Richard Lapchick directs the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, which does research and studies on sports writers, editors, and race. In this article he quotes the great late Ralph Wiley, and in doing so sums up one of the biggest reasons we need minority writers:
"There are so many gifted white writers who do think broadly and have no negative racial imagery that filters into their stories. However, there are occasions when they might not know what to look for."
That's Ralph Wiley explaining what he brings to the table as a writer who was also African-American.
You think that doesn't make a difference? Check out the latest news on the Pac-Man Jones story, for example. Here is a post from The Big Lead once again, this one on how Pac-Man Jones' accuser had withdrawn the complaint she had filed against him. In case you missed it, earlier this week this female lawyer had accused Jones of punching her at a strip club at 3 in the morning. The media ran with it, including all the major sites - ESPN, Yahoo!, Deadspin. They all went with the short AP version of the story, and none of those websites had anything to add to the reports, other than to say "Damn, looks like that fool done got into trouble again."
I'm no Pac-Man Jones defender. I've written about Michael Vick, about Barry Bonds, and about other athletes (OJ Mayo) who I felt weren't getting fair treatment from the media. I've never done that for Pac-Man Jones; his crimes are clear, and he's deserves to be punished for what he's been involved with.
You know who else has been hard on Pac-Man Jones? D-Wil, of Sports On My Mind. Yet when he wrote about this latest incident, he didn't just write with the lazy approach that the big media sites wrote with. He looked deeper into the story, going beyond the short AP account, finding out more details. And when he looked at the details, he found something that didn't seem right:
"Why is a lawyer meeting Jones at a strip club instead of her office? Wait. Remember, she’s an employee of the strip joint. Is her office in the strip club??? A divorce? To a stripper?
Over time I have written much about Jones; I even penned an open letter to the man imploring him to stay away from strip clubs. But I have to say; in this case I smell a setup."
And it seems, with the complaint getting withdrawn, that D-Wil may have, in fact, been correct about that.This is why having a minority's perspective is so important in sportswriting nowadays. There are too many stories, every single day, that deal with race or the politics of race, and sports. With the majority of athletes in the big three sports still being African-Americans (and with other minorities, like Latinos and now Asians, making headway) the need for more diversity in writers is increasing. And yet, the numbers prove that there aren't enough outside perspectives in the sports media, the sports press, or even in the sports blogging world.
One of the things in the discussion of this topic that has always cracked me up is that (white) people will always be the first to criticize writers like Scoop Jackson and his ilk. I personally don't always agree with everything Scoop Jackson writes; I don't agree with everything Jemele Hill writes, or even LZ Granderson. Heck, I don't agree with every single thing D-Wil has written, you know?
But do ya'll agree with everything Mike Lupica writes? Bill Simmons? Pete Gammons? Mitch Albom? Is there any writer that meets that standard? Then why are you holding black/minority writers held to some standard that you don't hold white writers to?
And when a writer does come along that can write about these issues, while maintaining a high standard that makes criticism of that sort, you know... "I can't read that guy, I just can't understand what he's saying"... then they'll find other reasons not to approve of his work. Take the great David Zirin, who is often met now with this criticism: "Ah, he writes about politics and sports. But sports aren't politics!"
Please. You can pretend that sports and politics and race don't mix, but guess what... every week we have some sports and race "controversy" breaking out. Whether its a golf commentators inappropriate remarks about Tiger Woods, or a fellow golfers, or Imus' comments about a women's basketball team, or just the media's reaction to Rick Ankiel versus Barry Bonds, or Michael Vick versus, say, Jim Leyritz... you can go on and on, and pretend there isn't any need for people to have this discussion. But you're only deluding yourself.
And when you want to have an honest discussion about these issues, you are going to have to be willing to hear from the other perspective. That's where the minority writers (or those that speak for minorities) will come in. You want honesty? Get more minority writers involved.
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Nice article, MC Bias. Actually, not only did I read that article back in the day, but I left a comment on it, too! Looks like we go back, like cousins...
I liked that post of yours, especially when you mentioned that most writers didn't recognize that Gilbert was just a "black" nerd, because they weren't used to seeing black athletes acting like nerds (but they wouldn't be so surprised if it was a Stanford grad or something). That's a great point.
My post here was quickly thrown together (if I had more time, I would have thrown in some Curtis Mayfield, just for fun), but I'm not surprised that we both have the same thoughts on this subject.
I also think I thought "we must be cousins" back when you mentioned you played volleyball. That's what I started doing after my ankle couldn't handle basketball anymore, and five years later I'm a pretty damn good v-baller.
Thanks for posting this and excellent example on the dwil-pacman piece. Like you and MCBIAS I added my own 2 cents. The timimg was perfect because I was 80% already done on a DWIL piece and this article tied in well into the deeper picture...
You'll need more minority readers before you start getting more minority writers in the MSM. Look at the sites/papers/magazines that minorities usually read....they are stacked with minority writers. Why? Because that's what their readers want to read.
If you look at ESPN.com's stable of writers I'm going to guess that their is a greater % of minorities writing for them than the % of their readers that are minorities.
I think ESPN.com has shown that just hiring minority writers isn't going to bring minority readers, either. So....what are you to do?
Do you hire minorities just because it's the PC thing to do? Or, do you go with what's making your company money? More times than not, companies will go for the cash.
Cobra, you really think minorities don't read ESPN? Or, that minorities don't consume mainstream products. Newsflash, we consume mainstream and ethinic products. Black people in particular are some of the largest consumers of everything in this country. Companies don't do diversity because they are already reaching those same customers without having to spend any extra money.
No, what I'm saying is that I think if you broke it down by %'s then the amount of minority writers ESPN has would line up with the amount of minority readers they have, that's all. Simple business.
All right, SML, you might as well admit now that we're 3rd cousins once removed or something:
http://mcbias.blogspot.com/2007/04/bloggolalia-why-do-we-need-female-and.html
. And I know you didn't know my blog then, so you haven't seen that post. I just think it's hilarious that we picked the same storyline, in response to nearly the same Big Lead story! ha.