's times.

Coverage of the Black community is often very tainted in the mainstream press with many images showcasing nothing but the bad imagery of poverty. Many anchors and news stations will run stories at the top of their newscasts that show the brutality of gang life, poverty, etc.

When it comes to musical entertainment, all the mainstream press really understands is the supposed imagery that rap music brings out and yet fails to realize that there is a whole facet of that musical genre that does not depict a woman as a whore or a Black male as a dope pusher, gangster or hustler out to make illegal gains.

The Black press, just like probably all other minority owned media outlets, tries to make sure that the rest of society sees the contributions that African Americans have made to society. It tries to enforce the fact that like everyone else, African American families have the same hopes and dreams like everyone else and also face similar family unit problems. But most importantly, the Black press tries to bring a conscious balance as to how this particular minority group is portrayed and that no matter how sophisticated we all may think we are in the country, that racism towards this one particular minority group is brutally consistent and unforgiving.

Several emails have come across this author's desk asking why can't there just be one type of media and I even tried to answer that on the air.

In today's times that simply is not going to happen.

As great as this country is, there is still a very distinct difference between those that have and those that have not.

I watched an HBO documentary over the weekend entitled, "Right America Feeling Wronged".

The documentary, done by Alexandria Pelosi, was a snapshot of some of the most enthusiastic conservative Americans, once labeled "the silent majority" of the voting American public. Many of them feel so alienated over cultural and political issues that they say they will never trust the new president, the Congress or the media.

What struck me about Pelosi's documentary was the fact that the documentary also showed the very public denunciation of Barack Obama's historic achievement in our history.

Pelosi visited 28 states and in much of the documentary you could tell that the majority White subjects did not care for Obama or the fact that a Black man had the gumption to run for the office of President of the United States. What I found myself doing was shaking my head, throwing balled up paper wads at my television, cursing in broken Spanish and French, and being utterly sickened even more by the so-called base of the Republican Party.

Keep in mind that this was the party that Lincoln represented; the party that freed Black slaves from their unjustified servitude. This was supposed to be the party that said that slavery was a moral injustice and that the then Democrats were morally corrupt in wanting to keep hold of an institution that enslaved another human being.

Yet is also very ironic that the only time the Republican Party as a whole picked a Black man to lead the RNC. Michael Steele wasn't picked because he was qualified for the job; he was picked because Obama became the first Black president of this country and that was how they were going to try and bring in the Black conservatives to the Republican fold.

However Pelosi's documentary may have thwarted that attempt by bolstering the very reason why the Black press is in existence; to confront the racial injustice, bigotry and idiocy that still plagues much of this country about who African Americans are and what the Black community is really about.

Should the Black press be constantly defended by those who are uneducated as to it's founding?

No.

But you can't expect this country to understand the most uncelebrated minority group in the country either. The un-celebration comes from the standpoint that the Black community is taken for granted more often than other groups simply because many in this country think everything is fine between Blacks and Whites.

In reality, these two groups have a long way to go to heal the racial divide. There is a mistrust that goes back generations and centuries that cannot be undone even with the historic election that was just witnessed. For the Black community, there is no rest for total equality until there is an acceptance that this particular community is known more than just athletes, great orators or entertainment models on the big and small screen.

Until that happens, the Black press is going to continue to try and balance the scales against the bigotry and overt racism that is targeted at the Black community.

It is the same charge that every other minority media outlet will do for their community because in this country, we are not at racial peace.

We have racial tolerance and somewhat of racial understanding.

But racial peace comes when everyone believes that each other is equal in the eye of the stranger and that no one is any more special in whatever task or societal grouping comes forth.

When that happens, then the minority press, as a group can be a full fledged member of the mainstream press.

NY Post cartoon is racist; not ifs, buts or 'bananas' about it

2009-02-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

Ever since President Barack Obama became this nation's president and even when he was running for the office, political satire involving him has been very "tame" compared to other cartoon depictions of political figures.

Maybe that has been because no cartoonist wants to offend the millions of African Americans but that has never stopped cartoon strips or editorial cartoonists from pushing the envelope.

Remember when the New Yorker came out with their cover about Obama and his wife? You remember the one? With Obama in a turban, the American flag burning in the fireplace and an AK-47 assault rifle strapped to an Afroed Michelle Obama?

Yeah that was every bit as racist and stupid as what NY Post's Sean Delonas shows just how insensitive this country still is towards African Americans and our accomplishments.

Let's put this into a perspective that everyone can understand.

This month, today (February 18, 2009) is Black History Month. Here we have what I am going to assume is one minority, Delonas, having the unmitigated gall to portray a chimpanzee as the "author" of the stimulus package that was recently signed by President Obama and the NY Post, a news medium that is own by a minority group, has the nerve to not even want to respond to the criticism the cartoon is getting?

What the Post and Delonas have done is actually openly pimp slapped Black America and say, "No matter what your accomplishments, you are still n****s and nothing is going to change."

You know what the funny thing is? There is still a good percentage of this nation's populous that thinks the way Delonas' cartoon portrays African Americans.

That perception also is extended to other minority groups but if you notice, not one American is upset that the current climate of our economic state may be the fault of a group of minorities who many perceive as money hungry, stingy ingrates. Notice how there are no cartoons depicting Jewish bankers or stockholders in a demeaned fashion?

But yet this country expects African Americans to sit back, gaggle, giggle and snort with laughter at such a depiction of what we consider one of our greatest leaders even if he is a neophyte on the political spectrum.

The anger that should be felt by many African Americans should also be felt by others because the cartoon is offensive to anyone with common sensibilities.

Here we are saying that this country is the greatest country in the world and a cartoonist has the audacity to think it is okay to use a chimpanzee as his main subject in a cartoon that has political influences?

Is the Post that insensitive that they simply don't give a crap about their minority readers?

They must be because they fired a freelance writer, who is African American, because they didn't think he was being racially profiled by NYPD. He sued the department and he won his case because there is a settlement.

But this cartoon is very disturbing simply because no one should ever have to see the imagery of a dead animal, two police officers and a crazy caption that Delonas used.

If the Post's editors don't care about who they offend, then maybe it is time that African Americans REALLY asserts how much buying power they have on the Post's advertisers.

If the Post doesn't think it exists maybe they need to call Don Imus and ask him what it felt like being stripped of your magical wand on a national stage.

The Suns' problem lies with GM Kerr and Robert Sarver; not coaching staff

2009-02-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

Al Davis. Daniel Snyder. George Steinbrenner. Donald Sterling. Jerry Jones.

You know what all of these rich team owners have in common? Robert Sarver.

Now you're asking yourself, "What does Sarver have to do with these five owners?"

It's quite simple. Sarver is now as meddlesome with his team as these other five owners and he is as clueless why the team doesn't win as the rest of his new found fraternity is too.

By the time this is posted, Terry Porter will be out as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and Alvin Gentry will be in. Sarver thinks that a change in leadership is needed but in reality what is needed is a change in philosophy and that starts with his general manager; Steve Kerr.

If anyone needs to go, Kerr does.

What many fans don't realize is that Kerr, with Sarver's blessing, has derailed the Suns from what they used to be. When you trade away key pieces of what made the eight second offense effective, you are not going to get the same personnel. But Kerr doesn't see that as the problem; he only sees Porter as the problem and that has now filtered into how the team acts as well.

The firing of Porter only does one thing; it delays the inevitable.

The sun is setting in Phoenix and nobody can save this franchise from being on the outside looking in any longer.

You would have thought Sarver understood this when he replaced Mike D'Antoni as head coach. Under D'Antoni the team did thrive in making the playoffs. Granted defensively the team was suspect but when you are capable of throwing up huge amounts of points and you can play a modicum of defense with Shaquile O'Neal in the middle, the system works for the moment.

But Sarver wanted NBA championship caliber effort and with the way the team was structured, he wasn't going to get that result. Kerr should have realized that and instead of signing off on replacing a coach, he should have found a way to keep guys like Shawn Marion on the roster and push for a common goal.

In other words Kerr is a lousy team leader from the GM slot and Sarver is even worse as an owner. The two of them aren't about winning. They couldn't be if they are thinking replacing Porter is the answer.

Maybe its my new found wisdom of team concepts and goals because of the classes I've taken already while going back to school. Yeah I'll admit that the team collaboration and conflict resolution course actually opens up my eyes and pinpoints where sports teams fall as top contenders but I'm not paid millions to figure that out.

Then again, maybe I should be. I know what the problem is with the Suns.

If you replace Terry Porter, you have to fire Steve Kerr at the end of the season. Alvin Gentry is a good guy but he isn't going to be the head coach next season.

There is way too much turnover in that organization for it to be successful and compete with the likes of the Lakers, Spurs and Hornets. Those three organizations have solid team leaders as general managers and they have a support staff that can get the job done. Phoenix on the other hand is a total mess of a situation that is brought on by what Sarver has fallen victim to; microwavable results.

Was Porter the right pick for the head coaching job two seasons ago? Maybe not. But then again what could he do with all the turmoil that was thrown at him by Kerr and Sarver.

Suns' fans should be up in arms about the fluctuation of the team by the front office.

If the Suns make the playoffs it is not going to be because of how they play or because they have new inspiration. Somebody outside of the big three I mentioned earlier will falter. That's five other teams from Denver to Golden State that will help them along the way.

The team will be an eighth seed and if they get Los Angeles, San Antonio or New Orleans in the first round, they will be unceremoniously swept or embarrassed in five games.

What will Gentry get? Nothing.

What should he get? A medal for dealing with the tom foolery that is the front office.

What should Sarver and Kerr get?

How about a one way ticket out of Phoenix.

The Suns' fan base deserves strong leadership at the top and Sarver is a very rocky leader at the helm of this team. But its hard to fire an owner so the next logical candidate after Porter's dismissal this week is Steve Kerr; Sarver's right hand man.

Somebody needs to take the blame for this and Kerr is as good a choice as any.

Not to defend Grimes, but Dallas Academy never quit at trying to be competitive

2009-01-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

The coach whose team beat an opponent 100-0 was fired on Sunday.

Micah Grimes, who was in his fourth season at Dallas Covenant, was fired by the school after Grimes posted his comments about the game on a website he co-founded.

In his post, Grimes said in part "I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel 'embarrassed' or 'ashamed. We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy."

Grimes may feel that he was properly leading his team but others think otherwise.

That's a tragedy because in a world where we have now coddled young boys and girls into saying that losing is not a part of life, we have essentially taken the competitive spirit out of their being very early. What is ironic in this whole story is the fact that the athletic director at Dallas Academy didn't see the lopsided game as a loss but as a learning tool.

"My girls never quit," athletic director Jeremey Cevillo said. "They played as hard as they could to the very end. They played with all their hearts at 70-nothing, 80-nothing and 100-nothing. I was really proud of them. That's what I told them after the game."

So should Grimes have lost his job? Probably not but when you are dealing with a private school that is more concerned with a public perception rather than stark reality, what do you expect a head master to do these days, sit on his hands.

But what Dallas Covenant did was not show the life lesson that needed to be learned on their campus. In the midst of them celebrating the score, they failed to realize that it wasn't too long ago that they were on the bottom of the ladder. Four years ago the girls basketball team was 2-19. How many lopsided scores did those seniors endure? How many tears had to be dried up by parents? How many times did Coach Grimes have to console his players of some sort?

What the Dallas Covenant girls failed to learn was humility; even in a win. What Coach Grimes failed to realize is that sometimes you might have to take one on the chin in order for the lesson to be given, taught and learned by the students.

Yet instead of Grimes looking at the big picture, he only looked at himself and that could be the very reason why he was canned on Sunday.

And still nobody seems to care that in all of this, a Dallas Academy team may have actually learned the lesson better than any adults ever could.

How does that phrase go again? Out of the mouth of babes…

TIME FOR JISD TO STOP THINKING ABOUT THE PIGSKIN

If you haven't heard or read by now, the Judson Independent School District is coming under fire because of an internal audit that was supposed to be confidential is now public.

The infamous audit lists several contracting violations and according to several outside reports, this wasn't the first time the school district was caught with its hand in the cookie jar. Too many sources in the construction business say that the practices that are now just coming to light have been a part of how that board operated for young D.W. Rutledge patrolling the sidelines. We're talking at least 30 years ago minimum

Undoubtedly there will be a lot of people wanting Willis Mackey's head on a silver platter but you know what makes this ironic? He was brought in to clean up the school district.

So now it is possible that the fall guy could be the new superintendent.

Yeah it’s the same status quo.

The problem with the district is that they are like the small town in Friday Night Lights. It is football or bust in Converse and that doesn't do the kids any favors.

Let's be honest. When was the last time a Judson Rockets football player made it to a big time college and/or NFL team?

Hard pressed aren't you?

Well if you have a hard time trying to find one who is currently playing.

Not saying that they shouldn't care about their football program but it also time for the school board to run the district like the way a school district should be ran.

President Obama has promised that the three branches be very transparent with the public's money. I think that is a heck of an idea and if any school district wants to rely on the voters next time around, they want to know that the people who they voted for to represen them.

As it stands right now, JISD is tainted and only JISD can fix their problem.

They may have to clean house and if they do, they may want to make sure that the press is present during that time.

This school board has lost public trust and only the school board can regain the public's trust is to start doing things on the up and up; not continue their deceitful practices.

What is with Black athletes carrying guns in the first place

2008-12-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

This past week I was watching First Take on ESPN and I caught Jemele Hill do a good job explaining cultural differences between professional athletes who are Black and non-Black and illustrate that a lot of the incidents with guns involving Black players is a microcasm of the Black on Black crime phenomenon.

I give Jemele credit. She held her own and did a pretty good job with the topic.

But you know what is really troubling and is something that nobody has really ever addressed?

Why are so many Black athletes carrying weapons to begin with.

I want to stay within the NFL community if possible because right now that seems to be where this story resides.

In preparation for this op/ed, I wanted to find out where the NFL stood on the topic of gun ownership. What I did was that I logged into the media side of NFL.com and found the league's guns and weapons policy.

In the policy's last two paragraphs it makes mention of a player's responsibility to understand the laws pertaining to ownership and the disciplinary sanctions that could come from breaking the law. The policy states: "If you legally possess a weapon, you must understand the local, state and federal laws that apply. The NFL Security Representative in your area will help you get information about these laws. You should be aware that if you take a weapon from one place to another—for example, across state lines—a different set of laws may apply in the new place. Discipline. If you violate this policy on guns and other weapons, you are subject to discipline, including suspension from playing. And if you violate a public law covering weapons—for example, possession of an unlicensed firearm—you are not only subject to discipline, including suspension from playing, but also subject to criminal prosecution."

The last line in the policy is something to take note. To the players and staff of the NFL it says, "Remember, be careful and understand the risks."

That last line is key because when it comes to player education, it's not something that is on the hierarchy of Black players to read these policies and heed their warnings where applicable.

Of course many will say that it is hard to tell a grown man what to do with his second amendment right and while no organization can forbid an individual from exercising that right, what they can do is make sure that all safety precautions are adhered to and that ample warnings of disciplinary measures are in "black and white".

So it is rather perplexing that there is this sentiment out there that believes that the NFL and/or the New York Giants was wrong in disciplining Plaxico Burress last week after he accidentally shot himself at a night club.

Once again the public is not privy to what the media knows about the rules, policies and regulations of the NFL and the public questions those policies because they fail to realize that you are dealing with a corporate enterprise; not some church or civic organization.

But what is also troubling is that there is a segment of the community that does not understand just how serious Burress' actions are to the whole.

Accidental shootings happen more often when there is alcohol involved than when the weapon is at home or locked away. Shootings, whether they are in self defense or done in a malicious intent, are very common outside of night clubs AFTER midnight than during any other time.

And what is also troubling is that many use the argument that players need to protect themselves because they are targets and that argument is used in the wrong context during general discussion.

PROTECTION AT HOME IS ONE THING; PROECTION IN PUBLIC IS 1-8-7

Nobody is saying that professional players should not be allowed to protect themselves.

If a player wants to protect his home, his property and his family, he can do so at his residence. Some players opt to have a firearm in the home and some players don't. In the case of Sean Taylor, Taylor didn't have a weapon to defend himself or his girlfriend and thusly he couldn't adequately defend himself from what became a lethal attack on himself that took his life later.

That is a reason why many players now have firearms at home now and that is a good reason.

But what is not a good reason is to take that firearm outside of the home and transport it to a place in public.

That is where I think both society and the players get the second amendment all mixed up.

That is why the NFL came out with their policy on gun ownership.

But in order to know the law, you have to read it.

You can pretty much make the assumption that pro athletes do not take the time to familiarize themselves with the laws and statues of where they reside during the season. They are quick to blame it on their hired help when in actuality it is the players' responsibility to know the laws of the land they reside in and then act accordingly.

And so when a player like Plax is arrested and his lawyer tells him to plead "not guilty", that is done because the player is ignorant of the law.

That's some pretty jacked up advice but it also shows exactly why players need to read these little league memos for themselves.

If Plax had read and understood New York City and New York state laws on gun ownership, he wouldn't have even had that gun with him.

The other side of the argument is that as a gun owner, it shows that Plax is not mature enough to own a weapon in the first place.

Far too many black athletes think that just having a gun means you're the coolest person on the block.

Gun ownership isn't some right but a privilege that requires a responsible individual.

When players start toting firearms to clubs, they are like everybody else out there who are bad gun owners.

Yes these players need to protect themselves but what they don't need to do is be involved in a gun play scenario in which they either shoot an innocent bystander or they become the victim.

No one is saying don't go out and party.

Just be aware of your surroundings and if you need protection, hire some off duty police officers because guess what, police officers ARE NEVER OFF DUTY.

That last bit of advice might just save you or family from grief and legal issues.

Illinois gub gives right wing talking heads more ammo against Prez-elect

2008-12-09T12:15:00.001-08:00

By Gregory Moore

As if President-elect Barack Obama doesn't have enough problems in the world right now, right in his own back yard he now has the crisis of all political crisis coming down upon him.

Forget about Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers and Fr. Pfleger.

Those four men are neophytes when it comes to political scandals that could tarnish the first Black president of this country.

The heavyweight champion of political scandal has just been crowned and the winner is Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff.

If you don't know by now, Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday morning at his home by federal agents on conspiracy charges that include him trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's now vacated U.S. Senate seat.

Of course news of this sort is bound to hit the airwaves and undoubtedly Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hanity and other right wing talking heads are already trying to find ways to link Obama to this scandal.

Don't be surprised that the words "Chicago politics", "insiders" and even the re-surfacing of Wright, Rezko, and Ayers as possible connects by these and other right wing demogauges. In the world of talk show, in order to keep a listenership someone has to become the hated foe and Obama is the man that everyone loves to hate right now from that side of the world.

It's a pity that instead of reporting on the story about Blagojevich, there are going to be news entities like Fox News, National Review and others who want to make this about Obama and where he is from politically.

Fair and balanced coverage?

Are you kidding me?

Not in this day and age.

Not with so many from the right wanting to show that Obama was the wrong pick for the most lucrative job in this country and possibly the world.

They aren't about taking a wait and see attitude; they are about having ammunition of fodder to constantly last from their microphonic cannons.

So while the right wing blowhards try to find ways of keeping their conspiracy about Obama going, this country is now thrown into a political nightmare of unparalleled proportions.

If you take the treasonous acts of Aaron Burr and couple them with all of the mess that has happened with Watergate and even the Iran-Contra fiasco, you will not come up with a big enough scandal than what is in front of us right now.

How serious is indictment that Blagojevich is being charged with?

How about the fact that it is one of the very reasons why the 17th amendment is a part of our Constitution right now. The amendment says in part, "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution."

The amendment was written and ratified to curtail the corruption that was before this current form of selecting Senators. The amendment was written to stop the very actions that Blagojevich is being accused of and there hasn't been a case like his in probably a 100 years or so.

But his story isn't going to be told and nor will the historical significance of this crime even be seriously talked about by right wing conservatives.

Not this week and probably not ever.

Instead President-elect Obama is about to be thrown into this mess of political strife simply because he was a U.S. Senator who became the President of the United States and instead of these talk show hosts withholding judgment on our 44th President or any of his staff, under the bus they will all go.

That's a sad commentary on our talking media but it also shows just how bad this scandal could become.

With a scandal like this, right wing opponents aren't going to look for plausibility or deniability for President Obama; they are looking for blood and flesh.

Too bad because if there was ever a time for the collective sides of the media to come together and show the country that responsible journalism still exists even after election, this is it.

That's not going to happen.

Not with a juicy scandal like this so close to our new president and it involves his U.S. Senate vacancy.

We're more into Keisha Cole's drama than Burress' real life ramifications

2008-12-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

When I began doing research on my book project, I had a myriad of topics I could have chosen from.

I have floating around in my mind two fictional books about predominantly successful black characters and I have probably three or four ideas that are non-fiction in regards to Black athletes.

Out of all of those topics floating, the one that gravitated to me the most was the one I'm working on now, how Black athletes cannot handle success in today's society.

While the topic may not seem intriguing enough for the intellectually gifted, the fact that in our society there are more stories about black athletes getting in trouble than their Latin, Asian or Caucasian athletes should be troubling; at least it should be troubling in the Black community.

But it really isn't and that is probably why I'm writing the book.

Let's face the facts.

The Black society as we know it, thinks its pretty damn cool to be thugged out and it embraces everything that is the negative stereotype of thuggary as a positive message.

So when Plaxico Burress got arrested on gun charges, you didn't see anyone get upset from the Black community. Nobody took the issue up on CNN. DL and David Allen Grier can't find material funny enough for his show.

The point is that when it comes to this situation or situations like this, the Black community would rather find a reason NOT to say anything rather than tackle the issue head on and bring to to a national attention.

MORE OBSESSED WITH O.J. GOING TO JAIL AND KEISHA COLE'S CLAN

Burress' "non-coverage" by Black America shouldn't be shocking.

After all the only thing that has been abuzz lately is the fact that President-elect Barack Obama is weeks away from making history and everybody in the community is awaiting the "c-note with Barry's face on it".

We, as a people, are more interested in the fact that Oranthal James Simpson is going to jail for 15 years and that Keisha Cole's sister, Neffi, and her momma, are still ghetto as hell and never mind the fact that in a time like this, we should be finding ways to own businesses, start up media empires and become a backbone to the American economy on the production side and not the consumption side of the equation.

We are more in tune with why a guy like Burress got caught and fail to realize that he and so many others continually fall into the trap of the gangsta lifestyle and the complacency that it brings.

And do we get any of this when family members of these guys find out that the bread maker has screwed up potential gains?

Of course not.

The first thing that comes across is that, "the white man took my money away."

You know what's sad about that statement?

In a sense it is true but it is still a guy like Burress' fault that it happened.

UNDERSTANDING THE RAMIFICATIONS OF REALITY

De La Soul came out with a song called, "Reality used to be a friend of mine" and for years I used to hate that song.

But then I got its message.

Reality is only what you make it out to be.

Guys like Burress continually fail to realize where they are on the life chain of pro athletes who are successful and those who are just given an opportunity.

You want to know professional athletes who are successful?

Those are the guys who aren't getting themselves into trouble.

If you don't believe me, google a few guys and prove me wrong.

Just on the wide receiver end of things I'll give you a name; Terrell Owens.

As much as people want to say bad things about T.O., guess what? The guy has never been associated with any social shenanigance during his playing career.

I'll move away from football and go to basketball. Have you ever heard of King James getting caught up in the mess you read about when it comes to clubbing and what not?

Want another one? I'll give you three more names of prominent sports athletes. Tiger Woods. Ken Griffey, Jr., and Freddie Adu.

What's my point in mentioning these names? It's quite simple; you don't become successful by having your name plastered on page one of the New York Times because you were dumb enough to be out at a club with a handgun when you should have had your butt at home.

The ramifications of reality when you do stupid things is that the opportunity to make mega cash is taken away from you.

UNDERSTANDING THAT LOSING MONEY IS REAL THESE DAYS

I look at some of the shows that come on these days and shake my head.

For BET to put a show on about the drama that Cole and her family have on a daily basis draws down the chances of showing SUCCESSFUL family units in the real world.

The fake world that is portrayed on the network is the very reason why guys like Burress lose millions of dollars; that crap just ain't real folks.

A friend of mine told me something a few weeks ago when the stock market crashed and you know what, it rings true. My friend told me the following scenario that he has said about a year ago at a cocktail party he was attending.

"There will come a day when guys like LeBron James and Jay Z will lose a lot of money because they just don't know the rules of the game," my friend said.

"Think about it. These guys come into huge sums of money and they know nothing about investments and so their 'financial advisor' says put your money in Lehman Bros. or Merrill Lynch; two of the oldest stock institutions on the planet."

"These guys do that and when Sept. 15h hit, they went from $100 million on paper to $10 million or just pennies on the dollar."

"They trusted people who may have been looking out for their best interests but because they didn't give a crap about their own future, they got took."

That same principle could actually be used in the case of Burress and other athletes who think "packing" is rule in society and that rule is based on an attitude.

The NFL is pretty darn strict about how it expects its players to act both on and off the field.

Yes the league pretty much dictates what players can and cannot do but then again if you're getting paid a seven figure salary do you really give a darn?

