The Curious Case Of The Successful American Black Athlete...

The Curious Case of The Successful American Black Athlete...

I do not know if it is the normally excessive bling, the bravado, or the arrogance that many Black athletes portray, but whatever it is… many of my White brothers and sisters seem to have a genuine dislike for many of them. The nature and origin of such hatred manifest, nonetheless, for many Black athletes, through the anonymous blogosphere. It is true too that there is hatred for many of my White brothers and sisters who are successful athletes too, but the hatred is not due to race; and, perhaps, it is sometimes difficult to decipher when someone is being an avid fan or being a racist. It is rather curious though that there are some Black athletes who are hated, but without their participation in their given sporting vocations, revenues and ratings are next to non-existent.

This hatred of Tiger Woods is ironic because without his participation in Golfing events, the ratings, and, therefore golfing revenues are in the basement. It is true that Tiger has garnered many of his hatred because of his personal troubles, but even before said troubles he was not America’s favorite son because of Tiger’s so called ‘arrogance’ or what many of my Southern brothers and sisters would deem as an “uppity negro.” Tiger Woods, a Black man who plays professional golf, a sport that traditionally not played by many Blacks, has dominated Golf for over a decade, is feeling the slings and arrows of hatred and his marital troubles to the fair White Erin, compounded the matter. This is why any of the young White Golf pretenders, who come along and who have not made their bones, are immediately compared to Tiger. Recently, some European kid (Rory McIlroy) played one good match and he is anointed and being compared to Tiger who has done so for over a decade.

As much as Tiger Woods is hated by some Whites - such hatred is off the charts for the Williams Sisters who dominate women’s Tennis for the last decade or so. Again, Tennis is a sport not traditionally played by Blacks and the Williams sisters’ father, Richard, does not make it easier because he is very outspoken concerning American racial issues. The irony too with the Williams sisters is that they have never seen a White brother that is not worthy of dating, yet they are hated by many Whites - if anyone thinks that I am lying… go on any Tennis blog and witness the hatred. During one of the recent U.S. Opens, Martina Navratilova, the renowned immigrant Tennis player, bemoaned the hatred the William sisters suffer.

There is an obscure passage in our Constitution which spells out the elements needed to be convicted of Treason – one of the elements is that Treason shall not work corruption of blood… legally meaning that if a father was convicted of Treason, his heirs should not suffer for the father’s crimes. I think that the hatred for the typical successful Black athlete by many of my White brothers and sisters is borne out of the vestiges of bigotry that has shamefully ‘worked corruption of blood’ - and if this bigotry is not the reason, then they must remember that it is only a game… incidentally, go Oakland Raiders!