Black Athletes (NBA to be specific here) = Slaves?
Long time Detroit Pistons power forward, now with the Portland Trailblazers Rasheed Wallace made a statement that created a lot of controversy at the time. Wallace took a shot (no pun intended) at the NBA, calling it “an institution of slavery”. You may be thinking what’s he talking about, he makes $17 million a year? However the points he makes hold a lot of validity.
In the sense that there is money to be made, playing in the NBA is different than your historical image of slavery; but other aspects are comparable. Wallace claims that the NBA exploits young black players. He states that young players can easily get “caught up and captivated into the league”. The NBA Draft is said to be the next slave ship arriving at NBA offices. Wallace thinks that the league wants to draft players who are “dumb and dumber... all these high school cats, because they don’t know no better”. High school players with less education than a college graduate are easier to exploit. They can more easily be cheated out of money. You may think, it’s ridiculous to be picky, professional basketball players make a lot. What if I told you that the commissioner David Stern made more than 75% of the players in the league. Stern, a white spectator at games makes more money than those who he profits from. Starting to look familiar?
Wallace gets the impression that the league expects black athletes to, “shut up, sign for the money, and do what they tell” them. This is a strong argument and more recognized by a veteran like Wallace. I can see how a young player could get cheated.
Wallace: “ I see behind the lines. I see behind the false screens. I know what this business is all about”.
I hear what Wallace is saying, but since he's getting $17 million, it's a little hard to buy his argument. Yes, Stern makes more, but Stern is responsible for insuring that the entire league is a financial success. It's not as if he's a plantation owner who is making money off of people whom he's paying nothing. Wallace can walk away from the game at any time; he can go play in other countries, if he'd like...or choose another career. I'm not sure that the slavery analogy stands up.
ReplyDeleteIt is troubling that there are not more black owners...but this is another issue.
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