When it's No Longer a Game

“Are you freaking kidding me?” – My reaction to reading that the Little League World Series (LLWS) people were stripping the Jackie Robinson West team of its hard-fought championship

 

I could not believe the LLWS officials really stripped these kids of that trophy. We’re talking about a game played by children for fun and pride, played by grown-ups for ungodly sums of money. We’re talking about a game whose history is mired in controversy, cheating, and discrimination.

 

This isn’t an issue of kids being too old to play in the tournament with an unfair physical advantage over opponents, it was kids who played in a league, unwanted by the fancier, wealthier leagues. The heads of those wealthier suburban leagues, in their jealousy of young black kids doing the unthinkable, pulled the rug from under the unsuspecting champs.

 

There are several ways to look at this sad ordeal, but no matter how you view it, the losers were the kids, who had nothing to do with what happened off the field.

 

How hateful and spiteful do you have to be to comb through Voter ID rolls and DMV records to find out where kids’ parents reside to make your case? That goes beyond due diligence. That’s, for lack of a better phrase, just mean. Why were these kids the target? Why facilitate the vacation of the prize they worked so hard to attain? To me, that’s the textbook definition of a loser and a hater. I didn’t see anyone raising sand and lobbying for a disqualification when those overly-nourished 12-year-olds kids from Asia stepped foot on U. S. soil.

 

::Update:: It’s come to the public’s attention that the coach who blew the whistle has a history of doing the same thing he snitched about. Glass houses, buddy, glass houses.

 

This isn’t to say what the adults in the situation did was right (JRW coaches getting caught for what their peers often do), but you can’t be throwing shade blindfolded.

 

-MB

 

 

Almost Halfway Through BHM and This...

It’s another February, which means another Black History Month – which turns out to be code for closeted racists and bigots to become more vocal. Seriously, doesn’t this cycle get old? I’d like to take a few moments and answer some of the silly questions bigots ask this time of year:

 

Q:           Why is there a Black History Month, but no White History Month?

 

A:            How petty do you sound? One month out of 12, 28 (or 29) days out of 365 (or 366) dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of Blacks throughout American History? You’re crying about roughly 8 percent of the calendar celebrating Black culture? You’re telling me 307 days (accounting for 30 days of Hispanic Heritage Month) isn’t enough mainstream, White History? So, you’re bigoted and greedy. No wonder America is jacked up.

 

                Seriously, Black History in America is American History! The two are forever intertwined. Yes, for those of European descent, a good portion of Black History is a tough pill to swallow – just like the history of any nation. There has been bloodshed, slavery, liberation, wars, innovations, progressions, and diverse things that have happened in this country. Embrace Black History Month. Twenty-eight days isn’t going to kill you.

 

Q:           Why is there a Black Entertainment Television? If There was White Entertainment Television, people would call it racist.

 

A:            I’m not really sure why Black Entertainment Television (BET) exists. It’s a travesty, a train wreck, and (next to VH1 and MTV) the most ratchet thing on the airwaves.

 

                For the real answer, jump in the time machine and go back to the year 1890 and reference the case Plessy v. Ferguson. For those who don’t like historical reading, it was this case where the Supreme Court ruled that Separate but Equal was not discrimination, as long as the separate accommodation was equal to the one being withheld. That being said, Black music, save a handful of artists, was not considered mainstream. There was a market for Black music videos (in response to MTV’s mainstream offerings). Enter one Bob Johnson and BET. The channel has evolved over the years (for the worst, in my opinion), but it’s nothing to be jealous of. The rest of the television spectrum, save Centric, is mainstream programming. You guys are getting sensitive about the wrong stuff. It was also later proven that Separate but Equal was a farce.

 

                Oh, and you don’t need a White Entertainment Television: You have MTV, CMT, Spike, Lifetime, LMN, Oxygen, any news channel, USA, TNT… Get it? Moving on…

 

Q:           Why only focus on the achievements of Blacks; aren’t we all just people?

 

A:            Again, Black History is American History. That’s a question asked by people who want to dominate everything. A question like that is asked of uninformed people who descend from those who settle in a new land, kill off the inhabitants, and establish its own government. Sound familiar. Quit being so sore. One of the lessons typically learned early in life is how to share and how to share in others’ successes. Maybe it’s time to revisit that lesson and grow up.

 

                If it makes you feel better, the inventor of the cell phone is of European descent, as is the inventor of lycra (he should be sainted posthumously), and a host of others. We celebrate them on a daily basis.

 

Enjoy the month and learning new things!