In the business acumen you shouldn't because you are a contract employee and you are expected to conform to whatever is set before you.

The problem with guys like Burress and others is that they don't get that message. Sure the union is going to file a formal complaint but what the NFLPA really should be forcing is the fact that had Burress complied with what the Giants wanted and if he complied by "society's laws" in New York state, he may not be losing $27 million in future earnings.

That is where reality should be biting Burress in the arse.

The union should be pushing for Burress to find new employment with another team and basically tell him that he screwed this opportunity up with the Giants because the reality of the situation is that he did do just that.

That's strike two folks.

He screwed up a chance with the Pittsburgh Steelers and he's now screwed this one up with the New York Giants.

Tell me, how many more chances should he get for being an imbecile?

The bottom line to all of this is that if Black society was serious about how we want to be perceived, we would be pissed off that Burress has become the latest black athlete to squander a chance at building wealth and we would be having some serious discussions about how athletes and entertainers are not our best role models for the rest of th world to see.

Instead we brush off a guy like Burress and we chuckle it up over what Neffi and her momma are raving about this week.

We have younger generations enjoying the clown show and then we wonder how come we can't find better jobs.

Gee maybe we need to step into reality and realize that fantasy is just that; make believe.

Because losing $27 million future earnings for being stupid is real life and not some fake reality show on B.E.T.

"Black Like Me" may also be referred to as "Arrested Like Me" and "Fired Like Me"

2008-05-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

To say that racial profiling does not exist is to say that when it comes to our society, we are just all one big happy family.

The more you read about unlawful stops, searches and arrests, you start wondering what in the world is going on in this country. But what if you are fired for standing up for yourself? Then what?

That is what Leandro Blair, a former New York Post freelance reporter is now facing after he filed a civil suit against the New York Police Department for an unlawful arrest.

Blair, 28, is a graduate of Columbia University and he has masters in journalism. And while he may one day be one of this country's top media professionals, today he is an unemployed black man who told his story, had it printed by his employer but now is being summarily dumped by same said employer because they felt they were "blindsided" by the lawsuit.

So now the phrase, "Black Like Me" not only means, "Arrested Like Me" but also it means "Fired Like Me".

The Post says it did nothing wrong.

"The Post won't have any comment" on the Blair case, said the newspaper's spokesman Howard Rubenstein.

Really? Why not?

Is it not the Post that said in an editorial that supported Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy?

In the piece, the editorial says, "Police overreach? Well, consider this: Last week, a killer said to be wearing a 'Team Fresh' gang T-shirt fatally stabbed an 18-year-old who was standing his own front porch. Isn't it a pity that the killer didn't encounter a stop-and-frisk team on his way to the scene of the crime?" the Post editorial said, in part. "Taken another way: How many young men didn't fall victim to weapons confiscated by the teams? A lot, we'd guess. If cops stand down, as critics demand, it'll be welcome back crime and chaos. And good-bye, peaceful New York."

Okay now will somebody please tell me, what did Mr. Blair do?

The only thing he did was answer questions, and when he thought the officer was finished, he put his hands down.

Officer Castillo, the officer that initiated this search, was the one who was out of control.

He was the one insulting a young man and the ONLY reason why they even stopped him was because he was Black and lived in a neighborhood where there have been a rash of break-ins.

But I have to question NYPD's tactics?

What you guys don't have computers in the responder cars or something?

And what of Officer Reynolds, who later told Blair that he, was black too, doing when all of this was going on?

Not a darn thing.

So we have racial profiling at its worst because you have two officers who can't figure out that they may have done something wrong AND you have an employer who has been embarrassed by its support for a policy that not only got this one wrong but doesn't have the temerity to stand up for one of its own employees.

What should a black man like Blair, who is thinking that all of his education and employment should be his shield against such an injustice, think?

He should think that maybe the cries we here about from so many Latino and Black men has some validity to it; especially since he is now one of the countless innocents in this bad practice.

The Post did Blair a grave injustice and Mr. Blair really should be filing a secondary suit against the Post. His dismissal came because he was standing up for himself against a policy that he deemed unjust. Considering the fact that a judge dismissed Blair's two summonses, why would the Post not back their employee?

Because they are in bed with the NYPD.

They want favor.

Not justice.

That shouldn't be what an employee wants to hear if he is trying to do an honorable and just thing like trying to clear him of a wrongdoing like this.

The EEOC needs to seriously look into whether Blair's firing from the Post is retaliation or discriminatory in nature. It seems that the only reason why they fired him was because he let the officers know that he was an employee with the Post and that he had a masters from Columbia.

Seriously, how can anyone of Blair's former supervisors even sleep at night?

And how can we expect Blair to get over this ordeal?

This is pure racism at its purist form and the sad thing is that you may have had it portrayed on a minority-by-minority interests.

Blair's ordeal began with a Hispanic man making wrongful assumptions about the situation he rolled up on. You have a black man who stood idly by while another black man was being unlawfully searched and you have an employer who did not stand by the employee even when it knew that the incident Blair found himself in was unlawful.

It's the racial trifecta at its worst.

And why did it happen?

Because Leandro Blair is a black man who decided to stand up against a Hispanic man in uniform.

Why did he stand up?

Because Mr. Blair knew he did nothing wrong and that although he answered the questions asked, he was no going to allow himself to be derogated by a policy that is very much against people of color.

He stood up to a racist policy and for that he was fired.

Because he did something that was morally right he has been labeled as doing something societal wrong.

And that is the ultimate wrong in this story.

From this Internet veteran's standpoint, Tavis got what he needed to learn to be media savvy

2008-02-25T12:01:00.001-08:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO -- If you haven't read, seen or heard by now, Tavis Smiley took some major heat the past two weeks for blasting Sen. Barack Obama's unwillingness to show up at last Saturday's State of the Black Union symposium that was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you haven't heard, seen or read any of the stories that have come forth you have missed a lesson in why it is important to be more above reproach and less egotistical when it comes to dealing with the Black community. But for those of you who haven't hard, seen or read the stories, let me give you a quick recap of what has transpired.

Roughly two weeks ago, Smiley had sent out invitations to the then four major presidential candidates to appear at the SOBU function. Of the four, only one candidate RSVP'd; Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama did not show up Saturday and neither did John McCain or Mike Huckabee. However the flack that Smiley is still receiving is not from his blast on McCain or Huckabee but on Obama. Smiley lambasted Sen. Obama's decision as a miscalculation on the Senator's part and he went on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and expressed his displeasure. It was from that standpoint that Smiley then received the grief he is currently receiving now.

"I have family in Indianapolis," Smiley told the Washington Post in an interview a few days later.

"They are harassing my momma, harassing my brother. It's getting to be crazy," Smiley told the newspaper.

If Smiley never understood why he cannot go on the radio and take crack shots at big time newsmakers, he got a quick lesson this month. Welcome the big leagues Tavis.

I can understand why Smiley may feel that he is now the poster child for everything wrong with Black leadership. What Smiley has never envisioned was that somebody was going to be against his thoughts, feelings and movement AND he never thought that Black America would be so savvy enough to let it be known of their displeasure. Well Tavis it happens and as an Internet veteran for over a decade, when you are on the national scene like you are, you are going to get major backlash from more than just a few people.

Smiley's comments and the fact that there were other Black commentators, bloggers and just ordinary people who have Internet access only heightened a precarious moment. I am quite sure that had he re-thought his strategy, Smiley would have never went on his buddy Tom Joyner's show and expressed his displeasure like he did. I'm still amazed that Joyner has not caught a similar backlash himself for "co-signing" with Smiley on this issue. Yet I can't say I'm surprised either. When you say something controversial, you had better expect some heat from somewhere.

The problem with Smiley is that he sincerely thinks he is the only voice out here in the "Blacksphere" of the black community. Veteran writers like Roland Martin, Dr. Boyce Watkins and even myself have been where he is today and we have all survived. The difference however is that I don't think any of us acted as arrogant as he did before the firestorm came his way.

The lesson that Smiley needs to learn is that Black America is not as duped and brain dumb as he thinks. In case he hasn't noticed, Black America has evolved from clamoring for a voice like a Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, Al Shartpon and others. Today, Black America wants someone or a group of individuals who can show them how to not only still be Black (i.e. true to themselves and their beliefs) but also how to fit well into society at large. Today Black America realizes that we are the face of the country and that our problems are indeed no different than 95% of the country. Events like the SOBU is not about trying to get our voices heard but about how to deal with our problems internally and how to fix them internally.

Tavis is a big boy. Surely he will realize that when you have a national platform, you are going to take some hits. He's not the only one who has been taking to the woodshed and 'spanked'. This won't the first time his own community disagrees with him and he needs to realize that.

But there is a lesson to be learned here and hopfully he has learned it.

You have to be careful even in your criticisms and that sometimes whatever your personal agenda may be, it may not be what others have.

Had Tavis simply said that he respected Sen. Obama's decision not to participate and that he looks forward to future participation, this would have been a non-issue for him. It would have been because by all accounts, those in attendance didn't think it was a big deal for Obama missing the event.

The last part of the lesson is that very statement; if the attendees (meaning the community) didn't think it was a big deal, why didn't Smiley?

Gregory Moore is the Managing Editor/webmaster for the San Antonio Informer, found at www.sainformer.net. He is an Internet veteran columnist who has also been a contributor to various News Talk, Sports Talk and Sports programming for Fox Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio, and ESPN as well as for Clear Channel, Inc. and other media outlets including the nation's only premiere black sports website, Black Athlete Sports Network (www.blackathlete.net).

Upshaw’s demeanor shows why retired vets want him out of the NFLPA

2007-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO – “Paging Gene Upshaw, paging Gene Upshaw. You’re needed in Kevin Everett’s room stat.”

Whether NFLPA union boss Gene Upshaw likes it or not, the attitude his possesses against the media in regards to whether he will or has visited Buffalo Bills injured player Kevin Everett is the very bone of contention as to whether or not Upshaw has any compassion at all. The brittleness, abruptness and sometimes down right rudeness or arrogance that Upshaw and even some of his PR employees show right now is the very reason why former players want him out of the very union they helped create. Think that is an over exaggeration? Think again. In the world where perception is everything, Upshaw’s demeanor showcases exactly why many think his is a pompous ass and he is doing nothing to change that fact.

Whether Upshaw or Carl Francis, the union’s chief mouthpiece, understand the situation at hand or not is a relevant point amongst the media and former/current members of the union. Smart public relations experts would have told Upshaw a long time ago that he needs to lose the scowl and be more amenable to the press and to many of his former colleagues who are hurting. Compassion, as one PR expert told me, goes a long ways towards healing any wounds from previous battles but yet Upshaw has this “me against the world” attitude.

So when it comes to making it seem like he does care about a current rank and file member, instead of Upshaw makes a statement like, “When I visit Kevin it will not be a press conference," Upshaw said Monday afternoon. "It will not be at the urging of anyone but him or his family. ... I don't know why I have to explain that to anyone."

Okay Gene let me help you with your public relations mea culpa statement. First of all you owe the whole world an explanation as to why it has taken you this long in even visiting this young man. As I wrote last week about how the union needs to do right by Everett, the first step in showing everybody that the NFLPA is indeed a caring union, you step up, learn to take media pictures in even trying situations and you help spin the darn story in your favor. C’mon man, how hard can this really be? Surely Francis and others have told you this? Your next step in trying to show that you are a caring person who has compassion and understanding of the situation at hand is that you, Francis and others need to know everything you can about the Miami Project. I thought it was quite comical as I was reading through various op/eds this morning that Mark Kriegel’s piece actually shows how uninformed the NFLPA’s press office is on injuries. When Francis was asked about the efforts of the Miami Project, he replied, “What exactly is the Miami Project?"

Not a good answer Mr. Francis. Not a good answer at all. In a sport where spinal injuries could happen, both you and Mr. Upshaw should be the familiar with what this project has developed and be advocating that more sports physicians attend the workshops that these doctors author on a yearly basis.

Yet Francis’ answer is very typical of how the NFLPA operates; lackadaisical and without any foresight and responsiveness to future issues that may come about as dictated by the past and present events surrounding their environment.

So why should any of us be surprised that Upshaw hasn’t visited Everett in the hospital? Because we are all hoping that he and the NFLPA’s rank and file in Washington, D.C. have learned from their past errors and want to be better stewards in the future. Yet if the current actions of no only Upshaw but that of his spokesperson are any indication, the elitist position that they have always took will continue to be the norm.

SPINAL/HEAD INJURIES CAN BE AVERTED

Everett’s injury has renewed a lot of parents’ fears about the game of football and the violent hits that are a part of the game. It wasn’t that long ago when I was coaching a Pop Warner team and one of our players made a tackle but then went down in a crumpled heap. Parents panicked and many coaches and support staff were rushing to try and help but did not know how. It was that year that I had just so happened to have my sports trainer certification from the Red Cross and one of the biggest emphasizes that year were on spinal injuries. So when that player went down and he said he couldn’t feel his limbs, I didn’t panic; I realized exactly what was going on and directed everyone around me what they needed to do. By following my instructions, we got that young man to the hospital where within a few hours he was sitting up, playing a video game and eating like he hadn’t had his favorite foods in over a month. How was this possible? Because I relied on my training on how to avert a serious spinal/neck injury.

Spinal, head and neck injuries are probably the scariest types of injuries any medical staff member wants to come across yet many of these injuries can be averted if the coaches, players and parents just follow some simple guidelines. Some of those guidelines are as follows:

• Players should always make tackles using proper technique. That means that no one should be leading with their head gear (helmet) and they should be using their shoulders that are clad with shoulder pads.

• Play safely by making sure the would be target sees you. Often times injuries like Everett’s come from players who are out to make the big hit but who are not looking after the player who they are about to tackle but more for jarring the ball loose with that big hit. Players should always make sure that their opponent sees them and has a chance to prepare himself or herself for the hit. Even in split second plays, good form and technique won’t diminish the hit but shows good sportsmanship.

• In the case of an apparent injury, coaches should try and be calm to their team while the medical staff on the field keep the subject in a calm state as well. Hysteria breeds fear, anxiety and other neurological issues that are so not needed on the playing field.

• If the injury is a neck, head or spinal injury, only trained medical staff should be moving the subject. Coaches and/or parents need to let these individuals do their job. No one except a trained medical staff member should be moving the player because nobody else may know the ramifications of such a move; even if it is just to a stretcher.

Football players need to realize that they are not invincible and that at any given time an injury of Everett’s magnitude can surface. That is why it is so imperative that coaches and parents of younger players force them to be more fundamentally sound in their technique than trying to hot dog a play and make the spectacular hit.

As violent as this game can get, football can also be very safe if followed within the guidelines of the sport itself. Injuries like Everett’s, while not being completely eliminated by good technique, can be drastically averted if good technique is followed. And while Everett’s technique and the play he was involved in were both sound plays, we can’t forget just how dangerous this game can truly be. Hopefully parents and the future stars of the gridiron understand that fact and govern themselves accordingly.

Gregory Moore is the Managing Editor of the San Antonio Informer, a weekly African American newspaper located in San Antonio, Texas. He has been covering the NBA for fourteen seasons and is a frequent contributor to Fox Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio, ESPN television programming, local talk radio shows as well as various other radio outlets and Internet properties.

In the wake of Don Imus, I’ll offer an apology to the Duke lacrosse team

2007-04-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – “Paging Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, please pick up a red courtesy phone. Attention all media pundits, columnist, blowhards, schizophrenic penners and dedicated scribes, we are all needed in Durham, North Carolina to atone for an egregious wrong on three young men and turn our attention to a very guilty young woman who has put a nation into the cross hairs of racial discourse.”

My fellow journalists and somewhat astute talking heads, we owe Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans an apology for professing them guilty when they were indeed innocent. But since I don’t think any of my colleagues will do this action, and I know that Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton won’t even do what is right in this situation, let me be one of the first and few to say, “Gentlemen, I’m sorry. I apologize for not giving you the benefit of the doubt in this case.”

Over the past thirteen months or so this case has been pushed to the back burner and others have stepped forward. In its heyday I wrote a few scathing articles, filled with the natural anger of seeing a society that allowed privileged White men take advantage of a poor Black girl. Yeah I’m admitting it. My articles were as prejudicial as they came but then again (and this is not necessarily an excuse or admission) with the way African Americans have been treated in such instances over the past few centuries, it was sort of a relief to see the other side of the tracks feel the heat, the embarrassment and shame that Black America faced during slavery, after slavery and what still goes on to this day. Did I feel good about these three young men getting a first hand history lesson on what it feels like to be railroaded by a ‘racist’ system? As embarrassing as this may be and as repentant as I am in falling for the okie doke, yeah it felt damn good. For probably the first time in a long time, White America now felt the pain that my community has been dealing with for years.

Maybe Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans have a good understanding why many in the Black community are having a hard time giving them an apology. This community gets angry any time one of its own is falsely accused, wrongfully incarcerated or brutally taken from us. When it comes to certain segments of this country, racism and images of the Ku Klux Klan and abductions ring loud and clear even to my generation and beyond. For the most part, these young men will never understand the pain, the humiliation or other feelings that countless Black families have felt when their young men have been accused of raping a white girl and everyone knows it is a lie. A relentless prosecution of a lie is something that happens every day for many Black men in this country and unlike these three Duke players, these young men cannot afford the best counsel available to defend them on these charges.

Does this make it right? Of course not. And it isn’t right that a website would go so far as to publish the name of “Jane Doe” along with all of her personal information. Whether she is wrong for falsely accusing these three young men or she genuinely believed the incident happened, it is just wrong to publish such information. I am a big proponent on protecting the names of such victims, whether they lied or not. I’ve said so years ago in an article entitled, “The Sports World Has An Ethical Issue About the Coverage of the Kobe Bryant Trial” (refer to this web link: http://www.blackathlete.com/Basketball/nba072303.html). In that story I wrote: “The media circus has officially started and already a trial of the victim has begun. Let’s be perfectly honest on one point about this trial. Nobody can remain anonymous in this day and age. If the Eagle County DA thought they could hide the alleged accuser’s identity he is sadly mistaken. This information is already out in the public arena and there is so much information about the alleged victim that includes pictures, a phone number, an e-mail address from the college she attended and even tax information on her parent’s home in the area. In other words, D.A. Mark Hurlbert is going to face the daunting task of not only trying Bryant in the court of law but now the court of public opinion is primed and ready to start weighing in on what it thinks. Already a website that calls itself “Binary Report” is out to discredit the young lady. You can bet your last dollar that defense attorneys will use whatever information they can to discredit her”. Written on July 23, 2003, those words were as pertinent then as they are today. In the Duke story, there are individuals and dare I say, even media professionals, who want to give some sort of vigilante justice by publishing the Duke accuser’s name, address and anything else. If I wrote it was wrong in 2003 to have the BinaryReport.com post the Colorado victim’s name, address and show ‘aerial’ footage of where she lived in Eagle, Colorado, it is 100 times as worse in this day and time for a website such as dilby.com to do the same. This website has done no good whatsoever and has only hurt Ms. Doe, the players and even Michael Nifong (yes they published all of his information as well).

Whatever my feelings are about how this case went down or the feelings countless others, the mere fact that an individual or company would do no one any good. As much as I think it is important now for Ms. Doe to realize that she has become a part of the American social fabric of racial injustice and reverse discrimination, that is simply not my call and nor should it be for that of any other person who may wield a slight bit of power in influencing the thoughts of other citizens. And all of those thoughts come from the mere fact that personally I think that these young men and their families needed to have become a part of American history as well so that they can now tell others just how wrong being falsely accused can be and work towards making sure that the justice system is for everyone. Yes even with everything I wrote above, a small piece of me did get a little it of satisfaction seeing these young men suffer very familiar fate that countless Black men have done before and after them.

However that does not make it right and that is why I am willing to write an ‘open’ letter of apology to these three men. If no other writer in this country has the guts to pen something of a heartfelt apology, I want these three young men, their families and their friends to know that at least this African American sports writer is willing to give a heart felt apology. Now I cannot do like Don Imus and have a face to face meeting with these young men and their families maybe if they read this op/ed on the web or hear about this op/ed on the various radio shows I appear on a local, regional or national stage, at least they know that there is someone in America who can admit their mistakes, ask for forgiveness for their actions and then move on to try and make the world a better place.

Gregory Moore is the Managing Editor of the San Antonio Informer, a weekly African American newspaper located in San Antonio, Texas and is a former NBA analyst for Fox Sports Radio and has appeared ESPN’s “Outside the Lines Nightly”, “Hot List” and “4 Quarters” programming. He currently is a contributing writer for Basketball News Service’s ‘Hoopsworld.com” website covering the San Antonio Spurs and is a show contributor to Sporting News Radio, The Big Mo Show as well as several local talk radio shows in San Antonio, Texas and Richmond, Virginia.

Once again a people are attacked and once again they fail to respond to the right ‘enemy’ before them

2007-04-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO -- When Don Imus called the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team a bunch of “nappy headed ho’s” last week, we were all appalled that someone who has been in the radio broadcasting industry would make such a horrific mistake. But then again if you have ever listened to “Imus in the Morning” on MSNBC or on the radio, such comments shouldn’t be a surprise. For thirty years, Don Imus and his ragamuffin band of radio comrades for his program have been pretty much potty mouthed, sexist, racist and anything else you want to throw their way. If you wanted to find a good definition of “Playa hating” in this time and age, Merriam Webster would have a picture of Imus’ ‘nappy’ afro mug shot right next to the definition: “anyone who believes he is all pious, believes that making fun of anyone and everyone because they have ability or accomplishments that he or she cannot achieve, someone who believes in espousing vitriol hatred towards any one group for no reason whatsoever is cool”. That definition fits Don Imus. It fits his producer, Bernard McGurk, who chimed in on the comments. It fits anyone who has been associated with the Imus show and has made offensive remarks. But you know what the irony is? It’s just par for the course this day and age because no program director or executive producer is willing to yank a talk show with great ratings when the show’s host or contributors attack an individual, a people or group.

But as troubling as Imus’ comments are and the fact that he needs to be removed off of the airwaves, what is far more troubling is the fact that we have individuals who want to do the right thing and demonstrate their displeasure but they are going about to attack the wrong ‘enemy’ for what they perceive as a wrong. The NAACP, the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and others want Black America to boycott MSNBC but in stark reality it should be CBS Radio and Infinity Broadcasting who should be getting the emails, letters of disgust and protests. But why has everyone chosen MSNBC? Because they seem to be the ‘easiest’ target in the fight.

That’s typical of today’s “Black movement” when it comes to trying to bolster up support and make a move of change against a perceived threat. Even the National Association of Black Journalists’ Byron Monroe should know that the course of action isn’t to protest MSNBC but to go after a parent company. The direction of any attack on getting Imus removed should be aimed at WFAN’s lack of willingness to listen to an audience or segment of the population who have felt harmed by one of their own. No one at WFAN has even addressed the topic; they have all hidden behind their desks and “Dilbert” cubicles. But that should be expected by someone in the business that is afraid to stand up against what is wrong and forget about the profits or ad billing dollars that come forth.

What is truly amazing in light of this “Michael Richards” Freudian slip is the fact that the collective community known as the Black community still does not know how to project a response in a direction that will bear fruit from the toils of their labors. If the NABJ, NAACP, Sharpton, Jackson and others want Imus removed, then forget about boycotting the offices of MSNBC. Boycotts these days, unless they are economic boycotts to the advertisers who ‘sponsor’ the show on both radio and television. Those types of boycotts simply do not work because the sophistication needed to pull off them with any success relies on a willingness of a complete community to say, “No I will not buy this product”. That chance will not happen in this case. However the next best thing is for the Black community to flex its muscle by voicing its outrage on its own airwaves. Shows like the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Michael Baisden Show, Sharpton Speaks, Black Men Revealed and any other radio or television shows in the community need to make this an almost daily mission to let it be known their displeasure. Black organizations, from fraternities and sororities to professional organizations and churches need to let their elected officials know that if they make an appearance on the Imus show, they will lose their vote. Even the professionals in the media, myself included, need to act as if Imus doesn’t exist. If he calls, we say “No thanks. I’ve got a date with slug in the next room”.

If the Black community really wants to stop such attacks on its culture, its people and its contributions to the American landscape, then it is time for it’s so-called leaders to learn how to fight these wars by attacking the ‘correct’ enemy and quit reacting to the first ‘soft target’ that just pops up on their radar.

Gregory Moore is the Managing Editor of the San Antonio Informer, a weekly African American newspaper located in San Antonio, Texas and is a former NBA analyst for Fox Sports Radio and has appeared ESPN’s “Outside the Lines Nightly”, “Hot List” and “4 Quarters” programming. He currently is a contributing writer for Basketball News Service’s ‘Hoopsworld.com” website covering the San Antonio Spurs and is a show contributor to Sporting News Radio, The Big Mo Show as well as several local talk radio shows in San Antonio, Texas and Richmond, Virginia.

Super Bowl Weekend Shouldn’t Be The Only Time For This Story To Be Told

2007-02-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO-- I’m glad to see and read that the plight of former NFL players is being told this week but I have a problem with Ray Ratto, Dan Wetzel and others, including many of my own friends in radio and TV land, and that problem is this: where the hell were you last year, last month or last week when this should have been a priority back then?

