Your right on about this SML. It funny watching the Crystal Meth situation that is killing communities in the middle of the country and how different the reaction is to the crack epidemic that hit in the black communities in the 80s. I have to jump through hoops get allergy medicine in a pharmacy now, all because of federal laws, how come baking soda was regulated and stem pipes, which have no other useful purpose. Instead they just locked people up for years without adequate prevention and treatment. God bless Josh Hamilton, I hope it works out for him, but it really just shows hypocrisy. Esp. In Cincy one of the most conservative cities north of the Mason Dixon. I remember when they started to sour on Griffey, when he spoke out after a black man was shot dead Sean Bell style by the police. Tell you what you need to know about that town.

Yeah, I meant to mention the tension between the police and black community in Cincy, which is among the worst in the country. It makes L.A. in the early 90's look peaceful. Between 1995 and 2001, 22 people were shot by the police, 13 fatally. In November 2000, Roger Owensby Jr. died while in police custody.

After an unarmed 19-year black teenager (Timothy Thomas) was killed by Cincinnati cops in April 2001 (the fourth such death in a six month span), there was rioting and the mayor had to declare a state of emergency.

Cincinnati clearly has some racial strife, to say the least....

I disagree with your point on race in this case. To my knowledge Gooden and Strawberry would both cheered excessively upon their returns from substance abuse. Especially when Gooden threw the no-hitter. And what about ex-Dodger, ex-Yankee, and long-time crack smoker Steve Howe? He never received applause; I don't think anyone cared.
So I don't think it is a black/white thing, it is more or less a public perception thing. Ricky Williams will not get cheer for making it back to the NFL (if it happens) because of the perception - that he "threw away" his multi-million dollar career to smoke weed. Hamilton has been portrayed as the victim, hence the applause.
Just my three cents.

First, let me say that I think it's stupid that professional athletes get 2nd and 3rd chances when your everyday "joe" gets thrown in jail for possession or totally loses his job and screws up his resume if caught using drugs while pro athletes get "suspended".

Second, this whole white/black discussion you have brought up is completely ignorant from the start, to the Ricky Williams comment at the end.

Let's look at it from a skin color standpoint:
Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were applauded when they cleaned themselves up enough to be reinstated to baseball. Gooden and Strawberry didn't "retire" or "quit" on their team because they failed a drug test or 3. Whereas Ricky Williams failed drug tests, "retired" before he really hit his prime which angered teammates, front office staff and coaches, and then came back only because Miami took him to court to get his signing bonus back. Why should the fans applaud Ricky Williams? He walked out on the team, and only came back for the money.

I don't support Josh Hamilton here, but the difference is he was a #1 draft pick who had all the talent in the world. He had problems with drugs that put him out of baseball and only after he proved to baseball he was "clean" was he able to come back. He didn't walk out on baseball, baseball kicked him out. He's a 5 tool athlete on the baseball field, he should be celebrated for turning his life around just like Strawberry and Gooden were.

What do you want the fans at his HOME STADIUM to do? Boo him?

Before you throw up the whole "well they boo Barry Bonds" argument just realize that I think it's wrong we boo Barry considering he's never tested positive for anything, if he's even tested.

It's not a white or black thing to most people, it's only a white or black thing to ignorant people.

I agree with what you are saying, Jordi, which was my point - it is all about the perception.

Here's my feeling, in the larger scheme of things - people write from their perspective, right? I mean, I would like to write about how Native Americans really feel about the Cleveland Indians, the Redskins, etc. But I don't really know how they feel, do I? Do they care? Do they harbor resentment? I can make assumptions, do some analysis, but unless I speak to them do I really know the answer?

Most of sports is written by middle-aged white men. It's not all written by them, but it is the vast majority. Their perspective, their perceptions, will always influence their opinions. And that's why I try to offer an alternative prospective, a differing perception.

There are some sports minority bloggers out there - the most well known ones I can think of are The Mighty MJD and D-Wil. Beyond that I don't know. So I figure even though it's not my stick, I'll do my part.

