During the Super Bowl, did those who gathered on the couch discuss the purposeful, political, and so- cial silence of each player and how ignorance of the past has made it difficult for Black professional athletes to unite and confront the issues of the present?
During this major diversion of frolic and excitement–was there even a remote dialogue of how the lack of history of what and who preceded them has played a major role in helping to maintain a corrupt, unfair, and destructive system?
Hidden Brilliance
Throughout my young and adult life, I’ve always been impressed by witnessing the informative debates about sports personalities and statistics. Hearing the memo- rization and elocution of facts concerning professional athletes’ careers has always been amazing.
During heated debates of who the G.O.A.T (Greatest of all time) is, and breaking down point averages, career highlights, yards per carry, 3-point, passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards, rushing touchdowns, average assist, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, assist, steals, blocks, turnovers, and how many triple-doubles a player averages can be easily remembered by the multitude of Black sports fans all across the country.
These same Black fans fail to have any interest in statistics and topics that are relevant to our Black survival, struggle, accomplishment, and development. The sheer passion and excitement toward sports statistics is a direct result of useless brain energy that has become a major segment of African-American socialization. I believe that white America is very pleased with Black youth knowing Steph Curry’s (average points per game) statistic instead of expressing interest in their own personal cumulative grade-point average in the classroom. Millions of Black children are not reading on grade level but can clearly remember what was said during post-game interviews and eloquently recite the yearly (win-loss) records of all (32) NFL teams.
Residue of Slavery
It is a fact that Black athletes who participate in sports with predominantly Black players cannot go straight to the professional leagues anymore. There are totally different rules for Black players.
The sports that are predominantly Black are the sports that get exploited the most.
When major colleges and universities obtain these young, talented Black athletes, the goal is to feed the system and make as much money off of their brand as possible. Once the athlete has helped to boost season ticket sales and been used by countless companies, they become eligible to begin to make money for themselves and their families.
It is absolutely no coincidence that basketball and football are the main sports with economic restrictions after high school.
In baseball, you can sign a ten-year deal as a senior in high school. The fields of hockey, tennis, golf, and soccer allow the participants to sign multi-million dollar deals before they start to drive.
They’re going to force Black athletes to feed and pay these systems as long as possible. There is evidence that Black athletes can be successful on the professional level right after high school. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard, Jermaine O’Neal, Shawn Kemp, Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, Darryl Dawkins, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, and Amar’e Stoudemire were Black athletes who immediately played in the NBA right after Highschool.
After realizing just how much money could be made off the backs of these same young superior athletes before entering the professional arena, major white-owned corporations began to cash in on the Black raw talent. In 2006, with the assistance from politicians, the NBA stopped recruiting players directly from high school.
Khabyr Hadas is a Pan-African Educator and Garveyite and Cheyney University graduate. He is a teacher at Harambee Institute of Science and Technology School and the author of several books about Black/African History and culture khabyrhadas@gmail.com
**********
Thank you for reading this article on scoopusamedia.com. To read additional articles of interest, please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