As many of you know, I have been a silent proponent to try and help change how guys like Herb Adderley, Eugene ‘Mercury’ Morris, Wayne Hawkins and almost 250 other former NFL players have been treated by the current NFLPA and it’s union head, Gene Upshaw. I have written several stories about these guys and what they are going through. I have had personal conversations, both via e-mail and on the phone, with many of them and I have heard them tell me how the benefits package that they signed for before the age of 62 has nearly crippled many of them today. And I’m not just talking about some no name guys either. I’m talking about many players who helped make the NFL what it is today and that includes many Hall of Fame players and many of them who are not a part of this weekend’s festivities. Guys like Adderley, Rayfield Wright, Joe DeLamielleure, Alan Page and so many others. I’m talking about guys who changed the game like a Marlon Briscoe, Mercury and Earl Edwards. It was conversations like I had with Mercury some time ago about his court battles and how much he just wants things to be equal for every former player that has pushed me to write those articles and it was correspondence with Edwards, Adderley, Smokey Stover, Ron Mix and others that continues to keep me in the loop, trying to help these guys get what they rightfully deserve but more importantly, to show the union that it needs to do a better job of taking care of its ‘elders’.

So when I read Ratto’s piece or hear one of my friends talk about this charity or that charity, I do get fighting mad at them. I get mad at them because in our business of sports, we, as writers, talk show hosts, or pundits should be caring this torch a lot longer than just a few weeks before another Super Bowl game. I cannot tell you how many times I have sent out personal emails to many of my friends saying that it is up to us to put the pressure on Upshaw and others to realize that former gladiators have paid a tremendous price for the rich millions and billions that this league and players have today. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to just pick up the phone and say, “When in the hell are you guys going to get real about this issue and seriously talk about it?” heck even this past week, I was so tempted to pull a few trump cards and ‘sabotage’ some shows because all they were doing was hitting and missing the issue. But what good would that have done for any of us? Nothing.

Let’s take this even further. I have made suggestions, both via e-mail and through writings, that some very well known former players like Mike Ditka, Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and others need to speak up on video and call Upshaw on the carpet. I’d like to see guys like a Ray Buchanan, James Washington, Greg Lloyd, Cornelius Bennett and Deion Sanders not hide behind the ‘media’ cloak and just tell it like it is. These guys and so many others who are a part of the media now have a tremendous voice and if they spoke up more and often, things could definitely be so much better.

By the same token, this story can only go away when the current membership of the NFLPA realize that they are not helping former players at all. Players can come to the rescue of a family like that of Darrant Williams in tragedy but they cannot be proactive on a tragedy that is ongoing right in front of them. What is wrong with this current NFLPA to say, “okay guys, every month you need to kick in $250 so that we can make sure that ALL of us have a pension plan for years to come”? I simply cannot fathom the fact that nobody in the Washington, D.C. offices sees that by simply raising a few dollars out of everyone’s pockets now and creating a pension fund that covers those players like Adderley and Edwards as well as the millionaires who will be leaving soon. It just seems that nobody truly wants to fix the problem with fresh new ideas; that they are perfectly happy with how things are right now.

I know that there is a retired players committee at the NFLPA that is working hard to correct the problem that is facing these former players. I know that’s a true fact and I have been in contact with many of those members who have said, “just point us to them and we’ll try to help”. But that’s not good enough people. That committee should be a separate committee who is making sure that each end every former player who has signed the package that is paying them a $127.34 a month is getting at least a check of $1,237.34 a month. There should be a pension fund for these guys that takes advantage of the aggressive markets in our financial districts, that benefits from various NFL charity donations, that speaks about education to the new retiring players and who is a true partner to the NFLPA. And yes I’m even saying that maybe Upshaw should still be the man in charge.

But it shouldn’t be this way and it shouldn’t be a hot media topic the week or weekend before the biggest game of the football season. These players deserve better than what is being given by the media. Many Hall of Famers like Adderley, DeLamielleure and Page should be a part of this game. Media outlets should be just tripping over themselves to talk to these retired players who have played in the early Super Bowl contests. There should be long lines of callers wanting to speak to these former gladiators and find out from them how things were back in the ‘glory’ days of the NFL/AFL. That’s how it should be but that’s not the reality. The reality is that the only time any of these men are called upon is right about this time and I shouldn’t be surprised.

I’m not going to say that my disappointment in my own profession leaves me shameful because it doesn’t. If a writer or talk show host wants to take this time to bring out one of the biggest tragedies in sports today, I say go for it because it needs to be exposed. But what I am shameful about is the fact that while this story is being told all over the world right now and maybe a few days after the big game, I know for a fact that nobody will speak about this tragedy a month from now or even a year from now until Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.

Look, I applaud those who have decided to speak about the plight of our retired NFL players. There really isn’t a better time to do it than this weekend. However, if guys like Ratto, Wetzel and others really want to help these guys out, then speak on this topic when this game is over with and there’s nothing going on in March. These guys played their hearts out for us in the early years and I think the sports media, especially those who have the stroke of the pen or the boom of a mike that can reach millions, to tell their story and to keep it as a major blip on the sports story radar screen. This story needs to be told as often as possible.

The Super Bowl isn’t the only time for this story to be told; it’s just the biggest stage because of the game being played.

NOTE: Check the BASN archives for Greg's story entitled "The Lie That The NFL Won't Tell Current Players" at www.blackathlete.net/artman/publish/article_01876.shtml.

An open letter to the owner, the coach, the Commish and the Executive Director

2007-01-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – With the big game basically a week away, it seems that the only truly big news, outside of Reggie Bush’s extortion case, is that of another Cincinnati Bengals player being arrested. To say that I’m the least bit surprised by this latest incident is an understatement. I’m beyond surprised or shocked now. I’m beyond being upset because it doesn’t do myself any good. Why should I care about a bunch of grown men who don’t realize they have the tiger by the tail?

I pondered that and numerous other questions this past weekend because I’m having a hard time understanding the mentality of today’s professional athlete. And in my pondering of why we have so many athletes, namely NFL players, acting the way that they do, I thought maybe if I just penned an open letter to a few folk, I may be able to get the answers I’m looking for. So thus here is my open letter to some people who need to help us fans understand what the heck is going on in this day and age.

“Dear Mr. Brown, Lewis, Gooddell and Upshaw:

Good afternoon gentlemen. I am writing you as a very disgruntled fan of the NFL. It seems that the National Football League, the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFLPA have no desire to unseat the unruliness and societal defiance attitudes that make up what is known as the Cincinnati Bengals. Gentlemen, to date nine NFL players have disgraced the league, owners, corporate sponsors, their families, fans and their fellow NFL members. I think the mere fact that nine young men, mainly African American, top draft choices and would be contributors to their team, have been allowed to just stay in the league because of lax morality clause issues is absurd and that ultimately, the failure of these nine men fall squarely upon your shoulders as executives of the league and the franchise.

“I wanted to address some concerns with the four of you collectively because it seems that separately, nothing has been said of substance about this issue. First and foremost, when will the Bengals’ management realize that dealing with societal hoodlums is not the way to build a quality football team? Surely Mr. Lewis and Mr. Brown, you do realize that the majority of the young men you have brought in over a two year span lacked the discipline and “home training” to be a representative of your team. For you this year has been extremely disappointing and if the starting quarterback has come out and publicly lambasted a troublemaker like what is on your team, then there is a major problem.

What do the four of you plan to do about these unnecessary arrests and humiliating cases? How can the four of you sit back and say that your hands are tied when each and every case mentioned has been that of a moral clause situation. Let me use your own NFL words against you: “Engaging in violent and/or criminal activity is unacceptable and constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity and public confidence in the National Football League. Such conduct alienates the fans on whom the success of the League depends and has negative and sometimes tragic consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. The League is committed to promoting and encouraging lawful conduct and to providing a safe and professional workplace for its employees.”. Did you truly mean what you said in that language? Do any of you subscribe to the premise that society’s laws are paramount to the rules that are set by the NFL and that any law broken by a member is automatically subjected to the premise of being a violator of this conduct policy?

“Gentlemen I ask this question because it seems that all of you and your peers seem to be looking for an excuse not to punish these players in a swift manner. From my point of view, it seems that the league and the teams would rather let the public court of opinion take form and form opinions rather than swiftly removing the problems, as they exist. For example, how can an individual like Chris Henry be allowed to still be a member of the Bengals when he was involved in a crime that involved minors? His numerous arrests and court appearances should be something that raised many red flags about his character both on and off the field. Let’s fast forward a bit. How will this team handle candidates with troubled backgrounds in the near future? Mr. Lewis you have told the Cincinnati Enquirer that this off-season, the club will be looking harder at the character of a player and not just athletic ability. I’m sorry but isn’t that something that should have been in the process to begin with? And just how hard is it for you to actually do a background check on all your draft candidates anyway? The question falls actually to you, Mr. Gooddell and Mr. Upshaw. Just how difficult is it for the league to go ahead and to have a background database available to all the teams of every potential draft pick?

Gentlemen from my standpoint on this issue, it is a no-brainer. The NFL wants a sort of criminal element because it gives the league this perceived ‘street cred’ bravado. Great citizenship and above average talent is something that this league does not want. If it did, nine Bengals’ players wouldn’t have been arrested this year and many of those players would not be on this team’s roster. Gentlemen, I understand the salary cap issues and what the CBA stands for as far as fair and equal treatment in such cases. But let’s be real about the language that is in that collective bargaining agreement. When it comes to the crimes that these young men commit against society, the league simply slaps them on the wrist and keeps giving them chances to become increasingly worse as they get older.

So I ask the four of you when will the league, the Bengals, and the other teams finally realize that tougher action is needed? In the real world, an employee who has had the issues of these troubled athletes would have been fired because it is a privilege to work for that company. So what is the difference between the real world and the NFL? In my opinion gentlemen, it shouldn’t be a disparity at all. If you want make sure that your fan base believes in your product, you need to punish your players accordingly. Criminal activity should not be taken lightly and right now it seems that this league has spear headed that very principle when it comes to handling players who get into legal trouble and who have embarrassed themselves, their families, the team and the league.

Sincerely,
Greg Moore
A fan first and fore most”

Well at least I felt a little better. Maybe one day I’ll get the guts to actually openly send it.

The “lay-away” mentality of Davis’ purchase of the Grizzlies reminds me of Reggie Fowler

2006-11-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO -- Brian Davis is embarking on a noble idea but I’m afraid he may be pulling a “Reggie Fowler” moment in this bid to be the second African American to have a majority interest in an NBA franchise.

Davis, who played all of one year in the NBA and spent maybe another two years working in the league offices, is banking on former Duke teammate Christian Laetner and his investment team to purchase 70% of the Memphis Grizzlies. The amount of money they are trying to come up with isn’t a small sum either. Michael Heisley, who originally bought the Grizzlies back in 2000, paid $160 million for the team six years ago and according Forbes.com, the franchise was worth $294 million in 2005. So what is Davis and Laetner looking to buy? $205.8M is the price Heisley wants. That’s not a bad return on an investment. Who wouldn’t want a $45 million return in six years and only being the majority owner at that?

But it looks like Davis and Laetner are trying to pull the wool over the minority owners’ eyes and the city of Memphis in general. Davis would have to come up with $40 million of the $205 million needed to buy the team and a series of other investors would make up his “minority” ownership group. To me this smells really rank on Beale Street and it definitely worries the other partners who have a stake in the Grizzlies.

“We were hopeful,” J. R. “Pitt” Hyde, Jr. said after a meeting in his offices on Friday, “but they assured us they will get us that information very shortly.”

Davis, in talking with the Memphis Commercial Appeal, said that everything would come to light shortly when “we file our stuff with the league.”

Stuff? What stuff? From where I’m sitting, I’m beginning to wonder if they even have the right stuff to purchase this franchise. In other words, I’m wondering if Davis is worth what he says he is and I’m wondering if there aren’t any skeletons in the closet that he isn’t telling us as basketball fans.

If I’m sounding really skeptical about this deal right now, you’re right. I’m skeptical because when it comes to something like this, African Americans don’t really do business in the circles of rich sports owners. Let’s be frank about this new experience in our culture. There is only one African American who has a majority interest in a sports franchise and that is Robert Johnson. Of course Johnson is also worth $1 billion or so, so he can afford the $300 million price tag of being an owner. It is that lack of having enough African Americans in that financial stratosphere that has me worrying about Davis’s quest. When it comes to team ownership, you shouldn’t be looking for any minority investors for just a 70% stake in the horse; your investors should be buying the whole dang horse.
And thus I now have some very eerie feelings about whether Davis will be able to run the Grizzlies as majority owner or not. To me, $40 million isn’t enough to give me hope on this deal. Now if he said he’s putting up $150 million of the 70%, I’d be singing a different tune.

When Reggie Fowler tried to buy the Minnesota Vikings, it became apparent that he didn’t have the finances to be the majority owner. To me that was like going to Wal-Mart and putting a $100 engagement ring on “lay away”. Well it looks like Davis is doing the same thing and that’s just not prudent business sense.

This is not about whether another Black man should be a team owner. This is more about whether Davis is financially worthy of joining that elite club. Right now, Davis’ actions are showing that he’s not ready for the big leagues and that may be hurting him to be an owner.

Re-visiting two more of the higher profile cases in collegiate sports

2006-10-31T16:28:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ATNONIO – It’s been a few weeks since any really big news has come out of the Duquesne shooting story and it has definitely been some months since anyone has written anything about the Duke lacrosse case. Both of these stories were big headliners when they came forth but to date they are little more than “Page 12” snippets for the majority of the sports world. But they need to be stories that remind us that somehow college students are real people too and that all to often stories like these happen even if athletic participants are involved. This week, I wanted to just write a few lines that updated everyone on what’s going on in those two cases.

In the Duquesne shooting case, the police have cleared one suspect but four suspects are now ordered to stand trial. When the story was first reported, Brandon Baynes was thought to have been a part of the shooting as a gunman. In the original op/ed that I wrote, Baynes was arrested along with William Holmes. Well today, as I write this update, Mr. Baynes has been cleared by the Pittsburgh Police and all charges have been dropped. Reports that he will cooperate with prosecutors were also mentioned.

That’s good news for Mr. Baynes. No one wants to see an innocent young man go to jail for something he didn’t do. However as good news goes, there is now bad news for some others. In the same reports that I looked at, two more people have been arrested, charged and bail has been set; one woman and another man. Erica R. Sager, 18, of Wilkinsburg and Derek Lee, 18, of Pittsburgh. Lee has been identified by witnesses as being one of the shooters in the Sept. 17th incident. Bail has not been set for him as of this printing. Sager has been identified by witnesses as an antagonist who urged Holmes and Lee to start shooting. She was identified from a line up. Her bond has been set at $1 million.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Sam Ashaolu, 23, the most severely injured of the five Duquesne basketball players shot on campus Sept. 17, remained in serious condition in Mercy Hospital. Doctors did remove one of several small bullet fragments from his head, said his brother John Ashaolu. Sam Ashaolu was struck in the head by two bullets; one remained intact while another broke into three pieces. Both bullets remain lodged in his head. On Thursday, Ashaolu was upgraded from critical to serious condition after becoming more oriented and briefly saying a few words.

"It hasn't changed, his condition hasn't changed since then," John Ashaolu said from his Pittsburgh hotel room. "His condition, right now, is the same."

That’s good news to hear and hopefully more will continue for this young man. BASN will continue to monitor this story.

The next story that hasn’t received much attention is the Duke lacrosse story. This story has been a firestorm in the beginning but the embers are barely burning since the story first broke. The latest news lines of this story are the following: Suspects not getting due process, DA says attack took ten minutes, Witness sentenced in unrelated case.

So what do we know about this case since it was last visited? Exactly what I put in those headline blurbs. According to various op/eds, the suspects in the case may not be getting due process in this case. On Fox.com, one commentator wrote: The Duke Lacrosse case, in which three white male students are accused of raping a black woman last March, is also a case about race, class conflict and political ambition. For me, the case has become a litmus test for the American justice system.

I believe the accused are blatantly innocent and that the prosecuting District Attorney Mike Nifong is acting with willful disregard for both the evidence in the case and the Constitutional rights of the accused. In this case, I believe the legal system is the enemy of justice...and nakedly so.

How naked? Consider one of the suspects, Reade Seligmann. He is scheduled to be tried on three felony charges despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence: exculpatory DNA tests, a corroborated alibi, a string of contradictory statements by his accuser and an irredeemably tainted I.D.

The assumption that a defendant is 'innocent until proven guilty' has been reversed. Seligmann is assumed to be guilty. But more than this. It is as though Seligmann is not allowed to prove his innocence no matter how much evidence he produces.

Those words were written by Wendy McElroy, the editor of ifeminists.com and a research fellow for The Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif. That is the words from one person but Ms. McElroy may be echoing the voice of many others in the Durham area.

In another story, the District Attorney says that the attack took all of ten minutes. District Attorney Mike Nifong is being quoted by the Associated Press saying, “When something happens to you that is really awful, it can seem like it takes place longer than it actually takes.”

Here is more of the AP story as reported by CBS News’s website: Kirk Osborn, who represents Seligmann, said the defense needed the "bill of particulars" because the accuser has told several different versions of the alleged assault, and his client has a right to know which version prosecutors will present at trial. In search and arrest warrants issued early in the investigation, police stated the accuser told investigators she was assaulted for 30 minutes.

Nifong said he is not required to state the exact time of the alleged attack, but offered that authorities believe it took place between 11:30 p.m. on March 13, when the accuser arrived at the party, and 12:55 a.m. on March 14, when police arrived and found no one at the house.

Friday's hearing was the first since Smith was appointed to take over the case.

Before the hearing began, Nifong gave defense lawyers 615 pages of evidence, a compact disc and a cassette tape. He said it included much of what was requested by defense lawyers, who had asked for handwritten notes from police officers involved with the case, reports outlining procedures used at the labs that tested the DNA of the players and notes from a mental health facility where police took the accuser after the party.

The defense has said those DNA tests failed to find a conclusive match between the three players and the accuser.

Defense attorneys also provided the judge with a description of the procedures used by a polling company they hired to survey Durham residents about the case. Nifong has asked the court to stop the polling, but the defense insists it is harmless.

"It's like taking a teaspoon and dipping it into the swimming pool. We just want to see what the teaspoon will reveal," said Wade Smith, an attorney for Colin Finnerty.

So what can we make of this story and the feelings down in Durham? How about it’s a mess that isn’t going to be fixed anytime soon?

I got an e-mail from a defense lawyer when the story first broke out and he told me that as things went along, I would probably be singing a different tune as to whether a crime was committed or not. Well as far as I’m concerned, something inappropriate went on in that house and at least three Duke players knew what happened. Now whether they want to fess up and tell the world, that’s a different story. I’m not going to say that the victim is some angel because she isn’t but I’m not going to portray her as just another piece of human trash that had to use her body to make money either. People do things for different reasons.

But this case has been dragging for quite some time and it is quite interesting to read the bits and pieces of an embattled DA trying to win a case that may not be very winnable in the end.

This story will continue to be watched as well as there are some social implications that will probably come forth and need to be addressed. Stay tuned folks. It’s going to be very interesting indeed.

Instead of letting kids be kids, adults feel the necessity to micromanage childhood

2006-10-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – The headlines are just so daunting at times.

“Boston school bans tag for fear of lawsuits.”

“Parents sue Little League Association over not making every team a ‘winner’.”

“Pop Warner teams to quit league over racial insults.”

These are just some of the headlines that I have seen over the years involving parents and kids. It is also one of the reasons why I stopped being a volunteer coach. It seems that when it comes to kids learning to be kids, adults have the uncanny ability to complicate things beyond measure. Reading these three stories and many others only solidified one affirmation for me about adults and kid sports: the adults love to micro-manage things into the ground.

Think about your childhood and the games you played while at recess. Tag, kickball and dodge ball were all a part of your childhood. How many of you couldn’t wait till PE and dodge ball to take out your frustrations on your friends from the class period before? And did any of you get hurt? What about tag? How fun was it saying “tag you’re it” and then running for dear life as you were being chased? Sure there may have been some near collisions but did your parents freak out and want to sue the school or school district when you got hurt at school? Of course not. But today’s parents are different. There are many who will micro manage their child’s life like they are trying to run their office. Instead of letting the kids have fun, these parents put restrictions on what they can or cannot do and thus they stifle the growing process of learning other measures of right from wrong, teamwork and good sportsmanship.

In the case of the Pop Warner story I read, this is once again society becoming too sensitive over past events. Many in society today want to try and overly remedy past egregious errors in racial relations and instead of actually addressing the situation within that organization, many feel it is much easier to leave the organization that offended them and thus actually place the kids in a no-win situation of not being able to deal with adversity.

And that’s the irony about being a kid. Without having to pay a mortgage, worrying about a payroll or do your yearly taxes, kids are allowed to learn how to cope with a variance of situations and ask adults for guidance in making the proper decision. Except that in today’s world, parents would rather ‘shield’ their loved ones from the realities of being a member of society.

Child safety is paramount in everything we do but there also has to be a chance where kids and parents can both learn how to deal with life’s unfair situations. To micro manage a child’s life because you want to protect them or ‘shield’ them does nothing but to actually harm them later on in life. Removing childhood games from them is not helping them grow and neither is running from a potentially hostile situation that could be a learning one as well.

If we continue to shield our kids from all of the things that we adults think are harmful, then what will become of their childhood? If we continue to micro manage their lives like we do our own are we really helping them grow to be the leaders of tomorrow? I don’t know the answer to those questions but I do know that kids need to be kids even if adults don’t think it’s right. Somewhere there has to be a happy medium to where good parenting is just the byproduct of being able to steer kids into positive life situations without having to try and steer their lives in an area that even adults have no answers for when trouble arises.

MERRIMAN’S STEROID WOES STRICTLY HIS PROBLEM

If and when Shawne Merriman finally serves his suspension for violating the NFL drug policy, the sports world needs to realize that Merriman is the only who is ultimately held accountable for whatever he put in his body. It’s also a life lesson since this op/ed started out talking about letting kids be kids. This is one of the life lessons in which micro managing is a good thing for kids who are involved in sports because they look up to professional athletes and will emulate them.

Merriman says that he took a supplement that had the banned substance Nandrolone in it. The San Diego Tribune reported that he is considering dropping his appeal because of the NFL’s policy that players are responsible for what they put in their bodies. That would be a wise decision on his part because his chances of winning the appeal are very miniscule at best. But when it comes our kids and them playing sports, this life lesson needs to be preached because far too often, athletes will blame everybody for their mishaps or misfortunes and not take responsibility for their own actions.

About a year or so ago I wrote a piece about how high school kids are on steroids and I referenced a case I saw on one of the news magazine shows back then. And as critical as I am about NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”, I would think that the producers and/or creators surely could conjure up a sub storyline that brought steroids into that show. Why would something like this need to be talked about? Because right now Texas is amongst the numerous states looking at mandatory drug testing of high school athletes and there are parents who think this is an invasion of their child’s privacy.

The lesson that needs to be taught here is that no matter how old you are, no matter what sport you play, if you are caught cheating, you must deal with the consequences at hand. It would be nice if Floyd Landis simply owned up to the fact that he may have taken a banned substance. It would have been a lot easier of Justin Gatlin simply realized that he may have been cheating his sport by taking banned substances and that he was not being a good sportsman in competition. During the time when Lyle Alzedo and other in the NFL were doping up with steroids to become faster and bigger, it would have been nice for someone in the union, back then, to lay out the consequences of during such dangerous activity. But those things are the past and the only thing that we can do now is to learn from them.

While I don’t want to pat Merriman on the back for realizing he made a mistake, I don’t want to dehumanize his plight either. While the four game suspension will be his punishment for breaking a known rule in the NFL, Merriman can turn this around to be a public service announcement to the many kids at the high school and collegiate ranks who think that steroids are the E-train to a professional career. Right now Merriman is the perfect spokesman who can help others relay the message that cheating isn’t right no matter what level you play at and that as an athlete you are ultimately responsible for what you take.

Hopefully Merriman takes this life lesson to heart and that parents understand why sometimes even a lesson like this is something that needs to be talked about with their own athletes and not something that is hidden away from them.

Fans need to read the codes of conduct for their favorite teamsFans need to read the codes of conduct for their favorite teams

2006-10-31T16:21:00.000-08:00

By Gregory Moore

SAN ANTONIO – So you’ve just plopped out about $10,000 for two season tickets to your favorite team. The season for the NBA started this week and you just can’t wait. You’ve got your signs ready. You’ve got your gear you’re going to wear and you are just completely giddy over the prospect of being a season ticket holder. Well hold on for just a moment because what you need to hear is something sports fans rarely hear to begin with. As a season ticket holder for the NBA, you are an elite member but you are nothing more than just another fan and all fans have to abide by a code of conduct and if you don’t adhere to it, your ownership as a season ticket holder could be in jeopardy.

I guarantee you that if Mr. Hooman Hamzehloui of Windermere, Florida had read the code of conduct for fans, his actions would not have precipitated the dreadful event of him losing his season tickets this season with the Orlando Magic nor would there even be a story about fan behavior. And yet that was not the case and sadly this is partially due to the fact that fans of sporting event simply do not understand their role in fan/player altercations.