I'm not here to play the race card every chance I get. It's more like "hey, this is something that most people don't notice, it's very subtle, maybe I'll bring it out to people's attention". And often when I do, people, particularly white people, get defensive because they think it's an attack. Or because they want to believe that there isn't racism, or bias out there. I'm not idealistic (or naive, to be harsher) like that - I've seen it all the time, even nowadays, and I think it should be discussed honestly as much as possible.

Anyway, all that ranting there was just to lay out the premise of these kinds of posts; it wasn't a direct response to anything you said.

Here's my opinion - you are right that Yankee fans cheered Gooden and Strawberry. But both Gooden and Strawberry were subject to vicious verbal attacks by fans on the road with regard to their drug abuse history; I wonder how much vitrol will Hamilton be subjected to, if at all. We'll see.

Secondly, I chose my words pretty carefully - the only thing I said about color: "if Hamilton wasn't white, those kind fans in Cincinnati might not be clapping as hard".

I firmly think that is true. I doubt Cincinnati fans would be clapping as hard if it was, say, a black OF or SP. The rest of the post, well, it's setting up future posts on these kinds of topics. Because we'll compare this later to Ricky Williams, and to other similar situations that arise.

For the record, the Williams situation is very similar to the Hamilton situation - your take on Williams: "that he "threw away" his multi-million dollar career to smoke weed". My take on Hamilton: he threw away a multi-million dollar career (he got $4 million dollars bonus just for getting drafted #1) to smoke crack". The facts are very similar....

The whole OJ Mayo problem is this:

1. The NBA has tried and tried to clean up the game. Whether people like the new "rules" or not, David Stern is trying to clean up the game and remove the stereotypes the players receive.

2. The saying goes "act like you've been there before" or "act like you've done it before". Noone likes a showboat, whether you're white, black, puerto rican or haitian. Your Knicks proved it this year when Mardy Collins fouled JR Smith hard on a breakaway showboat dunk attempt. Isiah called for the foul, and I think it made a statement to the league, because it hasn't happened again.

OJ Mayo is as self-serving as they come, but it's no crime. His time will come when he throws down a windmill dunk in a 20 point blow out and Isiah calls his number to be the next JR Smith.. He's not a punk, he's an immature high schooler that is a gifted basketball player. He may have a good 1 year run at USC before a lottery pick is wasted on him. He may have a decent pro career, but there are men in the NBA that were once their school's "OJ Mayo" type player that will teach him a lesson.

Yo Boney, nice to hear from you.

I don't understand the Ricky Williams/Josh Hamilton differences. Let's go through your argument:

I don't support Josh Hamilton here, but the difference is he was a #1 draft pick who had all the talent in the world. So was Ricky (a #1 draft pick).

He had problems with drugs that put him out of baseball and only after he proved to baseball he was "clean" was he able to come back. Ricky had problems with drugs, and if he proves he's clean he'll be able to come back to football (which has a much harder testing policy than baseball - remember, Ricky's problems are with weed; in baseball weed doesn't warrant the punishment that Josh received - he got his punishment based on cocaine/crack).

He didn't walk out on baseball, baseball kicked him out. Baseball kicked him out because he refused to get the mandatory treatment. Sounds to me like he quit.

He's a 5 tool athlete on the baseball field, he should be celebrated for turning his life around just like Strawberry and Gooden were. Ricky is a 5-tool RB if there was such a thing; if he turns his life around, shouldn't he be celebrated, too? And by turn his life around I presume you mean quit doing drugs (or at least failing drug tests, since none of know for sure if Josh or Ricky have stopped doing drugs) and resume playing sports, since that's what Josh has done to "turn his life around".

Why should the fans applaud Ricky Williams? He walked out on the team, and only came back for the money. Josh didn't walk on his team? Ask the Rays if they feel let down by Josh. Ricky only came back for the money? Cool. What's Josh back for, the love of the game? Where to subtly imply Ricky is greedy, but Josh is noble. Sorry, not buying it - Josh is back for the same reasons Ricky is - to make a living playing professional sports.

So what's the difference between Ricky and Josh? I only see one difference, buddy....

