2017 and we still reference this man. People still stand by him or vilify his actions. We either threaten boycott or tell him he should have been a good boy. If Shannon Sharpe doesn’t support him, it is guaranteed that Ray Lewis will wax rhythmic poetic to disagree like a new age Rev. Uncle Ruckus. So many take sides. And yet, we still speak on something that is as predictable as long lines on Black Friday.
Hell, I said this was going to happen as soon as I saw it.
And this isn’t a bragging session. I have friends that can attest to me seeing the writing on the wall before the proverbial spray cans were bought. I was awaiting the fallout once people voiced their displeasure. I was waiting on the reactions from the Mike Vicks, Ray Lewises, and the Kordell Stewarts. Deep in the depths of my soul, I KNEW (not suspected) that Colin Kaepernick was going to be blackballed.
Why? Because William C. Rhoden taught me.
Want proof? Cool.
Colin Kaepernick and What William C. Rhoden Taught Me
Let us get into the meat of this discussion.
From my standpoint, 40 Million Dollar Slaves is a practical Bible on these type of sports entertainment issues. We all know about the problems that occurred with Tommy Smith and John Carlos after the 1968 Black Power salute. Remember Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf? The fallout of Craig Hodges’ career after his letter to the president? How Ali was practically shunned just to be seen as a hero through revisionist history? 40 Million Dollar Slaves gets into all of that.
Why so many athletes may stay quiet: page 244 notes that “When you’re making $200,000 every two weeks, it’s hard to get angry about much of anything.”
Why are there black athletes telling Kaep not to “be so loud”: page 194 states that “The ultimate effect of the Conveyor Belt is not so much to deliver young black athletes to the pros, but to deliver them with the correct mentality. They learn not to rock the boat, to get along, they learn by inference about the benevolent superiority of the white man and enter into tacit agreement to let the system operate without comment. By the time they reach the NBA, the NFL, or Major League Baseball, black athletes have put themselves on intellectual self check: You don’t even have to guard them, they’ll miss the shot.”
The problem with many African American athletes that permeates once things go wrong: page 83 has us understand that “…the Achilles heel of African American athletes to this day: the failure to anticipate, plan, and organize; the wholesale dependence on a racist white power structure for sustenance; and surprise and consternation when the money and support is withdrawn.”
The integration of college sports without the inclusion within the power structure: page 135 explains that “Integration into sports — as opposed to integration at the ballot box or public conveyances — was a winning proposition for the whites who controlled the sports-industrial complex. They could move to exploit black muscle and talent, thus sucking the life out of black institutions, while at the same time giving themselves credit for being humanitarians. Integration also exposed white fans to a manner of athleticism and style of play that many had not previously seen. It also introduced a type of showmanship that made the college game appealing to audiences for television’s expanding sports programming.”
I could go on and on.
Colin Kaepernick and Repeating History of Athletes That Revolt
At the end of the day, history repeats like the water cycle. And the best way to prepare is to have an umbrella or stay in. We knew this was coming. If we didn’t, we didn’t read enough about it. At least most of us kept a pancho.
Meanwhile, keep that umbrella over Kaep as his days of revolt evolve. Oh, and keep reading.
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