The NBA has gone through great strides in trying to maintain a closeness with its fan base but it realizes that there has to be some rules and regulations that both fans and those associated with the team and/or arena in which the game in abide by. The NBA’s Fan Code of Ethics can be found at http://icq.nba.com/news/arena_guidelines_050217.html. If you have never looked at this code of conduct before, you might want to peruse it now because the league has a right to snatch those tickets away from you. As Mr. Hamzehloui quickly found out, not only can a franchise do so, they will do so for the interest of the rest of the fans.

Now is Mr. Hamzehloui a bad person? Of course not. I think what he did was something that happens with people who are from different cultures than our own. Now don’t mistake this for some type of cultural supremacy because it’s not. Dikembe Mutumbo, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash or any of the other 300 plus players in the league would have had a problem with the language that came forth from anyone of any race. Racial epithets is something that no one should tolerate; whether they are known or not known to be sensitive by the person hurling them. And so when it comes to fan behavior and how to handle it, professional leagues have made an effort to put these codes of conduct in place so that everyone can have a rewarding experience.

THAT TICKET STUB DOESN’T GIVE YOU CARTE BLANCHE

It’s always amazing how many people believe that just because they have a ticket to a sporting event, they feel like they are entitled to be boorish, rude, and just down right nasty during that event. For example, have you ever heard of a Philadelphia Eagles fan being nice to a New York Giants fan at the Linc? Fan decorum in the city of brotherly love? Yeah right. We are talking about the people who booed Santa Claus if I’m not mistaken. But what the NBA and other leagues want are fans that are passionate yet who are respectful of others too. They want this type of behavior because respectful fans are paying fans and paying fans who are happy with how they are treated become repeat customers at that arena.

So just how serious are the leagues when it comes to fan disruptions and even the acute case of out of control fans needing to be removed from the fan base? Well the NFL’s policy is a really good one that has derived from dealing with unruly fans. Each club has its own set of rules and regulations but for the most part, the fan codes of conduct by the teams are on par to give a fan an opportunity stay in the game but without being disruptive.

The NBA’s fan code of conduct I’m a little more familiar with but it too is bendable but not breakable in leniency. But even if you look at the NHL or MLB and their version of this code, all of them will undoubtedly probably have this type of wording or similar on the following issues:
• There will not be any obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing.
• Guests will sit only in their ticketed seats and show their tickets when requested.
• Players will respect and appreciate each and every fan.

Now I listed those three guidelines from the NBA’s fan code of conduct list but I’m sure you are getting the picture. Simply put, there are rules posted and the fans need to know what they are in order to insure they having a good time and that others are enjoying the experience as well.

But what about those fans that simply do not want to comply and who think that that ticket gives them all kinds of rights that even the owners may not enjoy at a stadium or arena? Then that is where enforcement of these rules and the revocation of tickets held by season ticket holders come into play from the league or team. I remember several news stories in which football fans from various cities found their tickets being revoked because either vile language or behavior by them or those who were sitting in their seats. In the case of basketball fans, the Detroit situation a couple of years back was enough for the league actually install their code of conduct and to also hold the players accountable for their actions.

What I’ve heard from a lot of fans is that they simply didn’t know that such codes of conduct existed. Oh that is no excuse in this day and age; especially if you are a season ticket holder. Teams go out of their way to have exceptional customer service and undoubtedly there is materials given out to each and every season ticket holder learns what is expected of them at that time. So ignorance of these rules really is not an excuse; especially with thousands of dollars at stake.

IS CULTURE SENSITITVITY TRULY NEEDED HERE

It’s hard to fathom that in the 21st century racial epithets are still said by individuals in this country but that shouldn’t be surprising. But with this country being such a melting pot, racial sensitivity is something that is an enigma these days. For sports fans, this shouldn’t be a problem but it seems to be a microcosm of our times of still not seeing each other as ‘equals’. In referencing back to the unfortunate story about Mutumbo and Mr. Hamzehloui, the reference of “monkey” to a black man is indeed offensive. Now whether Mr. Hamzehloui said something that was as derogatory as “you big monkey”, it was simply uncalled for and for that reason, the Orlando Magic and the NBA had a reason to react the way they did. Again, let me say that I don’t think that Mr. Hamzehloui is a bad individual. I think this was a simple case of a culture clash. However the cultural misunderstanding doesn’t excuse what he did. Far from it.

With the season kicking off this week in the NBA, let’s hope that everyone is learning to be more tolerant on and off the field and that fans learn to voice their displeasure without becoming so pervasive as to have a team or league ban them from a sport they may truly love.

CULTURE SENSITIVITY, PART II

Okay while I was spending time with my girlfriend two weeks ago, I had learned that it seems that a Dallas sports columnist decided to be very insensitive to a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and call him a ‘junkie’ on her show.

One of the beat writers in Dallas for the BASN site told me that while listening to ESPN 103.3’s “Little Ball of Hate” show, Jennifer Floyd Engel repeatedly called Quincy Carter a junkie on her show. Now I can’t verify this to be fact or not but considering the fact that Ms. Engel has a sincere distaste for “Q”, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. But what was probably more troubling was that I received quite a few e-mails from others who have heard similar comments made by her and some of those e-mails from the DFW metroplex are wanting myself and a friend of mine to actually add some ‘color’ to what one e-mailer called ‘Bland Sports Gab’.

I’ll make no secret that I’m not really a fan of LBOH or even GAC on that station. The only time I do listen to it is to hear the talking heads rail against one wide receiver and try to espouse what they would or would not tolerate with him. Of course that’s pretty much died down now since the Cowboys have won their first of three road games this month. But I am a little perturbed as to why a columnist of Engel’s caliber would stoop so low as to called a former quarterback a junkie without in substantive proof of the sort in this day and age. Forget about past transgressions for a moment. What has me a little miffed is that a columnist would go out of her way to dehumanize a young man who has had troubles in his life. And ‘Q’ is nowhere to be found in sports annals these days. So why take a crack shot at him when he can’t defend himself as a talk show host? Good question and someone should be asking them.

It’s kind of ironic that in sports we, meaning writers and talking heads, have to constantly bring about conversation of racial equality and cultural tolerance at an age when such things should be a forgone conclusion. In Engel’s case, if what was told to me via e-mails and voice messages are true, somebody in Big D needs to be reading her the riot act. I say that because it is something that journalists or media pundits should not be doing just to get ratings for your show or more readership of your column. I say that because it was just in the past few weeks Clear Channel of Atlanta let go two of its morning show hosts behind racially insensitive material. Whether it was meant to be a bit for a segment or not, those two radio hosts are out of a job and have pending litigation against them by the individuals they offended.

When it comes to cultural sensitivity, I can attest that I have had many Black athletes come and say they wish that they had more journalists of color and that many felt uneasy in dealing with talk show hosts or journalists who seemed to have a biasness that was on the ‘nasty’ side. Maybe there is some truth to that particular statement. Maybe not. But one thing is definitely a fact: sports journalists, pundits and talking heads should be above the fray on declassifying anyone who has had failures in their lives for the sheer enjoyment of trying to get ratings or readership. That’s not even tabloid journalism in my eyes; that’s yellow journalism and sports fans deserve something so much better than that.

League didn’t follow its own policy in fining Haynesworth for his actions

2006-10-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO -- “Every employee is entitled to a safe and professional workplace free of criminal behavior, violence and threats against personal safety. Criminal conduct in the workplace or against other employees is prohibited. Any Covered Person who commits or threatens violent acts against coworkers, regardless of whether an arrest is made or criminal charges are brought, shall be subject to evaluation, counseling and discipline, including termination of employment.” – from the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy

It’s something that just befuddles me at the present. Albert Haynesworth gets a five game suspension and the NFLPA wanted to actually put in the paperwork to appeal the suspension. For what? I want someone in that Washington, D.C. office to explain that reasoning. If Gene Upshaw and his crew haven’t figured out why the American public can’t stand his organization right now, it is because of this very act of business as usual. First things first though and the first order of business is to say that Haynesworth will not be contrite and he will do something outrageous again. It’s in his character to be disrespectful t the game and to other human beings. He’s got priors folks. He has kicked a former teammate during practice. He has thrown his helmet down during games in anger outbursts. If he isn’t a classic case for an anger management course then I don’t know who is.

So when I heard the news that the suspension was going to be five games I was floored. I knew the league didn’t have the balls to do something more substantive. What’s the matter Commissioner Goodell, an eight game suspension wasn’t good enough or too hard to fight with the union on? I don’t think so. I think the league shied away from such a punishment because they didn’t want to look like the bad guy in all of this. Yet maybe the league should read their own personal conduct policy. Once again, if the league is about employee safety, then the first paragraph of this op/ed piece is quite befitting of justifying a very harsh punishment.

Let it also be noted that sympathy is only afforded to those who believe they are truly sorry for their actions. Haynesworth wants sympathy and forgiveness because it is not in his character. Yeah right. Just like Adam “Pacman” Jones doesn’t believe that the Tennessee Titans need more guys who are of the goody two shoe variety. The savageness that took place when a play was over is now the hot button on the sociological ramblings of zillions of writers. And that is because of the thinking that Jones and Haynesworth seem to want to have as the basis of them playing a sport that pays them a lot of money. Forgiveness is easy when it’s warranted but when the person asking it has yet to understand that even in a world where brutal strength and big hits brings out the primal beast in all of us, it is the honor and respect of others that allows you not to become the bastion of the zillions of writers wanting your ceremonial head on a platter.

LEAGUE, UNION SHOULD HAVE SENT STERN MESSAGE

The union wanted to fight for Haynesworth and get his suspension reduced. That’s typical and under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have had a problem with the union wanting to file a grievance. But in this case I have a major problem and that is the fact that the union has done little to nothing in regards to Andre Gurode’s rights as a player or ‘employee’ of the NFL. I have a problem with the union because instead of them following the very paragraph that they also have on their website under the rules and regulations tab, they have decided that a player who assaulted another player deserves the right to have his case heard in front of an arbitrator. That, in my opinion, is very unacceptable behavior.

Let’s forget the fact that Haynesworth has waved off the appeal on his behalf. That is the first sign of him realizing that he has a problem. Let’s focus on the league’s punishment for a moment. There is an unwritten rule in football that you never do anything to injure a defenseless opponent. You do not clothesline tackle. You don’t chop block. And when it comes to a player who’s head is exposed from being without his helmet in a play, you err on the side of caution. I would have expected the league to stand up for Gurode a lot faster than for Haynesworth. I would have expected the decision makers there to explain to Haynesworth that the union is about protecting one’s financial resources; not about protecting a privilege. That is what I was expecting and I’m sure many other people were expecting the same thing. In essence I was expecting Upshaw and the union to defer not in filing a grievance on behalf of Haynesworth but to actually file one on behalf of Gurode against Haynesworth as a monetary punishment for one union member deliberately harming another. I think many would have called it policing their own.

But that didn’t happen. To date I have not seen a single news report or press release from anyone in the NFLPA saying that they will back Mr. Gurode should he decide to formally press charges against Haynesworth. The only player union representative that backs that idea is Gurode’s teammate, Greg Ellis; the team’s union representative. And the only other players who back that idea happen to be from Gurode’s teammates. That’s expected because he is family to them. But what of the overall family unit that is known as the NFLPA? Where are the other family members in regards to this situation?

The league and the union flubbed this opportunity big time. Albert Haynesworth is a loose cannon and it’s an easy bet that he is probably more comfortable apologizing in front of television crews than to those he inflicts harm on. This punishment of five games is awfully weak. Whether people like it or not, I think this act deserves the ultimate punishment and that is being fired from the Titans. Floyd Reese, Jeff Fisher and Bud Adams need to send a serious message from the Titans’ front office that savage acts on or off the field and borderline criminal acts will not be tolerated in that organization.

The team needs to take this further now and simply deactivate Haynesworth for the rest of the season for actions detrimental to the welfare of the franchise. Pay him the rest of his salary but have him sit at home with his kids. That’s the message that should have been sent by the league and the union should be backing such a decision. After all if both organizations truly believe in that very first paragraph, then the ultimate punishment would have been dealt and the rest of us would be feeling a little better about ourselves as sports fans of the game.

Despite 27-10 win over the Redskins, Owens becomes center of attention again with broken finger

2006-09-18T13:39:00.001-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO -- Even when they win, he is the center of attention. Or the center attraction may be a more fitting moniker. Terrell Owens, despite only catching three balls for 19 yards in Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins, is again in the limelight. This time it is because he let the press know that he broke his ring finger in the first quarter. But what no one is catching is that Owens trying to be a team player; even though his motivation for a quick recovery is the Oct. 8th game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I’m going to try to get back as soon as I can. I feel like I’m a quick healer. Once we have the surgery, the healing process will start,” said after the game.

Well here comes a week and a half of reports of hypobaric chambers, finger puppet exercises and other Dallas media hijinx as the circus continues to perform at Valley Ranch. What may sound like sarcasm is actually puzzlement as to why a city so big and so used to handling these kind of distractions have fallen prone to such shenanigans is a bit troubling. After all, this team did just beat a division rival that swept them last season. The offense, which sputtered against one of the best defenses in the league last week, looked efficient against a Greg Williams defense this week. A defense, which couldn’t stop leaky faucet from dropping last week as they gave up 24 unanswered points by their opponents last week, held a supposedly potent Washington offense to just three points. The special teams, which Bill Parcells wanted to almost scrap last Sunday, gave up just one touchdown in the game. The Cowboys played like a team but yet the only thing people will be talking about this week and next is the most expensive ring finger in Cowboys’ history.

Sure Terry Glenn and Patrick Crayton had touchdown catches. Julius Jones and Marion Barber combined for over 100 yards rushing and another touchdown on the ground. Roy Williams was his usual playmaking self on defense. But what is everyone talking about? Owens and his finger. Forget about the team concept theory. Evidently it doesn’t exist in the fan circles and media corps that covers America’s Team.

That’s unfortunate because it’s the team concept theory that could propel them into the playoffs and beyond. This team already knows how to play without Owens and even he admits that he is just one of the smaller cogs in the machine.
“We’ve got some guys that can step in.”

Yes they certainly do. Crayton, Jamaica Rector and Sam Hurd are all capable of filling in while #81 heals. It’s not like this is the end of the world for Cowboys fans because it isn’t. What many fans and media professionals are forgetting is that Parcells’ teams have always been about team, not individualistic play. If you are looking for Owens to be this “me, me” person, that may not happen on this team. Not with this coach and possibly not ever as long as Owens is a member of this team. Who knows the broken finger could be a blessing in disguise so that the fans can see that maybe he is truly learning his lesson from his tumultuous days in Philly. Maybe the circus everyone is expecting will be along the lines of Cirque Du Soleil and not the Ringling Bros. variety.

For now it seems that the side show will just continue; despite a stellar performance by America’s Team.

Black parents need to start prepping their high school stars right now for college

2006-09-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – College football is in full swing and believe it or not, high school football is up and going across the country too. But when it comes to what parents truly care about, it is the sports their kids are involved in at the high school level and that is not just those who play on the gridiron. For many African American parents, that means sons and/or daughters who are in volleyball, water polo, soccer, cross country and other fall sports right now while there are thousands of other kids getting ready for their spring and/or winter sports. But what do parents do when they want to ensure that their child’s athletic abilities may be able carry them into college? What type of information do they need to help equip these young athletes; especially those coming from the African American community?

Last year when I wrote a quick piece on this topic, my purpose was to try and give a 1,500 or 2,000 word piece that had information just jam-packed on the site. This year I want to really expound on this topic because it is very important to understand how the process works. So let’s get started with the basics on what parents need to do to ensure that their high school athlete gets maximum effort off the field of play by having all the tools in the classroom.

I’ve have constantly told many friends and acquaintances that today’s parents have it made over even parents of ten to fifteen years ago. Back then, the Internet really wasn’t this bastion of information that it is now and researching on such a topic like this was an arduous task that very few wanted to even conquer. But today parents have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. The problem there though is what information is truly usable and what is basically garbage. For African Americans, this task is increasingly difficult because they are dealing with some issues that other parents may never face and that include income levels in a household or lack of substantial resources to get this vital information.

That is why this article is so important. This first subtopic is as crucial for them as anyone else who reads this piece because in the next few paragraphs, these parents will be given a good size road map and directions that hopefully will help them obtain the athletic scholarships at the schools of their children’s’ choice and not the other way around.

WHERE DO PARENTS BEGIN ON THIS QUEST FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS?

If you search the net, you will find all types of websites, articles and other tidbits that may or may not be what you are looking for. In doing a search, make sure you read an article I wrote last year on this same topic entitled, “Parents Now Have An Ally In Preparing Their Star Athletes For College” that I published on this site back in May of 2005. And when you are searching, you are going to come across a company that I whole-heartedly believe in and one that you will read about a little later. The Athletic Group, based out of Columbia, Maryland has my complete and undying support in what they do and this article is going to be sort of an infomercial for them as much as a road map for the parents on how to maneuver through the college athlete maze that the NCAA has set up. But more on TAG a little later, right now you need to realize that there are several steps, sub steps and even new steps in making your child’s dream come true. What I have done is actually whittle those steps down into some very manageable moves that take out the guesswork in trying to find the right information. Those steps are the following:
• Understanding the role your high school counselor has in this process
• Understanding why the Clearinghouse process is important
• Knowing that the NCAA is actually beneficial to you and your child
• Understanding why you must have your own copy of the NCAA ‘manual’
• Helping your child put all of this together along with film showcasing his/her athletic ability and marketability to coaches

Let’s take each step in order and I’ll try to provide you with as much information as you need on each topic and I will also reference the NCAA a lot for this article. One of the documents I will be referring to is called the “Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete”. You are going to actually need this document to go along with this article. You can download a free copy of the 36-page document at: http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2005-06/2005-06_cbsa.pdf. Keep this document handy, as I will refer to it often. Now let’s begin sending your child to college on that scholarship.

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR HAS IN THIS PROCESS

Whether you want to believe it or not, a high school counselor is vitally important in this process because he or she holds one of the keys to getting an athletic scholarship from a school. What key does this school professional hold beyond a high school varsity coach? Helping your child take the proper course work for college entrance acceptance.

Your child’s high school counselor is the one person who can help you gauge how well your child is doing in class through out his or her high school career. It is this professional’s job to help guide your child on a correct career path but also to steer them into college. That means that your child will have to take acceptable classes to get that task done. That means that courses that they may not be very good at will have to be mastered. It means that they may have to be tested as well on their learning ability. This is where the counselor comes into play for you and it is your job as a parent to actually assist this professional in assessing your child.

So how can you help the counselor in determining if your child is college bound material? That comes from the guide I mentioned earlier and that you downloaded. The NCAA has a set of criteria that they go by for each and ever-prospective college athlete. Amongst this criterion is what they call “core” classes. On pages seven and eight of the guide, those classes are listed but here are those paragraphs, verbatim as printed in the publication on page seven: If you enroll in a Division I college in 2005-2007 and want to participate in athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during your first year, you must:
• Graduate from high school;
• Complete these 14 core courses:
- 4 years of English
- 2 years of math (algebra 1 or higher)
- 2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)
- 1 extra year of English, math or natural or physical science
- 2 years of social science
- 3 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy);
• Earn a minimum required grade-point average in your core courses; and
• Earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches your core-course grade-point average and test score sliding scale on this page (for example, a 2.400 core-course grade-point average needs a 860 SAT).

Let’s stay on page seven just a bit longer for those parents who have seniors looking for scholarships. There are also two other aspects that have been mentioned above but need to be expounded on. The first is the GPA that your child has at the end of the school year upon graduation. The second is the SAT or ACT test score. Independently these two criteria are indeed important but when combined, they can actually help your child gain admittance into some of the more ‘prestigious’ schools because they are to be used conjointly. Let’s look at the SAT/ACT test score table that’s on page seven for more clarification. If you notice, the higher the GPA, the lower the qualifying test score is required. At the Division I level, that is important because the classes are much bigger than at the D2 or D3 levels. The requirements are also the stringiest at the top level. As a parent, you need to use the D1 levels as your benchmark of your child’s performance and you should talk that over with your child’s counselor.

Also what is important for those parents who have seniors is the test dates for the ACT/SAT. On page eleven is a list of test dates for these tests. Those have all passed. However if you go to www.collegeboard.com or www.act.org, you can find the most up to date information available on these two college admissions tests.

UNDERSTANDING WHY THE CLEARINGHOUSE PROCESS IS IMPORTANT

So now you have somewhat of an idea what the NCAA is looking for in college prep classes and you can help your child’s counselor make sure that the proper classes meets those guidelines. So what’s next? Well for juniors and seniors, it’s on to the clearinghouse to get certified.

The NCAA Clearing House (www.ncaaclearinghouse.net) is where your son or daughter must be registered to begin their scholarship journey. If you turn to page fourteen of your guide, this is the part of the guide that actually explains what the clearinghouse’s job is for you in detail. In short, the clearing house “evaluates your academic record to determine if you are eligible to participate at a Division I or II college as a freshman student-athlete. (The clearinghouse is not the NCAA, but an organization that performs academic evaluations for the NCAA.).”

It is very important that you and your child read this section thoroughly because you will need to use the afore mentioned website to log into the clearinghouse and to check your progress. This is probably the most tedious portion of trying to obtain an athletic scholarship because of the forms you will need to download and print out, because you and your child will be in constant communication with the school’s counselor and because it is actually up to you or your child to make sure everything is correct. This is also where that myth that scholarships are just handed out to the gifted kids ends. Every potential student athlete has to go through this screening process for either a D1 or D2 school. If the clearinghouse does not certify your child as a student athlete for whatever school offers the scholarship, the dream has to be started all over again at this very point.

When you get a moment, go to the clearinghouse’s website and browse through it. Become familiar with what the site is all about and go through your guide as well on this section. I can’t stress this enough but it is very important that you and your child understand the importance of this clearinghouse. There truly is no other way that I know of in getting a scholarship to play sports except through being certified to play. In a moment you will understand why this particular institution is so vital in a school’s eligibility.

KNOWING THAT THE NCAA IS ACTUALLY BENEFICIAL TO YOU AND YOUR CHILD

There is a misnomer floating around that the NCAA is actually trying to destroy the avenues of playing sports for Black athletes. Yes even on this website there have been commentaries and such on the subject. However, what I want to really stress to anyone reading this piece is that the only way for a Black athlete to truly succeed towards a glimpse at a professional sports career is 99% through collegiate athletics. There are very few high school superstars these days at any level and it truly is time for this particular community to stop thinking that college sports is a malignant tumor for today’s youth.

Now am I saying that if your child goes to a college and plays in a sport, that he or she will become a millionaire a few times over? No I’m not saying anything of the sort. The percentage for professional athletes actually dwindles considerably at this juncture because you are looking at possibly the best of the best in various sports. But will their participation help them get a degree and become more successful in life? It can if they understand how the rules work.

Parents and future college players alike must realize that playing at the University of Michigan or Notre Dame is a privilege and not a right. The hard work that your child puts in at the high school level to even be considered fortunate to get a yearly athletic scholarship is enormous in itself and once they have gained a scholarship, there are so many perils laid out before them. That is why it is imperative for parents to become very active in their child’s collegiate career as well. There are grade point averages to maintain while your child is playing for Baylor. There is a timeline of degree completion that must be adhered to for that child who is at Florida A&M University while playing basketball. There are some pretty strict rules to adhere to that I will mention later on but the NCAA is not against Blacks getting degrees; they are about making sure that every student athlete follows the codes and bylaws that it has in place. So parents, let me segway into the next topic and that is actually knowing the rules of the NCAA.

UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OWN COPY OF THE NCAA ‘MANUAL’

You want to know why so many kids who play collegiate sports get themselves and their school’s programs in trouble today? It is because neither that college athlete nor their parent or guardian has ever taken the time to read the NCAA manual of operations. Now you are probably asking what the heck is that but I’m getting ready to tell you. The NCAA has a set of bylaws for all three divisions of the schools they oversee. The manual, just like the guide you downloaded, is free to anyone who wants it. For those who are interested in having their child attend D1 schools, download their manual at http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_i_manual/2006-07/2006-07_d1_manual.pdf. For those who may have a child attend a D2 school, that manual can be downloaded at http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_ii_manual/2006-07/2006-07_d2_manual.pdf. And of course for those looking to have their child attend a D3 school, that manual can be downloaded at http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_iii_manual/2006-07/2006-07_d3_manual.pdf.

No matter which manual you download, you will need to read it from front to back and understand what it is for your child to be a student-athlete in college and what are your dos and don’ts as a parent. The very sports stories that you have read on the BASN website and other news mediums involving college kids being stripped of their eligibility and programs being put on probation stems from those very books. Why did SMU receive the “death penalty’ back in the early 1990s? Because of violations by the school’s athletic department as defined in the manuals described above. Why did FAMU go through it’s own personal hell a couple of years ago? Because somebody didn’t follow the bylaws in the manuals.

But why should you as a parent read such mutterance? Because your child will be subjected to these very bylaws and both you and that student athlete must understand them. I want to really stress this sub topic because even though other ethnicities may have student athletes violate the bylaws, we are especially prone to such temptations. Remember when I mentioned that some Black households might struggle while a child is playing collegiate sports? Well this is the very reason why parents and others in the family should be reading these manuals. As stringent as they are, these bylaws can actually keep your child from becoming just another statistic on somebody’s sports page.