Boney, I agree with everything you said in your OJ Mayo post. In particular, this part: OJ Mayo is as self-serving as they come, but it's no crime. His time will come when he throws down a windmill dunk in a 20 point blow out and Isiah calls his number to be the next JR Smith.. He's not a punk, he's an immature high schooler that is a gifted basketball player.

I'm not sure I totally agree that he's "immature" - in some ways, yes, but in other ways he's quite mature and savvy, particularly from a business perspective (having a website since 7th grade, as commenter Benji pointed out in another post) - but everything else is dead on. He's not a punk, at least not for anything he's done publicly to this point. He might turn out to be a punk, but for right now he's a high schooler that is a gifted basketball player.

Ricky Williams - quit the sport, verbally announcing he had no more "love" for the game and said he was going to tour the world and study holistic medicine. Miami alerted his agent that they were going after his signing bonus because of the way he left the team. Ricky Williams sat out the whole season, then after finding out he'd have to pay back the Dolphins came back and announced he was coming back. He was promptly suspended 4 games by the league having failed a drug test prior to his "retirement". THEN, he was suspended for the year this past season by the league.

He left the game by choice originally, then was forced to sit for a year by the league. He came back because he would have to pay back the team that paid his signing bonus. Difference between him and Hamilton? Ricky left by choice, Hamilton was out with injuries and then suspended indefinitely. Hamilton never wanted to leave the D-Rays or baseball, he has always maintained he loves the game of baseball.

Hamilton was also not a 4 year senior coming into professional baseball like Ricky was when he went to the NFL.

Yes, they both have had problems with drugs. It's not a race issue when it comes to the fans celebrating Hamilton over booing Williams. You're not going to hear how Josh Hamilton went to each of his teammates to apologize for all the publicity surrounding him "walking out" on his team. Ricky basically had to beg for a spot back on the team because of the way he left. He got a coach fired, he left a once proud franchise in disarray, he left the league in a way that causes people to think unfavorably of him rather than thinking about all his "great" accomplishments.

It was also up to the Devil Rays to keep Hamilton on their 40 man roster, and since they didn't, he was picked up by the Cubs who then traded him to the Reds in a pre-arranged trade in the Rule 5 draft. You can't question Hamilton's sincerity when he says he's happy to be back in the league, but right now you can't find a single person that takes Ricky Williams seriously because he wanted to come back and then after coming back he still failed a drug test. Tougher drug standards or not, it's not Hamilton's fault MLB doesn't care whether you test positive for weed or not, it's Ricky's fault he came back when he should have stayed gone.

2 different situations, 2 different people... and unfortunately one is white and one is black, so the people looking for all the bad things in a story like Hamilton's "comeback" now have something to hang on to... and it's a shame Hamilton isn't black, otherwise this would be a non-issue.

Boney, your argument gets thinner by the minute. If you stretched it anymore, it would be "look, one guy is named Ricky, and the other is named Josh - can't you see the difference?!?".

Difference between him and Hamilton? Ricky left by choice, Hamilton was out with injuries and then suspended indefinitely. Hamilton never wanted to leave the D-Rays or baseball, he has always maintained he loves the game of baseball.

Okay, Ricky left by choice. Hamilton? Well, let's keep in mind that Josh plays baseball. Baseball! This is the same sport that allowed Steve Howe to make a living despite 7 or 8 drug suspensions; allowed Doc Gooden and Strawberry to play despite more drug suspensions than I can count; I'm pretty sure that none of those three players ever passed a whiz test in their careers. Yet all three of them managed to make a living playing baseball around the suspensions.

Josh Hamilton was suspended indefinitely because he refused to go to the mandatory drug rehab that is the only requirement if you fail multiple drug tests. Hell, even Steve Howe did that much. Sorry, but don't tell me Josh didn't "quit" on baseball. That's hypocrisy.

Spare me the sob stories about how much Josh loved the game, because if it was Ricky it would be that he loved the weed, right? Ricky plays in other football leagues (CFL), so I think to say he doesn't "love" the game, but Josh does, reeks of a double standard.