For those who have downloaded the D1 manual, I want to bring your attention to one key section that your child and you must thoroughly familiarize yourself with. Following ‘articles’ of the manual. Those articles are going to be articles ten and articles 12-16. While every article in the manual is important for you and your child to read, it is imperative that you go over these important articles so that you can familiarize yourself as to what is considered ethical behavior by your student-athlete, what is excusable financial aid given to him or her, what is an acceptable expense and so on.

In the guidebook, there is a section about recruiting. While not mentioned in the manual you just downloaded the recruiting process is very important for you and your child. On page 27 are a list of what can be expected by college coaches who are trying to recruit your child to a particular school. To ensure that your child remains eligible, it is a very good idea for you to read through this section, familiarize yourself with the procedures and keep track of the calls and visits yourself. It is your job to make sure that your child remains eligible for a scholarship should he or she become fortunate in getting recruited; not the school or the coach.

As a parent, you need to keep the NCAA manual handy and refer to it during the time your child is at school. The manual pretty much can answer all of your questions on what is acceptable as far as gifts and such and should you have any questions, there are resources to help you find those answers.

HELPING YOUR CHILD PUT ALL OF THIS TOGETHER ALONG WITH FILM SHOWCASING HIS/HER ATHLETIC ABILITY AND MARKETABILITY TO COACHES

Okay so now that I have given you the ammunition to go out and get an athletic scholarship, think you can do it? What if I gave you some added resources to ensure that you have the best chance possible? Would you take it? Well here’s that added resource and it comes from my friends at The Athletic Group. If you read my story I mentioned very early in this piece, you have a very good idea about what this company can do but it won’t hurt mentioning it again. TAG, as it’s known, is one of the premiere scholarship preparation companies in the country and is for all prospective student athletes wanting to achieve the dream of playing for a college.

So how did TAG get started? Greg Peel is the brain trust behind this dynamic company. It was actually an experience that Greg had that brought this idea to fruition. On the reason why TAG was started, the site says “Due to the rising costs of college educations in the US, more and more students are seeking ways to ease the financial burden of higher education. For qualified student athletes a sports scholarship can make a significant difference in their choice of schools, and can even determine whether or not they pursue a college degree. Many talented student athletes lose out on the chance for scholarships because of the following reasons:
1. Being reactive vs. proactive in the college recruiting process
2. Not taking the SAT/ACT early so that corrective actions can be taken if necessary
3. Not understanding the importance of marketing themselves to colleges recruiters way prior to their senior year
4. Failure to understand the importance of capturing proper video footage so college coaches can monitor their progress.
TAG's services and expertise will make the difference for these students and 'Help young athletes achieve college dreams.”

It is those services and expertise from TAG’s staff that I whole-heartedly endorse independently from even this site. The very reason why I put TAG into an article about college scholarships is that parents need a reliable company that can take the information that I am providing right now and move them onto the next level. That is what this company can do AFTER a parent reads this article.

Many parents are wondering why a company like TAG is so important. Let me introduce you to something that many parents don’t realize and that is competition just to go to the same school to play the same sport. Let’s refer back to the NCAA guidebook for prospective student athletes. Turn to page 20 of the .PDF file on your screen. The section is entitled “questions to ask as you consider colleges”. Now this section is for your child but as a parent you can read it as well. There is a list of questions on that page and they are very important because when it comes to playing time, your child needs to understand the depth chart of a team. One of the questions on that page is “What other players may be competing at the same position?”. That is why TAG is important. This company takes over in the realm of marketing your child. They provide the visualization and ad campaign to get that coach to take your child and not the child in the next city.

A very quick synopsis of their services are SAT preparation, recruitment preparation, video production of your child’s highlight film and other services to numerous to mention. How successful is this company? As you peruse their site, check out the section under the “news” tab titled TAG signings and see for yourself. As a matter of fact I encourage you to go through their site and find out as much information about the company that you can for yourself. I think you will find that this company may be that extra ingredient to help you get over the hump on this endeavor plus they can answer qu3estions that I know I may have forgotten.

Take these tidbits of information I’ve provided and add them to your library parents. Hopefully what this article has done is empower many to understand and achieve some lifelong goals for their kids. In the end it is all about the kids who do want to go to college and if a scholarship from athletic ability helps even one family today, that’s one more family that is helped as compared to none in the past few days.

It is time for That Other wide receiver to quit sniffing his own greatness

2006-08-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – It is time for Jerry Jones to realize that his $10 million gamble is a $10 dud of a ball player. If you want to see a snake oil salesman make money, take a good look at Terrell Owens. Owens is the only football player that I have ever seen who can spin his hype machine to the point that grown men simply believe what they see in the mirrors. Forget about the smoke because these owners are so blind, they don’t need smoke to hide the illusion. And what’s the illusion? That Owens is a game changer. Owens is no more a game changer than Lassie was an Emmy award-winning actress in a daytime drama series. Owens is basically a wide receiver who would be better served in a pair of nylons trying to sell the public on a new malt liquor than trying to be the next great Cowboy in Big D.

Yes I’m saying it. Owens is a bad seed that should have never been signed by the Cowboys. This is classic Jones though. Instead of him listening to his coach, he’s listening to his marketing staff. Jerry needs to stop listening to his son and everyone who thinks a big time star will save this franchise. This team has a big name in Roy Williams but what the Cowboys need this season is playmakers and they really need one on the offensive side of the ball. So with Jones signing Owens, I can understand why that would be a logical choice. But now we are all looking at #81 as he rests his hamstring. Owens has yet to be a team player and all I keep hearing from him on the sound bites is a bad PM Dawn impersonation of “Me, Myself, and I” that even William Hung would be proud to call him a friend.

Well Dallas fans don’t look now but I think I told you so. Owens is a canker sore that just doesn’t go away. He is like that gnat who constantly follows you around the house, bugging the hell out of you. Or worse, he’s the diva in a community play that thinks he should be on Broadway but has no singing voice, dances like a Clydesdale with weighted horseshoes and bellows like a bull in heat. He continues this from play to play and things just remain the same. If you think Owens has changed then maybe you haven’t read the Dallas/Ft. Worth papers this morning, then you are truly missing out on what has become Owens’ trademark for teammate alienation. According to both the Dallas Morning News and the Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Owens has been fined $9,500 for missing team meetings and multiple rehabilitation sessions.

Well hot dog. Who would have ever thought the bleached Zebra wouldn’t be able to grow back his black stripes at the end of August. Owens proclaimed in March that he was a new man that he was grateful for the opportunity. Yeah right. He promised the fans that it was going to be a show. Oh yeah it’s a show all right. It’s prototypical of the type of nonsense that got his sub-par performing behind ran out of Philly and shipped out of San Francisco. This is the very reason why Jones should have his head examined and for him to stop meddling with Bill Parcells’ grocery list. Get rid of Keyshawn Johnson for someone who is more a malcontent than a pro bowl wide receiver? Yeah that’s right Jerry, talk it over with Stephen. Somewhere the two of you failed to put clauses into that darn contract and now that OTHER wide receiver known as T.O. is running amuck at Valley Ranch.

What is truly amazing is the fact that if you go to his website, he’s got a new look and he’s got a new theme song called, “I’m Back”. Nice beats. Whoever the rap group is, the lead raps about how people have kept Owens down, how he’s got a new team and that he’s no longer in the black and green. Sorry fellas but you guys are doing nothing more than following Owens’ lead. That theme song is a farce. Instead of I’m Back it should be a snipe from Deion Sanders’ “Must Be The Money”. What Owens has done is once again put everything on him and took the limelight away from a team once again. Instead of being a team player, you have become the player hater once again.

I know it’s hard for the Dallas media to even roast him the way they should. There’s nobody up there who has the gumption to challenge Owens’ desire to be a team player. Nobody has yet to question his work ethic and there definitely haven’t been a single sports talk show host up there willing to tell Drew Rosenhaus that he and his client have given this team a bad image. The media up there in Dallas won’t even think about doing such a dastardly deed because they want this marriage to work. Well maybe that’s the problem. They want this to work. I don’t want to make this morbid but Owens’ presence as a Cowboys’ player has done nothing but shone why many think Texans can’t think straight without the cowboy hat on.

The Cowboys have a diva and they need to squash her quick. Owens is so out of control now that when he really starts up, Jones will constantly keep saying, ‘Uh everything’s fine. Bill and T.O. will be just fine. They just have a difference of opinion on some things”. Yeah it’s called practice. It’s called being at team meetings. It’s called showing up at rehabilitation sessions so that you can get your non-performing butt on the field. It’s called being a consummate professional at all times. Oh damn I went to far with that last comment. Owens couldn’t spell professional because he’s never been one his whole career. When was the last time he had a pro bowl appearance? 2003 and that was the year he decided to throw Steve Marriuchi and the San Francisco 49ers under the bus. He’s a diva and Parcells had better rein him in.

So how do you reign in a player like Owens? It’s simple. You basically humiliate him so that he understands what humility is all about. The Cowboys really don’t need Owens as much as everybody thinks. He wants to rest and not play in any pre-season games? Fine. He doesn’t play in the team’s opener either. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t deactivate him. Leave him on the active roster. Have him suit up and think he’s going to be in that first game. Let everyone know that it will be a game time decision. And when it’s time to announce who will be the starting wide receivers, those receivers are Terry Glenn and Patrick Crayton with maybe Sam Hurd and another one waiting in the wings. Where’s T.O. then? Try fifth wide receiver for that game. The guy who doesn’t get his number called. That’s called letting the player know who’s in charge on and off the field. If he and super mouth Rosenhaus want to cause a stink? Let him. Evidently what both of them fail to realize is that they are arguing with a billionaire who has Super Bowl rings; they do not.

Parcells knows this all to well. That is why in his mind, the OTHER wide receiver of choice he likes is Glenn. It’s the very reason why Drew Bledsoe and him have hooked up in the past two games with great plays. When Crayton comes back, Bledsoe will look for him too because Crayton doesn’t want to be no part of Owens’ bandwagon. As we all like to say down here in the heat, “this is how we do it, Texas style”.

It is time for Owens to quit smelling himself. The greatness he thought he had really hasn’t been there since the 2002 campaign. That’s four years removed. Hell Bledsoe got a Super Bowl ring during that stretch as a back up. It is time for that other wide receiver to quit thinking he can play the field. It is time for Jones to realize that he has possibly made a mistake and he needs to start reassessing where he is on this project. This team needs to win big time and they need to do so before moving into the new building. The fan base want to feel good about America’s team and it is Jones’ job to ensure that feeling is as positive as possible. And if that means distancing yourself from that other wide receiver, then do so. I already have. I am tired of watching him try to play the three ring circus on a team that I have grown to love since I was probably five or six years old.

It is time for T.O. to find himself. That other wide receiver needs to hurry up and find himself or Parcells needs to let those other wide receivers that the top spot on the wide receiver depth chart is up for grabs. Either way, this team needs to win and the distractions are not helping the situation at all.

FEELING NO COMPASSION FOR KOREN ROBINSON

I am not feeling any compassion for Koren Robinson. Nope. Not one iota of compassion. And if the Vikings’ ownership wants to get rid of Dwight Smith, I say send his ass packing too. My compassion for grown men who are given the world in so far as making a living playing a child’s sport has officially run dry when it comes to breaking the law. When the NFLPA files the grievance against Robinson’s firing, I say to the Wilf family to go ahead and let him keep his little $1.3 million. But if the union thinks that the Vikings don’t have just cause, I think they need to re-assess what’s really important in the league. The biggest problem (well one of my biggest problems) I have with the union is that they constantly are trying to make guys like Robinson out to be misunderstood. These guys aren’t misunderstood; they are undisciplined with no regards to structure of any type. As a matter of fact I say let me throw Adam Jones in the fray as well. The three of them, and any others in the NFL, who have committed crimes against society, need to be fired from their respective teams and the teams need to eat the grievance to prove a point.

I have long said that if the NFL really wanted to clean up the bad apples in the league, it starts with holding these players accountable for their actions. I firmly believe that if Georgia Fontiare had held Leonard Little to a fire of accountability, he wouldn’t have had that second DWI charge. If the Dallas Cowboys had started holding guys accountable back in the glory days of the 90s, I firmly believe that Michael Irvin wouldn’t have been the person he was back then. Well it’s better late than never and it is time for the league to take a stance.

The NFL is not the playground for immature men who go and have babies out of wedlock because it’s fashionable. It’s not a league where they can dress any way they want and think that because they play the game, they can act as thuggish or boorish and not be held accountable for those actions. Sorry I’m not buying into that premise. I may not like how Paul Tagliabue has taken the individualism out of the game but I will agree with him on players being professional and accountable for their actions. Smith, Robinson and Jones do not fit into the prototypical mold of a professional athlete and the league needs to back its owner on their dismissal.

It is time for the owners take a stance on these bad boys of the NFL. There are children watching and having them on the teams is a bad precedent. It is time for this league to make every single football player responsible for his actions on and off the field and if that means taking the extraordinary step that the Vikings did on dismissing a player, then so be it. In the end it might be the best thing for this league and for the fans.

Prentice Gautt: A man whose accomplishments should inspire today’s collegiate athletes

2006-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – When it comes to the quiet voices in sports, probably no one fits this mold any better than Prentice Gautt. Dr. Gautt is remembered by friends and family for his accomplishments but this football season, the Oklahoma University family will remember him by having the helmets of this season’s players sport a ‘38’ decal on them in his remembrance.

But who is Prentice Gautt and why is he getting such an honor? To know that answer, you need to travel back to an era that not many Americans are proud of and that is the era of segregation. It was during this era that Brown v. Board of Education was successfully fought by a young Thurgood Marshall. That historic case took place in 1954. The emergence of that win helped propel a young Gautt into the history books of a state that may not have been ready for integration at that time and to have a young African American play sports and succeed at a traditionally all-white school was virtually unheard of. But as many articles, wikapedia.com and answers.com entries show, Gautt’s achievements at the high school and collegiate levels were indeed historic in themselves.

Prior to Gautt going to OU, he had made an historical mark at the high school level. At Douglas High School, in his first game he helped the team win 13-6. He was also the first African American football player to play in the high school all-star game. When he got to Oklahoma, coach Bud Wilkinson did the historic thing of allowing Gautt on the team. Like Don Haskins would do at Texas Wesleyan some nine years later with his decision of starting five African Americans in a basketball game, Wilkinson’s decision paid off with a national title in 1956 and produced a running back that averaged numbers unheard of to this date.

As written in many web pieces, Gautt went on to play seven years in the NFL for the St. Louis Cardinals (that’s now the Arizona Cardinals) and later became very active at the collegiate level. He received his doctorate’s degree from the University of Missouri and was the associate commissioner of the Big 8 conference from 1979 until 1996, when that conference was dissolved. That conference was merged with the Southwest Conference and is the Big 12, as we know it. Upon that merger, Gautt took the role of associate commissioner.

Many who have known him over the years remember Dr. Gautt fondly. A few follow teammates and admirers e-mailed me to let their voices be heard about the kind of man Dr. Gautt was.

John Hadl, from Kansas University athletics, wrote to me saying: “Greg, when I visited the University of Oklahoma on my official visit, Prentice was my host. He was the nicest, most considerate person I've ever been around. Later in life we became good friends through his work for the Big 8 and the Big XII and my work at KU. He was a God fearing, wonderful person and is missed by all.”

Another person who got to know Dr. Gautt well was his teammate, Jim Hart. Jim played 19 seasons in the NFL and wrote the following about his former teammate: “Prentice was a Gentle...man! He was one of the hardest working people I have ever run across. A nice man! The most memorable feeling I have for Prentice was that he was one of the most Christ-like people I have ever met. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. I am a better person for having known Prentice Gautt.”

Finally, Abner Haynes chimed in the other day about his experiences in knowing the former Sooner.

“I new him as we did not have many black players in the Southwest at the time, Only OU and North Texas. ‘PG’ was a class act from day one,” Haynes said via e-mail.

A LIFE THAT SHOULD BE A SHINING EXAMPLE FOR BLACK PLAYERS

Dr. Gautt’s collegiate and professional careers are indeed extraordinary but what should be a shining example to many African American football players in today’s society is how Dr. Gautt conducted himself off the gridiron. Think back about the time in which he played in. Segregation was so real that even today I have older friends who continuously remind myself and others about how they didn’t have this luxury or couldn’t shop in this store.

“Today’s athletes are a bunch of spoiled divas,” one friend told me a while back. “They couldn’t handle the adversity of being told that you can’t stay in this hotel or hearing, ‘Boy, I don’t care how much money you got, we don’t sell cars to Nigger people’. Today’s hot heads would be beaten down and thrown up under the jail cell.”

When it comes to the conduct that today’s athletes have, I’d have to concur with this friend in his assessment. Today’s athletes, whether they are at the collegiate or professional level, have it so much easier than Dr. Gautt and others did during their playing days. They have it so much easier and yet they are throwing it all away just as easy. Look at the actions of Koren Robinson and Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones as prime examples. Look at their actions. How can anyone be proud of those two young men at a time when it seems as if the only character issues forthcoming are coming from Black athletes?

But Gautt was a man who was probably as humble as he was forgiving. To survive during an era in which he played his collegiate and professional ball, Dr. Gautt had to be strong willed yet flexible in his tact. He had to be diplomatic at all times and from what his former friends, colleagues and teammates say about him, it was his faith in God that brought him through such adversity. It is the type of life that really should be modeled by these young men of today and it is just one of many life stories that are out there for them to emulate and to have success in their football careers.

REMEMBRANCE SHOULD BE ONGOING

As great as the upcoming event will be in Norman this year, I have to wonder if any of the OU players will take those festivities to heart. Will Adrian Peterson realize that if it weren’t for Dr. Gautt, he may not even be where he is today on that football team? Will Paul Thompson forever thank Dr. Gautt posthumously for being a beacon of hope in a state where racial issues are not quite as resolved as many want to believe. And what about many other African American players coming OU’s way or playing at the high school level. Do the parents of these young men understand the importance of Dr. Gautt’s achievements and why it is important to strive and be academically successful as well as athletically successful on the playing field. Will these parents understand why it is so important to have positive role models like Dr. Gautt for their young athletes to admire and then help them achieve their own dreams by using his life and the lives of others as the guiding rails to success?

Dr. Gautt’s remembrance should be more than just a Homecoming event on Oct. 21st of this year. It should be more than just a sticker on the back of a football helmet. It should be about celebrating the accomplishments one man did in the changing of a world where racism was very much prevalent but yet he did his own civil rights movement without any marches or sit downs. For his 1956 teammates, this day should be a chance to remember that they stood with Prentice Gautt during a very hellacious time. They too took a stance against racism. They were courageous in doing so because they looked upon him as a teammate; not just a Black kid who needed protection. For the rest of us, we need to look at what Dr. Gautt did at Oklahoma and realize that he helped open some doors at a school that may not have wanted to do so until possibly the mid 1960s. But for whatever reason OU allowed this historic change to take place, everyone is better off for it.

So this season, as you watch the Sooners play against their rivals, let’s all remember that when we see #20 running for the end zone, let’s say thank you to #38 for allowing #20 to take that fame and glory.

Here’s to Prentice Gautt; a man who’s courage both on and off the field has shaped the lives of many young African Americans and continues to remind us of why we need to fight against the chains of racism as a whole; no matter what your ethnicity or color may be.

Where does an employer’s obligation end and a player’s responsibility begin?

2006-08-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – Anyone remember Dwayne Goodrich? In 2003, Goodrich was driving his Mercedes Benz sedan down IH-35E and barreled into three men who were just being good Samaritans at the time. Goodrich, who was with the Dallas Cowboys at the time, had left a strip club in the early morning of that accident and was driving at an excessive amount of speed. His lawyers have told a civil jury that Goodrich was not drunk when he plowed into the three men but if you are believing that story, then you are making an excuse for a man who knew all to well the harsh realities of drinking and driving. How about Leonard Little? Does that name ring a bell with anyone? It does with me and the countless others who have felt that Little was being protected by the St. Louis Rams and, indirectly the NFL, for allowing him to continue to be employed after not being convicted once but twice for a DUI/DWI in which one case he was found guilty of causing the death of Susan Gutweiler on October 19, 1998. Little was charged with involuntary manslaughter at that time and received such an easy sentence that he turned around and got arrested and charged again on April 24, 2004 in Ladue, Montana. Well if neither one of those two NFL players ring a bell or if the situations they were involved in haven’t stoked a remembrance pattern that is noteworthy, then the fact that Koren Robinson has been arrested in Minnesota is no surprise for you either.

In case you don’t know about this one, Robinson was arrested this past Wednesday doing 100 mph through a 55 mph zone and had a field sobriety test result of 0.11. Now what makes this so tenuous is the fact that Robinson has violated the substance abuse policy and will be suspended for four games at the beginning of the season and possibly more because this would be a third violation of that policy. When the news broke about Robinson’s latest escapade with the law, many who have taken the stance of saying that Robinson, like Little or Goodrich, have an illness and need sympathy. Many will say that it is up to Robinson’s employer to help him. So I ask you, just how are does the NFL’s obligation in helping a player with a substance abuse problem end and where does the player’s own responsibility begin?

The NFL and the NFLPA have come up with a policy that every player knows about. As a matter of fact, the league has a series of policies in place but one that supercedes every other one has the following phrase in it: “Engaging in violent and/or criminal activity is unacceptable and constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League. Such conduct alienates the fans on whom the success of the League depends and has negative and sometimes tragic consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. The League is committed to promoting and encouraging lawful conduct and to providing a safe and professional workplace for its employees”. That is the first paragraph of the Personal Conduct Policy that the NFL and the players abide by and it adheres to every single other policy that the players must follow. So how can anyone expect the NFL, a ‘corporation’ that employees hundreds of people, is expected to hold a player like Robinson by his hand?

The problem with many wanting to put the blame on the league and/or the union and not on any player is that you basically enable the player to continue the bad behavior. We have become so lackadaisical in coddling individuals that we are so willing to appease them for their bad behavior rather than give them the reality that they should be a part of. Many in the medical field continue to say that alcoholism is a disease and I still believe that it and or drug use is a choice issue. There was not some impish demon sitting in Koren’s blue BMW sedan that night and saying, “Here Koren, drink this down and punch the accelerator”. There was not somebody in his company that forced him to drink whatever consuming amounts he did and then told him, “Say man, go out there and act a fool at 100 mph”. There are no such things as demons people when it comes to alcoholism or drug addiction. Either you made the choice to go down that path and abuse your body or you didn’t and are clean and sober every day. It only becomes an illness because of the fact that the actions you do when inebriated affect your judgment. But is it to the extreme of where you continuously coddle these athletes who continue to break the laws of society? Yes I am saying that our hypocritical society is hell bent on sending Joe Drunk to the pokey for driving while drunk or under the influence for years to come but then will go to great lengths to protect the privileged, pampered professional athletes of our adoration.

Maybe Koren needs help and he should go to a substance abuse treatment facility. But the league and the union need to look at him now and say, “You are on your Koren. We can’t support you this time”. When you make a mistake that gets you into a bit of trouble and being arrested for a DUI is your first offense, you deserve sympathy and support. But that’s it. That’s your mulligan on the course of life. The moment you do the same behavior over and over again, you deserve to be cut loose from any support that you think you deserve because now it’s time for you to face the battle by your lonesome.

People may say that I’m being heartless but what’s more heartless, me saying that a grown man who knows the law and continues to break it deserves to have his candy ass locked up in the drunk tank and be embarrassed or to be sympathetic to the family of a woman like Susan Gutweiler, who didn’t deserve to die in that fashion? Guess which side I’m going to take. I will hang a law breaking athlete like Goodrich, Little or Robinson out to dry every single time, every single minute and each opportunity that comes up. And the support of your employer has to stop sooner rather than later. Grown adults don’t need to be coddled; they need to be held accountable for their actions and if that means you can no longer be employed in the field that pays you millions of dollars, guess what? That’s the price you pay for letting a bottle of whiskey, a can of beer or a drug like marijuana or crack cocaine control your life and your future.

Sometimes hard lessons need to come from when you have fallen hard into a deep sink hole and for Koren, this is a lesson that he needs to learn by himself or else he’ll continue to drink and drive and get paid millions of dollars by an employer that is enabling his bad behavior.

IS T.O. CONTINUING TO BE A DEMAGOGUE ON HIS NEW TEAM?

Believe it or not but Terrell Owens is running for office. He’s running for public office folks and this is no joke. He wants the public’s sympathy for his little hamstring twinge and he is willing to sacrifice his teammates by not practicing in order to gain your support. Does this sound familiar? It should because he did the same thing last year in Philadelphia. Oh by the way, in case anyone is wondering, Terrell Owens is probably now one of the most over hyped wide receivers that has ever played the game. He has no Super Bowl victories. He has no serious career numbers that are even worth talking about putting him into Canton. He is pretty much a better-polished player of above mediocre performance than Randy Moss. His few career highlights have afforded him nice paychecks but if anyone is thinking that Owens will lead the Dallas Cowboys to the promised land, then they are drinking some very dangerous colored water.

Owens’ actions are showing me exactly why I think he is nothing more than a demagogue in the NFL. He has everybody bamboozled into thinking that he is the answer to the Cowboys’ problems. Even Deion Sanders believes this nonsense and I always thought Sanders was fairly intelligent. Well maybe I have to re-think my posture on Primetime now. Maybe that flip against the Carolina Panthers some years ago has done more damage that it may be perceived if he is thinking that Owens is a perfect fit for this club. The only fit that Owens is to anyone is himself. A team player he is not. A guy who will go into the football trenches with you during training camp he is not. He would rather be treated like royalty rather than get down and dirty with the commoners known as his teammates. Sanders wasn’t like this. Michael Irvin certainly wasn’t of this ilk. The make up of what made the Dallas Cowboys champions under two head coaches in four years doesn’t exist in Oxnard, California.

Cowboys’ fans have been looking for a ‘savior’ of sorts since the retirement of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Jay Novachek and sometimes they are willing to almost settle for anything that may be a glimmer of hope. But let’s take into account the verbal exchange that one Texas journalist had with head coach Bill Parcells and his “come to Jesus” meeting. How appropriate since Owens says it is his faith in God and that he thanks the man above for his ability to play football. Well let’s take this a little further for Mr. Owens. See I remember another phrase that had a religious reference to it and that usually came from my mother or grandmother when it was time to get my butt back in the right frame of mind of obeying them. Forget about the “come to Jesus” meeting Owens needs to have with Parcells. What Parcells needs to do is to let this superficial of a football talent know that if he doesn’t come into this training camp ready to give his all, “so help him God” Parcells will be forced to let him play behind Patrick Crayton.

If you don’t think that will work, think again. If there is anything that Owens relishes more than his relationship with God, it is his relationship with dead presidents and if he doesn’t perform this season, that fat contract he got becomes just another piece of paper in his collection of wasted memoirs of a so-called great wide receiver.

Do you hear that noise Barry? That’s fate walking up on your career

2006-08-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – Click. Clack. No that’s not the latest commercial by Under Armor that has several former college football standouts, now pros, touting the latest gear for the serious player. No that’s not even the spikes that Barry Bonds would hear as he walks down the ramp way unto AT&T Park at Candle Stick. What he is hearing is fate as she begins her walk towards his career. What he is hearing is the sounding of a bell that is so deafening that even his trainer, Greg Anderson, will not be able to run and hide from. That noise he is hearing is another member of the BALCO family about to have her own career end because she is hooked on the juice. This is what Bonds is hearing.

Marian Jones is now the latest BALCO client to have her career end in controversy. Let me jog a few memories in case no one remembers anything about the Bay Area Laboratories Co-Op case that is almost a part of our societal landscape in sports. When you start examining the hierarchy of this once proud institution of cheaters, you realize that the track and field wing was pretty dominant at one time. Just look at the clients that Victor Conte had in the Bay Area who were Olympian caliber runners: Kelli White, Tim Montgomery, C.J. Hunter and Marian Jones. When I wrote the piece “The House that BALCO Built”, it was during a time when things were fishy near Alcatraz and Pier 39. Let’s realize something for a moment. Anyone who was testifying at that grand jury hearing had to know at least two things: either I’m clean and I’m ratting out a competitor and I’ll gain an edge in competition with him/her gone or I’m guilty as sin and sooner or later the United States Anti-Doping Agency will be coming for my own career. Even with immunity from the federal government, that didn’t necessarily mean you were going to be safe down the road. Case in point, ask White what happened to her career and she’ll tell you that she cheated. Ask C.J. Hunter, Jones’ ex-husband and he’ll probably not want to talk about his own career in which he was a big steroid user but is now working with college athletes as a trainer. Better still let’s ask former boyfriend Tim Montgomery and Hunter together about Jones’ drug use.

Jones has flunked a drug test back in June and the reason for all of this conjecture is that it may be possible that Conte was telling the truth a while back. Conte told ABC’s “20/20” in December of 2004 that he had supplied Jones with steroids including EPO. Jones and her lawyers later sued Conte and he recanted but now with this new revelation of a possible drug test failure, it seems that Jones may not be so truthful after all. And let’s add to this story line the fact that Justin Gatlin, another track star, has failed a drug test and Floyd “too much testosterone” Landis has failed his test at the Tour de France. In America this doesn’t seem like a big deal but if you start reading the European papers, you’ll see that many Europeans do not like the American sports stars at all because of all of this cheating.

Which now brings me full circle back to Bonds himself. I have always contended that if Barry really wanted all of this to go away, all he had to do at the very beginning was to denounce that he had never taken any performance enhancing drugs and be willing to be subjected to as many medical probes as it took to clear his name from the BALCO regime. Instead Bonds wants to try and play hardball and that is not something you want to do when your career is literally on the line. Let’s put the steroids accusation in Pandora’s box for a moment and let me play a Texas lawyer for the prosecution. If the feds really want Bonds, I continually contend that you lock up Greg Anderson just because he wants to be a complete lap dog and you basically send the IRS agents in and have them go over Bonds’ financials with a fine tooth comb. Is anyone listening to me up in San Francisco on this? You won’t get Bonds on anti-doping because Major League Baseball protects him. That’s the golden goose. But if you just want to bust his chops, take the tax evasion angle and let’s see where it leads.

Now does that mean that the feds may not be able to get Bonds on a steroids conviction? Not from their angle. That’s why you let the USADA do their job and you threaten Major League Baseball with another investigation by Congress and let the politicos like John McCain toy with the pulling of the anti-trust exemption. You get the USADA involved on the drug testing procedures and watch what happens. Bonds will retire the moment that agency comes in. Why can I make such a claim/ Well it’s quite simple. What the USADA has is a weapon in investigating till they find something. How long did it take them to finally catch up to Jones? About two years or so. How long did it take them to catch up with Hunter, White, Montgomery and others in the track and field world? About a year to two years. How long do you think this entity will find something on Bonds that will stick and force baseball purists to look at his numbers in a totally new light? Try about two to three years.

That is what Bonds and others who had a BALCO link are fearing right now. And it’s going to be “click, clack” until Bonds realizes that he can’t cheat his way through life anymore. And it will be that sound that’s heard until there’s a resolution of this issue, an admittance of guilt or innocence and/or a satisfactory result that puts this part of the BALCO case to bed.

JONES, PART II: DEFINATE BLACK EYE FOR TRACK AND FIELD

We won’t know the results of Jones’ “B” sample from a June test but this is still a black eye for the sport of track and field. Whether our track athletes realize it or not, because they are making money overseas, they are a reflection of this country and right now what the world sees is a bunch of cheaters. In Europe, there is no other place in the world where you can go over and make good money and have the adoration of thousands of appreciative onlookers. U.S. track and field stars have cultivated Europe to the point to where it’s the place to make your money and still come back to the States a winner.

But now with Jones caught up in an EPO scandal, with Gatlin being looked at as a liar to many who thought he was going to be the bright hope for the sport, and the countless others who will be coming forth in failed tests, the great European melting pot is fast becoming the bubbling caldron of disdain. One British tabloid wrote this past week that, “The Americans earn all their money in Europe, but it is clear that the rules are not being respected in America in the same way that they are here”. The comments came from Hansjorg Wirz, the Zurich promoter and an influential figure on the world governing body, the IAAF. Wirz’s comments are from an article that appeared in a Scottish paper and it is definitely a sentiment that is spreading across Europe.

Probably what is so troubling is that in America we like to poke our chests out like we are the world’s biggest country of following the rules when it comes to athletics but we are not willing to hold our athletes accountable. Wirz’ comments come in lieu of a motion in front of the IAAF in Beijing this week and he will definitely be pushing for an exclusion of countries that do not ban their athletes immediately upon learning of a failed result.

Many people want to say that these athletes deserve due process and that is why the “B” sample is so vital to that process. That may be all well and good but why should we be protecting a bunch of cheaters in sports? There is no doubt that an athlete can medically test for an abnormality after a urine test and after it is found that maybe the athlete took a cough syrup or prescribed medication, that athlete should be cleared. But when we are talking about professional athletes who have taken performance enhancers and they know they have taken them, there should be no more due process to prolong their careers.

In the face of the world’s views on this issue, the sanctity and nobility of the American athlete is at stake all because there are those who would rather cheat their way into the record books rather than just bust their humps and do what is necessary to train right, compete hard and let the chips fall where they must. Right now with Jones now caught up in this doping scandal, the world is looking at the United States and wondering how much cheating is a norm in this country. To be honest, it might be time that we all look at this situation in the same light as the Europeans are doing right now. Doping in athletics is a big problem in this country and we are nowhere near solving it any time soon.

Where does freedom of the press meet the obligations of the public in sports?

2006-08-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – It has finally happened. The problems of the mainstream, hard hitting news world for journalists has now filtered down to the sports department as a federal judge has ordered two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to divulge their sources on leaked grand jury testimony. The Chronicle printed the judge’s ruling, in part of which said “The court finds itself bound by the law to subordinate (the reporters') interests to the interests of the grand jury'' in discovering the source of the leaks, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White wrote. "The grand jury is inquiring into matters that involve a legitimate need of law enforcement.''

In case you have been out of touch with the latest BALCO story line, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, helped prompt professional baseball to adopt new rules to police steroid use by players by writing a series of reports on the BALCO case as it unfolded and on the implication that San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds had possibly lied to a federal grand jury. As the case stands now, Fainaru-Wada and Williams are now at the center of the very tornado that they had written about for so long.

Fainaru-Wada said after the judge’s ruling, "We're steadfast and resolute in that we're going to stand behind the sources.'' He and Williams remain hopeful, he said, that "at some point there's going to be a judge or judges who recognize the public good of the stories ... and ultimately we will prevail.''

This may seem humorous for some and indignation for others but what these two reporters are facing is real right now. Bucking the federal government on a grand jury summons is serious business. New York Times reporter Judith Miller spent time in jail after she refused to name her source in a CIA leak case that ultimately led to former CIA agent Valerie Plame’s cover being blown. Miller’s ordeal began in 2003 and she is now free after a deal was struck by her lawyers. The Times stuck by their reporter and in the Chronicle, the paper said it would do the same.

"We will not comply with the government's effort, which we believe is not in the best interests of an informed public,'' Chronicle’s editor Phil Bronstein said in his paper when the story broke about the ruling. He continued to say in a Chronicle story found online that the ruling "does not change our complete commitment to Mark and Lance. We support them fully in maintaining the confidentiality of their sources. We will pursue all judicial avenues available to us."

That’s a strong endorsement for any writer but when you have done some really good work that has led to the public awareness and safety of literally thousands of people, one can understand why these two reporters are getting the kind of backing from their paper and from the parent company, the Hearst Corporation. But what many are not aware of is that in today’s society, the sports pages might as well read “Metro Section – Part II”. There is as much of a hard hitting news journalism aspect of sports because of so many athletes committing crimes normally found on the Metro pages as there are box scores, features and commentary about outdoor fishing and poker. Today’s sports reporters have to become investigative reporters of their own genre simply because the stories out there are too unreal to not cover.

But does the U.S. government have the right or audacity to actually want to jail a segment of this country’s structure simply because they may not have been able to have the resources necessary to uncover information that may prove helpful to their case? When it comes to Fainaru-Wada and Williams, the government is definitely trying to take that stance. And it is difficult to understand why at a state level, reporters are protected under the shield law but the federal government doesn’t want to do the same. Imagine the kind of near effrontery it may have taken for former Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, along with former FBI deputy director W. Mark Felt to have broken the Watergate scandal that ended then President Richard M. Nixon’s presidency. If these reporters had to disclose their source and there was a grand jury investigation going on, do you honestly believe that the country would have hard about this story? Do you think that we would have known of the complicity that went about in trying to hide this from the country?

While the work that these two sports writers have done comes no where near that of national security, it is still no less important to note that this is just another case of where our system of justice is very much flawed in some key areas. Putting journalists in jail for doing their job is something that we would have expected from countries where true “freedom of the press” does not exist. But the question needs to be asked now. Despite what many law scholars may say is the right thing to do, legally, does this country truly believe in a freedom of the press or is this just another smoke screen that has been slowly unveiling itself with the evolution of technology and the microwave access to it? Is the information that this one informant may have told these reporters so important that the government cannot get it for themselves? And what happens if it is found out that the information that led as the foundation for a very successful book is nothing more than mere transcripts that the government already had in possession? Can the Chronicle then go after the prosecutors and/or government for overzealous prosecution and willful reckless trampling of the paper’s constitutional right to freedom of the press and/or speech? What then happens to these two reporters? Are they martyrs of a new generation of journalists who see this as their own version of peaceful “civil rights” demonstrations?

No journalist is ever setting out to break the law and defy any law enforcement agency. In most cases the two entities work congruently and help each other get their jobs done efficiently. However it seems that sometimes today’s press is truly more about the welfare of the society and sometimes finds itself needing to buck the system, so to speak. A good press should be allowed to protect the populous in a way that is both beneficial and necessary. Sometimes that means that reporters must protect sources from the government for the good of the very people the government should be protecting.

I support Fainaru-Wada and Williams 1,000,000,000 percent. And I’ll do so by going out and buying their book at the nearest bookstore this weekend. I might decide to buy two or three for friends. Sometimes you have to take a stance for the common good and if these two reporters must be locked up in jail to protect a confidential informant who has truly helped this country t a time when steroids was rampant in a sport we all love, then it’s the least I could do in buying a book and helping their cause financially. Who knows maybe one day I will need the same kind of backing from a writer that doesn’t know me but believes that the work I did not only saved countless lives but made a difference for generations unbeknownst to us at that time.

Pissing off a segment of the community because you told the truth is a good thing for all these days

2006-08-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO -- I thought it was hilarious as heck when a friend of mine called me the other day and said I got his listeners looking for me.

“Greg, you’ve started some [bleep] up here,” my friend told me. “They’re even calling the show after ours and wanting to ask who the heck you think you are with that conservative banter. Do you have any idea what you’ve done when you said that Black people need to quit using sports as the excuse for getting out of the ghetto?”

Oh but of course I know what I said was controversial in the Richmond, Virginia demographic of a little sports radio show I do every Saturday morning. Of course I knew that if I said that it’s time for Black people to stop using sports as the crutch to get out of poverty that I’d have people wanting my ‘head’ on a silver platter. But yet has anyone ever thought about that maybe the very reason why Black people get so upset when somebody makes this statement is because it’s true?

When was the last time an African American child told anyone in his family that he wanted to be a doctor of pediatrics and not a doctor of slamology? When has a struggling mother NOT tell her gifted athletic son that she wants him to have an education FIRST and if that education allows him to use his athletic gifts to jump start his financial well being, then all the better? When has a group of counselors REALLY sit down with the football team and tell those who are academically ineligible that their playing days are over because their grade point averages are more important to the school than their yards per carry average or how many games they have won?

When it comes to Black adults who truly know that it takes an education to get out of the ghetto, how many of these adults are truly going about that task of changing the mindset of the kids they come in contact with and the parents who they barely speak too?

All of this has come to life because of what Maurice Clarett has done in recent days. With more and more young Black men thinking that sports is their way out of impoverished areas, more and more adults need to show them that there are more opportunities not trying to be the next major superstar these days. The problem with this is that the examples out there are few and far between. It is so much easier for these kids to try and emulate a professional athlete and aspire to reach that point than to think that they can gain equal satisfaction in more meaningful careers; some of them sports related.

But as I told my friend, I’m not going to back down from what I said. I can’t back down until somebody proves me wrong and that won’t be happening any time soon.

FOX, ESPN MAKING BIG MISTAKES IN FOOTBALL COVERAGE CHANGES.

I watched Monday Night Football last night and I’ve got to say that I am not impressed at all by the tandem of Mike Tirico, Joe Thiesman and Tony Kornheiser. While I’m at it, I seriously doubt that I will be watching Fox’s coverage of the NFL pregame show either since they want to use Joe Buck and the crew on location. It’s just hard to believe that NBC is about to take over the ratings war and they’ll do so by default because Mickey and Rupert just haven’t done their homework on product branding.

NFL pregame shows are important to fans because they do provide the analysis and entertainment value that many football fans have grown accustomed to. The reason why Fox’s pregame show has been so successful is because they had a foursome tandem that got along well. ABC’s Monday Night crew worked because it was not only that of Al Michaels and John Madden but because it was on FREE television. Now that has changed and I think looking at ESPN on Monday Night for football is a mistake the network will soon realize. As for the Fox product, with Buck running the show on location and not having someone like Pam Oliver to help change the demographics of the show, Fox’s product will lose ground too.

On a brighter note I enjoy seeing NBC back in the mix with Bob Costas and friends. ESPN and Fox may want to really look at how the peacock has revived an old product, brushed off the dust and revamped it for 2006. Right now I’m a Sunday night fan now.

SPURS’ BOWEN MAY NOT MAKE USA BASKETBALL SQUAD

San Antonio Spurs fans are going to be disappointed and probably think that there is some type of conspiracy theory if Bruce Bowen doesn’t become one of the twelve members of the team that will compete in this month’s World Championship in Japan but there is a good possibility of this happening.

Bowen has not played a great deal during the exhibition games that the men’s senior team has won and it seems that the current group of young players may actually be willing to showcase that they are determined to right an egregious wrong that previous teams have allowed to happen. If that is the case then expect Bowen to not be a part of this twelve man rotation.

Bowen’s absence on the team, if that happens, should not be looked upon as a slight by USA Basketball or anybody who is affiliated with it. It seems that Jerry Colangelo and company are serious about making a concerted effort at trying to compete seriously on the international basketball stage. If that is the case and Bowen is the next player cut, then he’s helping them win gold by not being on a team that is talent laden. However if Colangelo and company were truly serious about winning in these tournaments, he would stick with his twelve man rotation for the upcoming games and extend an invitation to only six other players to be a part of the rotation; including Bowen, Gilbert Arenas, Amare Stoudamire and three others.

The tragic climax to an 18-year-old who scored the winning touchdown against Miami

2006-08-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – This past Friday I wrote a quick opinion for Fox Sports Radio in regards to the issues that faced Maurice Clarett. I also went on FSR’s JT the Brick’s show to not only clarify my stance to but explain why I felt the way I did in that stance. In my comments I wrote the following:

“Many want to say that it was society, the NFL and even Ohio State that failed Maurice Clarett but in all honesty there are only a few people who failed him. The following people that failed this young man are the following:
1) His family
2) His "hangers on" folk
3) His lawyers and advisers
4) Past coaches and teachers that didn't say no
5) MAURICE CLARETT

Let's take them in order.

1) His family failed him because instead of a family that looked at Clarett's athleticism as a blessing and a tool that could put the young man on a better path than what they may have had, they tried to jump on his back and ride the fame that was fleeting. When it came time for somebody to spank his behind for any wrongdoing or to be the voice of reason at a time when he probably needed, nobody stepped up to the plate.

2) When a person has talent and looks like they are about to leave the "hood", there are people who want to ride that glory bus too. Like family members who are not looking out him, Clarett had a bunch of hanger on types in his life that were his friends when the times were good and plentiful.

3) His advisors and lawyers can take the blame for his failed NFL bid when he was just a freshman. I'll even go so far as to say that even Hall of Famer Jim Brown can share some of this because he didn't help this young man face the fight that was forthcoming back then. Press conferences were given during this time when Maurice wanted to challenge the NFL but not one single advisor told him that he needed to be prepared for "Plan B". In the eyes of these advisors and lawyers, there was no Plan B and was well as the intentions may have been, foresight was needed during a time when there was no road map for what at that time was a monumental court battle in sports.

4) How many teachers and coaches let this young man have things his way in school and life? How many of them did not be a roadblock in his life when he desperately needed one? Part of Clarett's damaged psyche can come from the fact that even in the education process, nobody stood up to him and made him accountable. Verbal tests in college, easy assignments during school, a nod here or a pat there, all of that is a contributing factor that I will give in the last person that failed this young man.

5) Ultimately the person that failed Maurice Clarett was…Maurice Clarett. It was Clarett who didn't realize that he had a gift from the heavens inside his body and that it was his job to use those talents to the best of his ability. It was Maurice who didn't realize that even after being selected by the Denver Broncos last spring that he needed to be mature about his life and realize that he was just another football player who had a chance at making some good money playing a game he loved. Yet it was Maurice who also didn't respect the game in which he loved. Brent Barry said last year during the Spurs season that if a professional athlete doesn't respect the game he plays, the game will come back and bite him in the ass, the foot and anywhere else it can take penance for the disrespect the athlete has given it. In Clarett's case he disrespected the game by not being in the best shape possible when it came to trying to win a court case. The disrespect came when he didn't do well at the NFL combine two years in a row. The disrespect came when he didn't take this job that somebody handed him seriously enough and try to make the Broncos roster. Instead of Clarett respecting the game, he tried to use the game for his own personal gains at a time when he was qualified to take such action.

And now we have a young man who was at the pinnacle of the sports world some three years ago sitting in a county jail on $5 million bail. What is tragic is that once again nobody has stepped up and forced this young man to accept responsibility for any of his actions. His lawyers are making excuses as to why he had three handguns and an assault rifle mere blocks away from a witness in his robbery trial. There are those who would rather make excuses to try and explain why Maurice has done what he did instead of confronting the problem head on and assessing the proper remedy for a conclusion to an ugly situation. And when he needs all of those 'friends' to come around and help keep a level head, Clarett has no one to fall back on.

As tragic as this is, this is a stark reality that is repeated far too often in many Black communities where poverty and a warp sense of entitlement, hope and encouragement reign. We have watched this young man self destruct in front of our eyes and many of us who had a position to help him, failed him. Is it our fault that this has happened? For those who should have been much sterner and willing to put a boot up his butt when he needed, probably so. But society didn't fail him. His community didn't fail him. Even some family members and friends didn't fail him. Ultimately the person who has caused this problem is Maurice himself. Luckily for him he made a U-turn when he did. At least this young man is alive to re-think his string of poor judgment calls. If it went on another hour, he may not be here for us to even write or speak on a 'what if' scenario.”

It was that statement that prompted my appearance on JT’s show and we spent a good amount of time debating and/or agreeing on several aspects. Now JT had a problem with me listing Maurice as the fifth person on my list but w=once I explained my stance, he understood why he had to be the fifth person. And with the words that FSR’s Out of Bounds’ co-host James Washington gave just prior to my appearance, I think the national audience got an idea where two Black men were coming from on this topic.

But as I write this article on a Saturday morning, I had to go back into my Maurice Clarett archives and find an article that kind of showed exactly where this young man was PRIOR to last Wednesday’s climatic events of his second arrest in 2006. For that I went back and found the following paragraphs:

“There’s no misunderstanding that this columnist despises everything that Maurice Clarett stands for. That disposition doesn’t come from the fact that I personally don’t know him. As a person, I don’t know Clarett or his family. My disdain comes from the standpoint that a little over 23 months ago this young man was poised to be one of the best running backs in Ohio State history and instead of embracing that chance, he decided to listen to individuals who have inkling what the sports world is all about and that is including Hall of Famer Jim Brown. As much as I respect Brown, sometimes I am really disturbed when he picks up causes that just pan out to being nothing but fool’s gold. Maurice Clarett’s attempts this past year to get into the NFL was just that; an attempt. Then add to the equation that Clarett has caused his former school to go through a rigorous NCAA investigation that proved that the school did nothing wrong and that it was Clarett who actually was the guilty party. Now is the school blameless? Of course not. They had to show the NCAA that they were indeed clean and it gave them a chance to clean up whatever mess they had going on. Yet as many will remember, I wrote a story about how Clarett violated the NCAA handbook and that he should have known better.

But as we are now finding out, this young man is so far removed from reality that it’s downright embarrassing. His recent remarks to a national magazine like ESPN’s makes everyone in the Black community just cringe because there is already a polarization to begin with. Just what is that polarization? The fact that the ‘man’ is always trying to trip up one of ‘our’ own. Let’s be frank for a moment on this subtopic. I’ve been writing about sports and Black athletes for almost a dozen years now and with many of those years dealing with this very issue. There is no true polarization to speak of. There is ignorance of facts in the Black community. There is mistrust, misinformation and flat out denial by many who think that Black athletes deserve special privileges. That is what I call the polarization between the media and the Black community. What Clarett has done, whether he knows it or not, is that he has simply added to this ‘myth’ and once again you have a segment of the Black community thinking that he has done nothing wrong and that he has basically played “Robin Hood” for himself. An interesting concept to say the least.” – taken from the BASN article “Clarett, Artest Showcasing Their Skills At “Polarizing” A Community” that was published on November 17, 2004.

Now to refresh a little bit of history on why I never was in the Clarett camp. I never thought he was all that in college. When he was at Ohio State he played okay and in the Fiesta Bowl game against the “U” and Willis McGahee, Clarett just happened to score the winning touchdown in the game. And that was the very last time we heard from him on the playing field. After that, we had a frenzy of folk and wannabe NFL insiders trying to feed us that Maurice Clarett could go as a top pick in the 2003 draft. There was a court case. There was Hall of Famer Jim Brown trying to give validity to the cause. There was his mother standing by her son. There were so many people in that young man’s camp back then that you would have thought he was royalty or something.