And the sympathy for Ricky's social anxiety disorder? For his well known shyness, which resulted in interviews with his helmet on? For his depression? If that was part of Josh's story, you would hear all about it, and it would be used to make him an even more sympathetic athlete. If he had been suspended from baseball for a year for failing a drug test because of a herb related to his interest in holistic medicine (Ricky's fourth suspension, the year long one for the entire 2006 season, was for a substance other than marijuana, most likely a herb), would there be more sympathy for Josh than there is for Ricky?

Just pointing out the double standard... if you choose to ignore it, or pretend it doesn't exist, well... there's nothing I can do. But what I can do is point out these double standards when I see them, and hopefully by bringing attention to them, open-minded logically people will take note....

"He wants to get on with his life, wants to move on to bigger and better things," Miami Herald reporter and ESPN commentator Dan Le Batard told SportsCenter.

According to the Herald's report, Williams wants to travel the world and is tired of the demands and restraints of a professional football career.

"I just don't want to be in this business anymore," Williams told the paper. "I was never strong enough to not play football, but I'm strong enough now. I've considered everything about this. Everyone has thrown every possible scenario at me about why I shouldn't do this, but they're in denial. I'm happy with my decision.

"I'm finally free. I can't remember ever being this happy."

I'm not stretching my argument out any further than you're stretching trying to make this into a racial issue. Did you not click espn.com yesterday? Did you not see for most of the day Elijah Dukes and his "struggles" to maintain his anger was front page material? Elijah Dukes is a black guy, I'm sure he'll get applauded in Tampa Bay.

Those statements at the beginning of my comment were from Ricky Williams. Do you not see where he basically said "I quit, this is too hard, I quit"? Why should he get a standing ovation when he comes back? That's like saying Barry Sanders deserves a standing ovation from the Lions' fans if he were to come back. If the fans feel cheated, they won't cheer. I won't cheer for Josh Hamilton, but I will hope he does alright because he came back from what most people never come back from. Until I see otherwise, I'll believe he came back for the love of the game, just like Strawberry, Gooden and Howe probably did.

You can't respect a guy like Ricky Williams who verbally quit and walked out on his team in the prime of his career. If you want to know the definition of a self serving athlete? Look at Ricky Williams...

You can respect a guy that has a problem, gets suspended and then works his way back through the system and earns his spot. He earned his spot on the team, because if he didn't, he'd be back in the minors for the D-Rays.

If you always look and speak about the negative side of sports, you will only see things in black and white. It's a shame that Cincinnati has racial issues with their police force and whatever else, but I will go out on a limb here and say that any team in baseball's fans would give Josh a standing ovation if he made it back and was on their team this season. I think he may have even received an ovation in Tampa Bay, similar to Strawberry and Gooden's ovation for the Yankees.

This isn't about whether Ricky quit or not; what I'm saying is that his situation isn't that different from Hamilton's situation. Josh quit, too, okay? He quit, even though no one quoted him (there was no interview, no press conference, because he was insignificant), he walked away from baseball because it was too hard. Too hard for him to give up the drugs. Do you not see where he said "I quit, I give up, this is too hard". It's right there when he was told by MLB he had to go to drug rehab to complete his suspension; he said "nope, too hard, I'll rather quit".

You can respect a guy that has a problem, gets suspended and then works his way back through the system and earns his spot. He earned his spot on the team, because if he didn't, he'd be back in the minors for the D-Rays.

And I am definitely not trying to take anything away from Josh Hamilton, so please don't try to imply that I don't respect what he has accomplished. He is an inspiration to anyone with drug abuse problems. But how is Ricky any different? If he didn't earn his spot on the team, believe me, he won't make the team. That's how football works - it is far more cut-throat than baseball; if you can't carry your weight in football, you ain't making the team. No one in the NFL is going to give Ricky a spot on any team out of pity or obligation. So the question to you is can you respect Ricky if he had a problem, got suspended and then worked his way back through the system and earned his spot?

And I absolutely agree with you that any city's fans would give Josh a standing ovation. All I said is "would they be clapping in Cincinnati as hard if he wasn't white?" I don't believe they would, do you Boney?

Dmitri Young has come back from some substance abuse issues, where is his conquering hero cheer in Washington.