But let’s fast-forward to 2004 and 2005 when he was allowed to go to the NFL combine. In 2004, he was overweight and looked slow. He embarrassed himself and pulled out within 72 hours. And yet there were still people trying to tell the sports nation that he could do this move and there were many of us who bit on that promise. Not this columnist. Not in 2004. Then in 2005, he had a horrible showing again at the NFL combine and pulled out. Still when it came to the 2005 draft, he was picked on the third day when I thought he should have been a Sunday guy (rounds five or six). The Denver Broncos gave him a chance at redemption and picked him in the third. Mike Shanahan thought he could be the ‘savior’ of this young man. Ultimately Clarett showed his true colors and the Broncos dismissed him without even thinking about his future. People thought it was cruel, heartless of the Broncos doing so. They thought that the NFL should try to find him employment. Not this writer and I said so as much when I penned the comments in an article that appeared on the BASN website on September 1, 2005 entitled “The Only Thing Surprising Is That Clarett Lasted This Long In Denver”. In that column I wrote, “Clarett supporters need to ask themselves what chance were they expecting Clarett to get because if you look at what the Broncos did, they have him ample opportunity to step up and make the team. His work ethic on and off the field showed that of someone who either didn’t care because he was a national champion in college or figured he was too tough for his teammates. Add to the huge ego problem the fact that he spent more time in a rehabilitation tub than on the field in pads and that he never showed that burning inside of football players who are trying to make a roster, and you now get the full brunt of why so many media writers, including myself, kept saying that Clarett will never be a featured running back at this level. And for the Broncos, they weren’t missing him and really weren’t concerned. They figured if he didn’t care, they moved on without him.”

I’ve probably written about six or seven articles on why Clarett wasn’t a viable NFL candidate. Over that span I’ve gotten at least a handful of e-mails saying that I should be wiling to help a black man and not tear him down. As I have often responded back if the truth is tearing somebody down, then maybe that was because they never faced the truth in the first place. This is especially true in Clarett’s case now. As I continue to stay abreast of this story, I have read where his mother and girlfriend left the courtroom after a hearing on Friday with no comment. That’s ironic because when her son was in the media spotlight and looked to have a glimmer of a chance at being this huge superstar, Mary Clarett was standing right next to her son and even speaking on why he should be in the NFL. And where are all of these so-called friends and advisers that were there during that time when the gravy train looked so plentiful? Where are the hanger on people who wanted to ride the coat tails back in 2003 and 2004? Where are all of those supporters who e-mailed anyone who was against him trying to get into the NFL? I’ll tell you exactly where they are. They are all sitting on their collective asses hoping nobody remembers who they are and effectively have abandoned Clarett when he needed true friends the most.

With that said, I can only surmise that ultimate person at the blame of all of his problems. When I look back at Clarett’s last game on a football field, what I saw was a scary situation. Somehow somebody got into this young man’s head and filled him with such illusions of grandeur that it fooled even the best people in the sports world. It fooled some of the brightest minds that flocked to his aid. Heck it even got BASN’s Black Box to touting how Clarett was being used and that this very site should be supporting his cause. Yet while everyone was at the circus during that time, a few of us writers realized that this young man might be headed down a dangerous path of self-destruction. Little did all of us know that last Wednesday was the day that our worst fears were brought to fruition.

I’ve never wanted anything negative to happen to Maurice Clarett. If anything I wanted him to face reality and understand that he had been sniffing the newsprint far too often when it came to how great he was. As James Washington said on the Brick’s show Friday night, “Clarett was just a freshman that scored the winning touchdown”. That’s all Maurice ever really did that was great in college football. He did his job by scoring the game-winning touchdown in what was the biggest game of his career; at that time. But that didn’t entitle him to anything beyond that. Now his life is all but ruined. He may finally get his wish that he told Tom Friend of ESPN the Magazine by phone.

There are several people who are culpable in the demise of Maurice Clarett and as I stated in my release to the FSR affiliates on Friday, Clarett is ultimately the man who screwed up his life. But think about this for a moment. How many of us actually thought that by scoring the winning touchdown against the University of Miami would lead you to be arrested on August 9, 2006 with four loaded weapons, a bullet proof vest and a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka? Nobody expected a then 18-year-old to turn out to be the thug that he has been rightfully labeled. Nobody expected that turn of events to spawn into something so catastrophic but it did and it came from a pod seed that was probably festering ever since Clarett showed promise on the field. That’s probably a harsh assessment but at this point, it probably the only true assessment as to how his life could turn out so bad after such a promising beginning some three years ago.

Bomar’s mistake brings stipend issue for athletes to the forefront

2006-08-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – Maybe the smartest thing that Rhett Bomar has done in his life is to bring the debate of whether college athletes who are on scholarship should have some sort of stipend and it is a debate that continues to simmer just below the boiling point because as long as things are fine, nobody cares. But the moment a situation like Bomar’s comes forth, the top of the stockpot starts to rattle and pretty soon the cooks in Indianapolis start scurrying around the NCAA rules kitchen. Well they are scurrying again and this time they may actually have reason to ‘think’ about the problem.

The issue brings back a conversation that I remember with several people over the years. I remember what one Wally Renfro had said right here on the BASN website that the NCAA needed to pay these players something that would stave off temptation. I have one thought that paying these privileged individuals was the worse thing in the world but then I began to realize that we are dealing with college students who are not as fortunate as their classmates. I remember that point when I was going through my own collegiate days in the mid to late 1980s. When I was going to school, whether I was paying for it through college loans and the honest hustles of typing up term papers or tutoring students on the PASCAL and BASIC programming languages, or whether my parents were footing the bills and giving me spending money each week that resembled a paycheck, I really didn’t want for anything. Any girls I dated were taken to the nice restaurants that I could afford. Maybe I spent my money a little too lavishly back then but then again, I was able to do that. But looking at some of my friends who were playing collegiate sports at the schools I attended, they weren’t so fortunate. A trip to White Castles in Cincinnati or to Pantera Pizza in Austin back in the mid 80s was a little tough for those guys. Well if it was tough for that group of players then, why should I expect things to be any different now for today’s current athletes on scholarship? I shouldn’t and it hasn’t gotten any better.

Well maybe it is time for the NCAA to start seriously looking at giving all of its student athletes on the Division I level some type of monthly stipend or allowance that allows these young men and women to have some sort of life. The folks scurrying around in that kitchen need to cook up a recipe that includes a decent monetary amount that these athletes can use for their own personal expenditures but make the program strict enough to where they cannot be financing extravagances such as transportation or lavish personal property like expensive watches and what not. They will need to produce a program that gives these students the freedom of not relying on misguided boosters who think they can buy their way into the favoritism of the coaches and athletic directors and they need to develop a program that holds all involved to a high standard of accountability. This is something that should have been done years ago and needs to be done right now.

The NCAA may not want to realize what they have in their kitchen but the rest of us see the dilemma for what it is. It’s sad that every year we are going to have to hear about a student athlete going down the wrong path because of a financial hardship but it will continue unless the cooks in that kitchen figure out how to stop the pot from boiling over and eventually scalding the whole organization. Right now that top is just clanking. It’s clanking but that doesn’t mean that this situation is under control. It’s far from being under control and just turned on simmer. The knob is broke and when it comes to the stipend issue, the water temperature continues to rise in unsuspecting fashion.

WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND CHARACTER THESE DAYS?

Staying on the Bomar case for a moment, one has to ask him or herself, just where is the character in today’s athletes? Whether Bomar realizes it or not, he had a choice in his situation. His roommate had a choice and so did Adrian Peterson when story of his little loan of a luxury car first surfaced. Add to this stockpile the problems at Auburn, Miami, Georgia and other schools where players have been suspended, kicked off the team or are under fire for bad decisions and you have to ask yourself, “What the hell is going on these days with these athletes? Is status that so important that they will sacrifice character?”

To put it bluntly, yes. From USC’s Ting brothers leaving to supposedly study for med school to Bomar and others, the bad decision that they are making are far worse than almost anything that has been reported in recent memory. Maybe with the microwave age of our world we are seeing, reading and hearing about these atrocities and we are just reacting to something that is relatively new to us. But yet students and greedy boosters isn’t something new. Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Georgia and other schools have all had boosters who thought they ran the programs and they flaunted money to prove it. The movie “Blue Chips” was as realistic as it came back in its time. And what was probably a movie some fourteen years ago then is every bit as true today if not almost high definition in nature.

A player’s character comes from his upbringing and that’s where you have to start looking. If the parents do their job and teach that sacrifice is not a hindrance in your quest for your ultimate prize, then players usually have great character and go on to be great people. But yet if learning to sacrifice is not a part of the equation on character building, you will have players of questionable ilk in your program. Am I saying that the Grand Prairie product is of bad character? In this instance I am. What Bomar and his roommate have triggered is going to be an investigation from hell that could just wreck the athletic department. OU is already on probation thanks to former men’s basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson. The football program doesn’t need to be put into a similar situation but it could if the NCAA deems it proper.

Whether Bomar and others are sorry for whatever actions they may have done at their schools, the situation still remains that they did something illegal and knowingly knew that it was against the rules of the NCAA. They may go on with their lives but the programs they once played for could be handcuffed for years to come.

There needs to be some sort of accountability from these players. It is upsetting that schools like TCU, Texas A&M Commerce and others are looking at Bomar and want to give him a chance to play football at those schools. It’s a shame because these schools aren’t helping in teaching guys like Bomar accountability. Giving him a scholarship at any school is a slap in the face to OU and Bob Stoops’ program. He can play football anywhere he chooses but he needs to be just a normal student now and pay for his education like so many others do. College loans aren’t the evil that we all make them out to be but if any school rewards a player like Bomar or anyone else who may lose their scholarship this season because of gross misconduct, then that school is just as guilty as the player who put his former school into the NCAA investigation crosshairs. These student athletes need to be held accountable and they need to learn that good character is important in the success of today.

Even in the black sports media world, those who aren’t looking don’t see diversity

2006-07-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – A friend of mine called me the other day and told me that ESPN’s Scoop Jackson sort of lifted a story that I wrote about back in June.

“Greg, take a look at Page 2 on ESPN.com. Seems Scoop has sort of jumped on your bandwagon about that APSE report story you did for BASN back in June. Some of it sounds eerily familiar,” my friend told via a cell phone call.

What was interesting was that just a day later, while going through my e-mails and story idea sort lists, I saw in my e-mail copy of Howard Bloom’s Sports Business News’ Daily Dose and I see not one but two entries for Jason Whitlock’s column he wrote for the Kansas City Star. If you are not familiar about what Scoop, Whitlock or myself are referring to, it is a near damning report that the Associated Press Sports Editors had done by the renowned Dr. Richard Lapchick. I wrote about the study on June 24th of this year and you can read about what I had to say at http://www.blackathlete.net/artman/publish/article_02033.shtml. Now what’s ironic is that almost a full month after I wrote this piece on the BASN website, both Jackson and Whitlock gets national attention for their ‘outspoken’ comments on the lack of diversity. Well here is where it is time to turn over a little known rock on what is discussed amongst Black sports writers and Black journalists in general; this diversity problem exists because even Black journalists don’t necessarily know where to look.

I don’t want to take anything away from Whitlock’s or Jackson’s article because both writers make some valid points. From Jason’s standpoint as a minority writer at a predominately Caucasian paper, it probably is frustrating as hell to try and get a story out that is appealing to a smaller reader segment. Sometimes you just don’t want to write for the majority. With Scoop, I definitely can agree with him on the fact that maybe our young Black kids don’t know of the sports writers who ARE NOT on ESPN. I’ll even poke at my own self in that regards. Prior to my first appearance on ESPN’s Outside the Lines in May of 2005 and the half a dozen appearances on the “Hot List’ since then, nobody knew who I was, what Blackathlete.net was or that a small African American weekly newspaper like the San Antonio Informer even existed. Do I feel fortunate in the exposure provided by Mickey and company? Sure I do but I can’t complain. However I’m not going to sit here at a keyboard and say that I don’t wish for things to better for every sports journalist who is of color. Diversity is an issue that needs to be addressed and somebody is trying to ring the bell on that tabooed subject.

TOPIC ONLY DISCUSSED AT A CONVENTION SETTING

Even though the diversity discussion that has come about from Dr. Lapchick’s study and the admittance by the APSE, there’s an aspect of this discussion that Whitlock and Scoop fail to make mention to the public. Amongst Black journalists, this conversation only truly gets discussed in a certain venue and that is the annual National Association of Black Journalist convention. This year’s convention is being held in Indianapolis, Indiana and according to the group’s website, there are several workshops that will be held at the convention that hit on the diversity topic. Some of the tentative workshops are: Role of Minority Journalists in Integrating Motorsports, Black Ownership in Radio: Why it Matters Who is in Charge, Closing the Head-Coaching Gap in College Football and Women’s Basketball, Growing Our Own, Building a Stronger Black Press, Black Women in the Newsroom: Stomping Out the Stereotype and Are We Running From Behind (go to http://nabj.org/conventions/2006/workshops/index.html and scroll the list of workshop topics for a greater topic understanding of what these workshops will talk about).

These discussion workshops are not uncommon at an NABJ event and there is always at least one frank discussion on why there are not more African Americans in the newsroom. In relation to the sports genre, I have always surmised that one of the biggest reasons why there are not more of “us” being heard or read is because the more conventional Black journalists out there (the folks who are on TV or work for the big daily newspapers) are not looking to help the cause. Yes consider this the calling out of many journalists afraid to venture outside the box and actually talk to that Black journalist you see from the Washington Informer at a Washington Redskins game. Yes I’m calling out those who figure that a person who writes for a small Black newspaper like the Long Beach Times, the Dallas Examiner or the Seattle Medium. Yes when a beat writer from a big newspaper sees another Black reporter at a sporting event, I’m saying that it is only right and proper to introduce yourself to that individual and find out what publication that person writes for. Yes I am saying that is time for even the NABJ to finally recognize that collectively, members and non-members of the Black press are systematically not doing the job of making the Caucasian led senior management of the industry to look beyond their window and reach out to the talent that is out there. The small, maybe inconsequential Black publication is out there doing the same thing that a Kansas City Star, LA Times or Seattle Post Intelligence is doing and that is covering the world of sports.

THE UGLY TRUTH THAT BLACK ATHLETES WANT BLACK REPRESENTATION

There’s another ugly little truth that nobody really wants to acknowledge and it’s probably worse than the fact that the Black media is not helping its cause fully in the diversity issue. The other ugly truth is that many Black athletes want to see Black reporters covering them. Yes I’m saying the other dirty secret that nobody wants to talk about. The reason why I’m saying this now is because you can’t talk about diversity and a lack of having qualified journalists in a newsroom without realizing the aspects that even in today’s sophisticated society, people of ethnicity feel more comfortable talking to someone of like resemblance and sometimes that is even on racial terms.

Many members in the Black media may disagree with me on this statement but I can only go on personal observations. In the dozen years of covering the NBA and other sports where African Americans are a major part of the scene, I have been able to build relationships with some players who were African American because they saw a Black reporter taking the time to just talk to them. A good example of such a relationship is with Jaren Jackson. When Jackson was a member of the San Antonio Spurs, at the beginning of the season I introduced myself. When he asked whom I wrote for, his eyes lit up and asked me to make sure he got a copy of my African American publication. There was a friend of mine who was writing for another Black paper standing with me and he was nearly ecstatic and asked her to make sure he got a copy of her paper as well. So just about every week until he left the team, Jaren got two weekly Black newspapers in his locker.

As trivial as the example may be or as inconsequential the argument may seem, the fact that continues to remain that for many African Americans, they want to see Black sports journalists covering them. Many news outlets understand that aspect of the diversity issue because the stories that they receive, the commentaries that are written or the prose that is said on the airwaves brings in a new demographic or increases the size of an existing one. The diversity issue, as a whole, doesn’t just apply here to Black reporters and journalists but the Black journalist is actually the minority in a world where African Americans may be the majority. That world is sports.

CHANGE STARTS WITH THE BLACK MEDIA’S PERCEPTION OF DIVERSITY

Sure the world isn’t perfect and Lord knows that things should be better. It would be nice that instead of having all of these journalist organizations in the world that one group be represented. Yet that is exactly why there are five different journalist groups for minorities; because one group does not represent another group in proper fashion. If the world was perfect, there would be no need for a diversity study by Dr. Lapchick to show the sports editors in the daily newsrooms what they see on a daily basis. For the APSE to say that they didn’t know that they had a problem is definitely a disingenuous statement and a slap in the face to every working journalist who is out there in the real world. Yet journalists like myself, Scoop, Jason or others can’t be crying foul every time we feel that our people are not getting proper media coverage when we are not out there actively recruiting fresh new talent.

In order for this diversity issue to truly be remedied, it will mean that even the Black media needs to recognize that sometimes we are as guilty of being a bunch of snobs to our own people. Luckily those cases are few and far between but it is still something that needs to be changed. As successful as Cathy Hughes’ Radio One may be, the fact that even this entity needs to have a viable sports talk show that is informative, reliable and gives the target audience substance that co-exists with the other forms of mediums they may gather. It is really the job of the Black journalist to not just report the facts to the general populous, but for many it is also the task to educate their own community and be the beacon of hope for those who may want to come forth and get into this professional field.

NABJ was founded in Washington, D.C. on December 12, 1975 by 44 men and women, many who were just starting out in their careers. Undoubtedly the reason why this organization was founded was to help promote diversity in the media field. Surely some 31 years later this group shouldn’t be having the same ‘discussion’ about diversity that the founding members talked about on that eventful day. However it may seem to be that is what is happening. That has got to stop. The re-hashing of the dead horse isn’t gong to solve the issues being raised.

When it comes to Blacks and the sports journalism field however, things can be changed by the acceptance that it takes a collective effort for the mainstream writers to help the not so mainstream colleagues to get noticed. Sad to say but if Scoop, Jason, Stephen A. or a few others that I know asked me to name as many Black sports writers/columnists, I’d flunk the test too. It’s not that I don’t know about them but because as a media ‘fraternity’, we don’t communicate. Maybe that’s the other end of the problem too. A lack of communication can definitely stall a worthy issue that needs a solution. But with that said, there is some diversity where many think there is none. It just takes some effort turning over those moldy rocks in the journalism pond and stroking the frogs up under there into becoming the princes that everyone wants to hear from.

Blake, Woods help shape phenomenal sports weekend during non-sports time

2006-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – in probably one of the best sports weekends that will never be mentioned, James Blake wins an important ATP men’s tennis tournament in Indianapolis and along the way he has helped to bring back American tennis at a time when many people think that it’s all but dormant these days.

Blake’s impressive 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Andy Roddick on Sunday was nothing short of masterful tennis by both players. Blake’s win is especially good to see because the young man has been battling his own self-doubt of being a champion for months. Yet this weekend’s win showed the America tennis public something that it hasn’t had in a long time and that’s a player who was hungry. As a friend of mine puts it succinctly, it was sexy as hell to watch and in sports folks, sexuality sells the product.

"Andy and I wanted to prove that U.S. tennis is back now," Blake said. "We're on our surface now and we want to do well going into the U.S. Open and hopefully for the rest of the year.

The two top seeded players did exactly that and it was a treat worth watching. For those who didn’t’ know who James Blake was, he is now the fifth ranked player in the world. He was the top seeded player in the RCA championship this weekend and he definitely showed that he could handle the pressure of being in the spotlight. For Roddick this loss didn’t make him any less of a player but it did something that both he and Blake wanted to do and that’s a reiteration of what good tennis could be. We haven’t seen that from American players in a long time. The Williams’ sisters are not nearly as good as they once were and with the retirement of Andre Agassi, there haven’t been many players out there to cheer about. Until now that is.

"This is one of the best finals I've ever played," Blake told reporters. "I had to play like that to beat a champion like Andy.

"I played my best tennis, it's very satisfying to have done it in the final."

Let’s hope we get to see a lot more of these two great players for years to come and hopefully a showdown in five weeks at the U.S. Open.

TIGER’S WIN CAPPING A GREAT GOLF WEEKEND

At 18 under, Tiger Woods has once again become the sports story that is leading many headlines this week and that’s a good thing. Chris DiMarco ended up 16 under and his story is right next to Woods’ own. Yet just like with the winning of Blake in Indy, Woods impressive win at Hoylake for his third British Open and his second one that was back to back (Woods won last year’s title at St. Andrews to complete the grand slam).

DiMarco’s valiant effort wasn’t enough but this weekend was more than just these two American golfers and Ryder Cup teammates battling out. Woods lost his dad just before the Masters and DiMarco lost his mom a couple of weeks ago. Both players were trying to play inspired golf for more than just a trophy and bragging rights and this week; both of them came out giving golf fans a memorable performance.

So even though football isn’t quite here and baseball is a bit in the doldrums, there were two sporting events that gave us something to really stayed glued in front of the flat screen this past weekend and they were well worth the view.

When will Black athletes realize that they actually ‘make’ their society?

2006-07-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – Excuse me while I conjure up an old commercial for a public service announcement. Sir Charles, take it a way.

"I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, ‘Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.’ Parents have to take better control."

Okay I was really expecting the old Nike commercial from him. You know the one. “I am not a role model”. In a sense the above quote will have to do as the anomaly because whether Sir Charles likes it or not, professional athletes, rappers, big booty shakers on BET and MTV are all the role models most Black kids see and want to be emulate. Whether Charles likes the situation, the fact of the matter is that as long as society continues to pay millions of dollars to professional athletes to play a kid’s game, kids will want to attain the millions that are out there. Talk about a warped sense of economics and the basic formulation of supply and demand. Yet it’s out there folks and whether I like it or not, whether Charles likes it, or if anyone else thinks they can change it, the premise is out there. But yet when Black athletes continue to go out and do some of the damnedest things in our society, I think I’m like Charles at times; I want to go hide from the world.

Black athletes have this inordinate sense of responsibility to actually be very positive role models for our youth. We have some really good ones but there are some bad ones as well. For example, if anyone is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise and you have been arrested within the past two years, would you please raise your hand? If this were a real test, we would at least see two hands go up in Charles Henry and Mathias Askew. Okay here’s another one. Will the professional athlete who has allowed his household to become the benchmark for stupid spending please stand up? C’mon Mike Strahan you know that’s you. With all joking aside, the reason why I selected these individuals is because right now they are in the limelight for being either incredulously inept at managing a household or are so ill equipped at being a law abiding citizen that somebody has to rattle their cages a little.

ROLE MODEL #1: A FINANCIAL ROLE MODEL

Before I tackle another reason why crime doesn’t pay, I want to delve into Michael and Jean Strahan’s ridiculous divorce proceedings. Now I’ve gotten into a heated debate about this case with my own girlfriend. She has taken the stance that Jean deserves $21 million for putting up with Strahan for seven years. Funny because it is believed that Strahan only is worth $23 million. I of course think that she deserves to get $7 million and be forced back to her pre-marriage life of frugal spending as a cosmetics store manager’s salary because evidently she didn’t believe in keeping such principles when she got married. But despite what I might feel towards a woman I have never met, I am putting the blame of this sordid tale at the feet of the New York Giants superstar because he wasn’t man enough to run his household like, well, a man. In my eyes, not only did Strahan allow his wife to go off on that ridiculous spending spree over the years, he was the basis for it because he himself never became a frugal finance manager and lead the household down a normal spending path. As a father of twins, he can’t say that he has set a good example for his daughters on being financially responsible.

Let’s forget the Patrick Ewing anecdote of “We spend a lot because we make a lot” when it comes to professional athletes. One of the biggest problems that Black America has is the fact that athletes believe they have to spend gobs of money on lavish rides. I’ve heard that right here in San Antonio that a former San Antonio Spurs player has a Ferrari, a Mercedes, a Cadillac Escalade and another car that he has been seen driving in. That’s his prerogative and his right but in my eye that is so extravagant it’s unreal. After all how many cars can you drive at one time? One. But for athletes who are professionals, they measure their success on the materialistic things of cars and bling and rarely is it put in financial vehicles that perpetuate wealth. I’m not going to assume that this former Spurs player doesn’t have lucrative business dealings or real estate prosperities that pay for his gas toys but one has to wonder how many other athletes like Strahan continue to live the crazy life of spending money because I have it.

When the judge splits the fortunes of the Strahans, I’m hoping that the judge finds a common line of thought and award properly but Michael needs to do better in life. If you’re keeping count kids, this is another set of kids who will not have a two-parent household and that is something very prominent right now in Black America.

ROLE MODEL #2: THE GOOD CITIZEN

This probably should have been flipped but it deserves to be last. The last time I wrote about a Cincinnati Bengals’ player, Chris Henry was just in court for something else that involved minor girls and alcohol. That was sordid enough. Now comes to light that Matthias Askew was arrested for not following police orders after a traffic altercation. Okay here’s where things are just becoming ridiculous in Cincinnati. Henry, Askew, rookie linebacker A.J. Nicholson and third round pick Frostee Rucker are facing criminal charges ranging from spousal abuse to vandalism to resisting arrest to whatever Henry is facing at this time. I don’t want to put the moniker of being the NFL’s equivalent to what the Portland Trailblazers were a few seasons ago in the NBA, a laughing stock of a team that had a bunch social deviants who don’t understand that there laws in every state. I don’t want to put that moniker on the team because that’s not fair to the rest of the players who are doing the right thing nor is it fair to the coaching staff and the fans that love that team.

However it is time for the Bengals front office to put the hammer down. Marvin Lewis needs to set an example that this type of shenanigans will not be tolerated by anybody no matter their depth chart status. If it were me and I had the decision as to who stays and who goes, once the first cuts needed to be decided, all four of those players would be looking for new work. For some fans that may seem harsh but let’s look at the bigger picture if you’re a Bengals fan. What’s more important a franchise that wins games with players who are positive role models to our kids or a franchise that is full of law breakers who will disrespect management the moment they have the chance. I’m taking my chance on wanting a franchise that is law abiding because life would be so much easier when there is less distractions such as what is being written about here.

So what does those two sub topics have to do with what Charles Barkley said? It shows the need for parents to start reinforcing some values that can be carried into adulthood. Without trying to play Dr. Phil on a website, let’s be honest about these examples. In the case of Strahan and the Bengals’ players arrested, these issues came at the hand of social acceptance and rearing. On the one hand you have an athlete who believes that money means success. He believes that flaunting is a way of acceptance and whether he wants to admit it or not, he is the reason why his now former ex-wife spent money the way she did. Yeah I think that Jean Strahan could have been more frugal but I’m blaming her former husband Michael for not living to those standards to begin with. As for the Bengals players, their actions come from the reinforcement of not respecting the laws of the land. Not a single person from their families can successfully argue that they are all good men of reputable stature because they have all been arrested for moderately serious crimes. Yes, even resisting arrest is a serious crime. The only reason why this behavior is being displayed like it has is because somebody told these young men that it was acceptable to be barbaric and disrespectful in society. Somebody taught them these actions and the sad thing is that it may have come from where the surroundings they had as kids.

So that leaves me to agreeing with what Barkley said in his quote. It’s up to parents to do what’s right for their kids. It’s up to them to kick them in the ass when they screw up in life where you have to go talk to the police or juvenile judge. It’s up to parents to reward them and continually encourage their kids when they are excelling in a worthwhile endeavor that will build life skills and showcase their talents. But I’m going to also say that it is up to our professional athletes to set up a secondary line of defense and show that they are indeed role models of a different kind. In this society kids want to see successful athletes be successful in their private lives as well. Right now the players I mentioned in this piece can’t be a part of that collective body of work. But somebody needs to step up and show that this is an anomaly and not the normal cycle in the Black community. The kids who actually look up to them deserve real life success stories and whether we like it or not, professional athletes are a part of that role model demographic.

Dad wants 10 year old son to have a normal childhood while playing basketball.

2006-07-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

SAN ANTONIO – When Howard Jenifer went on national sports talk radio Wednesday morning, he wanted to set the record straight as to why he trains his son, Justin, so hard.

“No parent wants to run their child in a training regimen like was reported in that story,” Jenifer said in reference to a Washington Post story entitled, “Courting 10-year-old basketball prodigy”. Jenifer is probably feeling the heat of the media now descending upon him and he wants to shield his family from the eventual onslaught that may be coming. Well there’s only one problem with him trying to ask the media to bequeath his request: he began this process the moment he allowed his son to take a headband from Scottie Bowden.

There’s no secret that I despise guys like Bowden. Bowden is what I call a ‘shoe pimp’. His job is to go out and search for that special kid that Adidas may want to encase those talented feet in with new shoes. What Bowden does is basically ‘bribe’ brand loyalty to talented kids. It’s nothing new. Sonny Vacarro began the process a long time ago but now the three major shoe companies, Nike, Reebok and Bowden’s employer have refined the practice and made this a battle zone that no one could have expected. The battleground was once grown men and maybe trickling down to high school kids but today Bowden and his cronies of shoe peddlers are targeting a much younger audience. In this day and age it’s anyone below the age of 15 years old.

Bowden, Vacarro and others who have these rating services say that it’s the inevitable for being in the type of business that they are in? My question is what business are they in that would have a grown man basically prey upon the youth all for the loyalty to a sneaker? I really question it because Bowden is a principal at a middle school in Baltimore, Maryland and surely there is a set of bylaws within the Baltimore County Public School system. Surely Dr. Joe Hairston is aware of what one of his principals is doing and grave consequences that could arise from a trusted official in the education field may face if any impropriety was ever found.

But even Bowden can be put off of the main road of blame for the time being because there’s an organization that is being poorly represented that is as much the blame as anyone else I could point a finger at. That organization is the Amateur Athletic Union. An e-mail to the union’s senior sports manager of boy’s basketball programs, Joe Crawford, was not immediately returned. What the e-mail wanted to know in question was the rules of sponsorship, company affiliation and recruitment of players. The reason why I sent that e-mail was because I wanted to know if sanctions could be handed to anyone who tried to recruit outside of their area. I have looked at the AAU’s codebook for rules on this matter and I’m still trying to find answers on this matter.

LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF ACCOUNTABILITY

So why am I stirring up a story that is trying to not have legs? Because parents just aren’t getting the message. Howard Jenifer want the best for his son and nobody can blame him but he, like so many others, are being sucked into this cesspool of shoe sharks and companies who don’t have the moral compasses to realize that 10-year-olds don’t have the buying power to purchase $200 sneakers. In a sense I really can’t blame Bowden for much of Jenifer’s ‘problem’ but Bowden’s boss, Darren Kalish, can definitely be held accountable for reaching this low on the basketball talent plane. Kalish’s assertions that you have to get them early in brand loyalty is nothing more the usual excuses a drug dealer or pimp may tell someone who is trying to understand why they sell poison to a 14-year-old boy or why they have hooked a 16-year-old runaway into a life of impoverished despair. I think that if Kalish and Adidas was serious about honing brand loyalty, they could go up to the high school level and get the same results.

Accountability ability also has to come from some outside forces that have a little more pull on AAU than the parents. I’m talking about school districts, the NCAA and the NBA. It’s ironic that the words of David Stern’s state of the league address seem to reverberate in my writings right now but this story about Justin and his dad are the very reason why Stern is saying what he saying. The very fact that Carmelo Anthony is funding an AAU team in his home town and they have this crazy budget of five figures to recruit and travel is reason enough to start implementing some rules on what is acceptable practices of ‘giving back’ to the community. When Sam Cassell gives young Justin $100 for making jump shots, then it is time for the NBA to have some heart to heart meetings with the players about tampering and giving off the wrong impression. Cassell didn’t help Justin’s mom or dad in raising that child at that time; he literally crippled them.

The NCAA also needs to start cracking down on these early recruiting letters. ESPN’s Outside the Lines had an episode on this very topic of tracking kids early and it was down right eerie. To have college head coaches send out letters to kids who are barely out of middle school or early high school years and yet they are getting letters of interest from these coaches. The NCAA says that it wants to crack down on such communications but yet they are not doing anything about this because even they know that there is big money in this process.

Ironically that’s the bottom line here; money. If it wasn’t little Justin being in the spotlight, it would have been little Johnny or Kaseem or Ivan. The shoe companies don’t give a damn about these kids and parents need to wise up and realize that. For the shoe companies it is all about making a sale. If Jenings decided that his son wasn’t going to become a ‘shoe slave’ to Adidas and not play for an Adidas sponsored team, do you think that would stop the other two from trying to woo them over? Of course not. To these big companies it is about brand loyalty but being loyal to the person you are wooing is only as good as long as they are either in your back pocket or they are extolling the type of skills you are willing to sink money into. Justin’s mom, Kisha Hull, said in the piece that she didn’t want her son to be bought and sold but guess what? He’s already well on his way down that path. He won’t be the first kid and he definitely isn’t going to be the last.

If Jenings thinks that all of this attention is going to stop overnight he’s mistaken. This is the very thing that I have railed against for years since writing on this site and on being on the radio airwaves. The education of parents as to the inner workings of competitive sports is something that still overcomes a lot of them. What would be nice is to have some sort of governing body to protect the parents who are truly wanting their kids to have fun playing amateur sports from the business side that has become the shoe wars. I wish the Jenings family all the luck in the world of finding that normalcy. It would be nice to write about Justin’s exploits when he is, let’s say, seven to eight years older than what he is now.

Mainstream media going to blast Davis on church comment but his excuse is the bona fide truth

2006-07-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

SAN ANTONIO -- The Chevy Impala SS that came out between 1994 to 1996 was a mean motor scooter. The car was fast and it looked menacing. It was so menacing that police departments had them as cruisers. Today these cars are being tricked out and several young adults are adding fancy paint jobs, modifying the engine/transmission and adding the gigantic rims that they think are so cool. And every now and then somebody has their ride shot up because of somebody’s own jealousy, envy or self imposed street justice or stature. Evidently Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis became a victim of this madness and his only excuse was that he was going home to go to church.

As the Dallas Morning News story points out, Davis was on his way home from a family gathering in Shreveport, Louisiana and told officers that he was headed home on IH 635 when the incident happened. His excuse for leaving Shreveport? He wanted to go to church. It doesn’t sound plausible to the mainstream media but it’s true in what he is saying. Monday afternoon an associate that I know who covers Dallas sports informed me that her mother attends the same church as Davis and Cowboys’ star Roy Williams. In the e-mails that were sent to me, this person actually validates Davis’ story:

“He (Keith) attends the same church as my mom. Funny thing is (as we watched the news during her reception) she said Pastor Ricky Rush was scanning the church LAST WEEK at IBOC (Inspiring Body of Christ church) desperately looking for Keith. Keith attends the 7:30 a.m. service. Roy Williams was in the front row as always, and Pastor asked him to have Keith to call right away, he (pastor) needed to see him. Word was he was MIA at church lately. Of course when he got shot, Rush was the person he called first...eerie!”

This individual’s personal knowledge of actually backing up Davis’ story may never come to the main press because as it has quickly been heard, many are dismissing Davis’ claims as something of an excuse of what really happened. The fact that this associate gave me intimate details about Pastor Rush’s congregation and WHERE both Davis and Williams sit is actually proof to me that he could be telling the truth.

What this e-mail also gives me is the church’s web address and after going there, I was able to actually ‘triangulate’ and verify Davis story even further. Davis said that he was traveling on I-635 on his way home and then he was going to get back on I-20 to go to the church. As many of us may have heard this week on various talk shows, that story is ranking right up there with “the dog ate my homework”. In reality as this associate told me in an e-mail, Davis had been flaunting his rides on local television and thus everyone knew what he was driving.

If you will recall, I mentioned that there is a warp sense of entitlement for those who are not as fortunate as Davis in acquiring things. The candy apple red Impala SS has been seen around Dallas and evidently somebody wanted to let Davis know who they were on I-635 or Hwy. 75 (the toll roads in Dallas). Their jealousy of what Davis has surfaced and made national news. But should the mainstream media be so blind as to think that Davis was up to no good? Well if none of the media attends a 7:30 a.m. service at their church, they wouldn’t believe Davis’s story in the first place but Davis is active in that predominantly African American church and I’m sure that once people find out that he called his pastor first and then his family, this so-called fib everybody thinks he conjured up will come smelling out like the truth of the story.

Kids definitely getting wrong advice about trying to beat NBA age law

2006-07-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO – The New York Times article sent a chill down my spine. Here was basically an industry nobody, Reggie Rose, telling the writers from the Times who wrote the story that maybe his brother, talented point guard Derrick Rose, might need to either get a trainer and work on obtaining a shoe deal or try to play overseas in Europe before making the jump to the NBA.

"Once one or two players nationally go that route, a big chain will follow," the elder Rose said in a July 9th article on the possibility of his brother getting an agent and making the jump to the Euro leagues.

What also sent a chill up my spine was the once again mention of Sonny Vaccaro actually thinking about wanting to find sponsors for a ‘barn storming’ venture of several top players to do just such a thing. When I read those few lines in the piece, I just shuddered at the thought. “Oh great,” I’m thinking. “Instead of Vaccaro trying to help bridge a gap where these elite players need to ensure they have the fundamental skill sets for the college and/or professional ranks, he wants to find a way to make money and parade them around like prize show ponies”. Those were my thoughts then and they are definitely my words now as I look at what the elder Rose and Vaccaro believe to be a viable solution to a perceived loophole in the NBA collective bargaining agreement.

ONCE AGAIN, LACK OF BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE SHOWS

It was a little over a year ago that I did an interview with Sporting News Radio’s Tim Brando where the last part of the interview he asked me my view on the then new collective bargaining agreement in which a high school senior can no longer make the jump to the NBA and that the rookie salary contract is now a guaranteed two year deal and not the three years of previous times. I was very poignant about how this was good for the many African American basketball players that were going to be affected. When he asked me about the AAU coaches and their chance at possibly influencing a kid to hold back a bit before taking that leap test, I told him that if I were such a coach, I’d do it because it benefited me more than it benefited that player. Yet he and I both knew that when ploys like that were being made, that meant that nobody in that kid’s inner circle cared about the ball player. Not his coaches. Not his family members. Not his supposed trusted advisors. For damn sure it wouldn’t Vaccaro and others. What it also showed was a lack of business knowledge by anyone trying to say they understood the world of the NBA.

Vaccaro, Rose and anyone else who thinks that high school kids should skip playing college ball, sign shoe deals, get trainers and/or try to jump into the world of the International Basketball Federation better known as FIBA. If such individuals are thinking that they will be able to skirt around the NBA and find their dreams by going internationally, they will soon find out that it may be actually harder to go this route than originally planned. Playing in the European leagues is more than just finding an agent that can hook you up with a national federation. It’s about going out and being able get your passport to travel to and from this country. It’s about learning different customs in countries that you have never been in and realizing that you are on ‘foreign’ soil and not at home.

I want to kind of go over the statement of learning the customs in a new land because for these young men, this would be the most difficult thing to accept. Whether our society wants to believe it or not, the laws in other countries are a lot stricter than what is here at home. I don’t want to single out young Black ball players but because this idea actually affects them more than their Hispanic, Asian or Caucasian counterparts, I have not choice. Whether we want to accept the fact or not, most of the sports police blotter that has come across news desks in the past few weeks have more to do with African American athletes than it does with others. Think of the numerous Black athletes that have been in scuffles with the law right now as young men? Guys like childhood friend of Carmelo Anthony, Tyler Smith would be in serious trouble in Europe if he were caught with illegal drugs in the car. Isaiah “don’t call me J.R.” Rider was arrested again this week but imagine if he did this latest crime overseas. And while I’m not saying that none of these high school potential stars couldn’t handle playing overseas in Europe, the chances of their survival because of their immaturity levels definitely does not bode well for them in the odds of success/failure ratio.

PLAYING IN COLLEGE ACTUALLY A BUILDING BLOCK NEEDED

Whether people want to hear this or not, for African American basketball players wishing to make millions in the NBA or even overseas, playing at the college level is more of a building block for a good foundation rather than a hindrance. Far too many in this microcosmic community believe that if they had a child that was as talented as a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or even a young phenom like an O.J. Mayo. Even if that kid is as good as the afore mentioned players, does that mean that his parents should forsake their duty in making sure that their talented young man gets a good educational foundation as well? They probably shouldn’t forsake their duties in this regard but I am willing to bet the house on the fact that far too many matriarchs, patriarchs, uncles, brothers and so-called family experts on professional sports do exactly that and when the financial rewards simply do not materialize, they are ready to either scream some type of social injustice or say that they just didn’t know the intricacies of the business matters at hand. In some regards, playing at college kind of prepares these young athletes for the perils at hand.

Playing college ball isn’t just about playing in front of big crowds but also about being able to handle the pressures that come along with newfound fame and stardom. If a player is talented enough to even think about skipping college and go play at some academy like the IMF Academy or Oak Hills, hire a trainer and get a shoe deal or bolt overseas, then he’s good enough to at least try his hand at playing in the structured environment of college ball for two seasons. The structured environment that is at this level is what is needed to hone the basic skill sets that these players may need and it also where these players can acquire them if they never really had them to begin with.

Whether playing in college is the right thing to do or not, what I can definitely tell you from reading the NY Times piece is that if there are so-called family members who are advising their young protégés into making the jump to play in Europe or to skip college, we are in for some very tragic views of lives being destroyed. I have said this far too many times to count but professional sports is a business and having the talent to get there is only part of the equation. The knowledge on knowing how to market that talent, hone that talent and use that talent to the point to where it makes you gobs of money never dreamed of is a hard one to learn. Very few athletes have that type of temperament to do so and the list is even fewer when you start thinking about the number of players who can do it coming from the international battle zones known as the National clubs of the FIBA leagues. It may be a tragedy in the making but nobody can say we weren’t fore warned about it chances. If there comes a mass exodus of high school seniors headed to the FIBA ranks, be prepared to hear the heart breaking stories of so many kids being turned away because they weren’t ready to play in that league either.

Simply put, if guys like Vaccaro and Reggie Rose were TRULY interested in helping young basketball player succeed, then uttering such choices to an internationally recognized newspaper like the Times would not have ever happened. Let’s hope that their words don’t become the catalyst for poor decisions that could be made by a segment of the population that believes that the road to true economic freedom and security by forsaking a chance at an education is the correct ‘career’ path. The only career path that could truly be certain is one of continued ignorance, poverty and misery; the very things that many of these young ball players want to escape from.

OHSAA doesn’t need another “LeBron” gate from North College Hill’s Mayo and Walker

2006-07-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO -- There are reports floating out on various newswire services that the next Ohio high school basketball phenom, O.J. Mayo, may be headed down a slippery slope because of his talent on the basketball court and his ‘upbringing’ or lack there of by a parent or guardian. Meanwhile his backcourt teammate at North College Hills high school, Bill Walker, may have seemed to exhausted his eligibility to play at the school or any school in Ohio. The premise of many in the Queen City is that Mayo is a ‘godsend’, a prodigy and one who should be given special treatment and privileges yet they are forgetting an embarrassing situation about four years ago at an Akron, Ohio high school where another Ohio phenom became a household name in the midst of some scrupulous. Anyone remember “LeBron” gate? I’m sure the Ohio High School Athletic Association does.

As talented as mayo and Walker are, what is even more troubling is that there are individuals out there who are more about using these young men’s talents for their own gain. Guys like Mayo and Walker always have snakes, leeches and hang boys waiting for them at every turn but what may be dampening them now is their off the court actions. For Walker it’s his eligibility and for Mayo it is going to come down to who is actually raising the young man.

What is probably going to be astounding is that many will again think that this is just another column attacking these young men and their decision making as to what school they should attend after high school. Granted that while it may be quite the news story to see if the dynamic duo will play for the same school at the collegiate level, there is a more pressing matter and that is the surroundings that these two young men are currently in or formerly were a part of.

Whether many want to believe it or not, the eligibility of a high school player is very important; especially to the school and the player. According to OHSAA reports, Walker had used up his eligibility and that ended last year. Walker has been on record saying that playing basketball this season is not the most important thing in his life right now but that graduating from high school is. That’s good to know because the education aspect of his life is more important than bouncing a ball.

As for Mayo, there are reports that he may be thinking of going to USC rather than to Kansas State and that neither his mother, who is living in West Virginia, nor supposed ‘guardian’ Dwaine Barnes AND that mayo is supposedly trusting Rodney Guillory for guidance. Just so that you can get a handle on the seriousness of this situation, Guillory has been linked to stories of being a runner for an agent at one time and caused the suspension of two players by the NCAA. As many can attest, Guillory has a checkered past and is someone Mayo needs to avoid.

And thus you can see the quandary that the OSHAA may find itself in. Of the two players, Mayo is the media star and the one who can be the most at risk if the wrong people get to him. Am I pointing a finger in the direction of Guillory? Sure because Guillory knows that he needs to talk to Mayo’s guardians. But I am also looking at Barnes and Mayo’s mother as well because he is being ‘forced’ to make adult decisions in a big city without guidance.

The last time the circus came to OSHAA, LeBron James was the star attraction. OSHAA doesn’t need this hassle and Mayo needs to be protected. If Barnes and/or his mother won’t do the job, maybe North College Hills should step in for him. While Walker’s case may seem a small tragedy on playing for a school, the real tragedy could be the fact that if an adult who has Mayo’s best interest doesn’t step forward and guide him during this poignant time in his life, there could be a tragedy of mass proportions.

Can I Have Thomas' Job At The Knicks?

2006-06-30T05:36:00.000-07:00

Okay this has gone from the sublime of NBA mediocrity to the ridiculous of sports management. How is Isaiah Thomas still keeping his job after Wednesday’s draft fiasco? Thomas had two first round picks in Wednesday’s NBA draft and he screwed this up so royally that he is trying to blame the experts. Hey James Dolan I want Isaiah’s job! There’s no way that he should even be a general manager if he can’t see what’s out there.

The players that Thomas picked were so out of the blue that it just plain befuddles me how somebody with Dolan’s intellect could ever think that this guy was the right guy to even be coaching the Knicks this year. The Knicks needed youth but they also needed a scoring punch. The needed a floor general and they needed somebody that could excite the crowds at MSG. Guess what Knicks fans, Isaiah has sold your hopes for another box of foo foo powder. Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins? Are you kidding me? Nothing personal against these two young men but damn Isaiah how blind are you? Sitting on the draft board were P.J. Tucker who later went 35th to Toronto and Darius Washington, Jr., a young man who wasn’t even drafted. Knicks’ fans don’t you think Washington and Tucker would have been easier to swallow? I do.

Evidently Thomas is doing like a lot of so-called basketball experts. He is watching in college basketball talent these days. All of those scouting trips he was doing were nothing more than fluff to help make him look like he was doing his job. If Thomas was serious about trying to turn this franchise around and he wanted youth, Collins and Balkman were not the two guys to pick. You could have gotten either or both of them in the second round if you wanted to. The mediocrity that has been setting in at Knicks’ camp is turning into cement and Dolan needs to realize that the beloved franchise in New York that has a storied history of greatness is about to be in utter shambles. Thomas is turning this franchise into his own personal slum tenant like he did the Continental Basketball Association. You remember that once thriving minor league basketball league right? When Thomas got finished with it, it was in bankruptcy and just a shell of what it used to be. To this day I think he had a hand in helping bring about the NBDL with that demise but that’s just my personal opinion and conjecture. Yet the signs of mismanagement at that chapter of his life are showing up again in the Big Apple.

If Thomas is canned, and in my opinion should be if there isn’t a significant win/loss ratio by December 15th of this year, Dolan needs to wipe out the whole lot of them. He needs to apologize to Herb Williams, beg him to take this team on as interim and be willing to have a three chance at turning at this around with a fresh slate. Dolan needs to can the scouting office as well for that draft fiasco when he cans Thomas. Evidently those guys over there missed that one too. It was their job to tell Thomas to pick guys of substance and I’m sorry, Balkman and Collins just aren’t prime time players. And above all else if Thomas gets canned, give me a call Mr. Dolan. Heck for $2 million a year, I can do a heck of a better job than what you got out of Thomas and I wouldn’t have to worry about losing my job because I’d at least surround myself with scouts who knew talent and we’d have meaningful meetings; not just trip junkets for the hell of it.

Shouldn't Have A Problem With The Dress Code...

2006-06-28T22:04:00.000-07:00

By Gregory Moore, Blackathlete.net columnist

SAN ANTONIO -- So tonight was the NBA Draft for 2006. Damn those young men looked sharp didn’t they? Sharply dressed. GQ styled to the max. Would make even Mr. Blackwell proud of how these young men looked. Mamas were beaming with pride. Proud poppas were saying, “That’s my boy!”. Even the potential wifeys were like, “That’s my boo!!”. Yet what’s wrong with this picture? It will be probably the only time we see these young men in the attire that is Corporate America. For tonight was their one shining moment when the whole world was looking at them and they knew that they had to look good.

That’s a damn shame. As good as every one of these young men looked tonight on ESPN, there should be no excuse for them to not be able to adhere to their new employer’s dress code. Every one of the first round picks selected tonight should be ready to negotiate with their financial advisors that they set aside a wardrobe allowance for them on game day attire. There should be no reason why these young men cannot now be able to not only have Prada up in their closets but also some business casual attire like Sean Jean, Armani, Botany 500, DKNY and other clothing manufacturers.

This should be a mandatory part of the rookie symposium that will be held in a few weeks. Bob Lanier, Dr. J, Magic and even Grant Hill should be telling these young men how important it is for them to dress for success. I don’t believe I really saw anyone wearing the cornrows or have gaudy looking jewelry on tonight and that is truly nice to see. Yet I know that as soon as money hits most of these young men’s pockets, they will go about the process of getting the $3.5 million crib, the $200k Bentley and jewelry that could choke even the most ardent of shopaholic at the Galleria or Rodeo Drive.

It might be wishful thinking but just for appearance sake, it would really be nice if this draft class showed up the ones before them that they care talented, classy and down right business like when it comes to their jobs. It would be nice to see these young men come out in even business attire and represent their teams with the style and grace that defies all of the stereotypes of many ball players not being educated and savvy to what is going on in their environment. It would be nice that this dress code be so accepted by the draft class of 2006 that everyone else just automatically adopts it because the rookies are doing so. Come on rooks, show the rest of this league that you got some class, style and fortitude that you know that this all about a positive perception of a once tarnished image.