The NFL And trUmp reek of hypocrisy of George floyd murder

On one hand we have the person who currently occupies the White House Donald Trump urging governors to seek “retribution” and that they have to “dominate the protestors” and calls the protestors “terrorists“ 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/01/donald-trump-protests-george-floyd-dominate

while saying absolutely nothing about holding police officers accountable in any way shape or form when they act as terrorists in cases across the country on an everyday basis from Officer Daniel Panteleo (Eric Garner) to Officer Betty Shelby (Terence Crutcher) to Officer Darren Willson (Mike Brown) to Officer Blane Salamoni (Alton Sterling) Officer Jeronimo Janzez (Philando Castile) and now Officer Derek Chauvin who we watched heartlessly put his knee into the neck of George Floyd while casually putting his hands in his pockets for nine minutes as three other cops held him down. 

On the other hand, we have seen an abundance of organizations, companies, and business entities feel led to issue public statements at the prevalent terrorism that runs rampant through police departments across America and proclaim that Black Lives do in fact matter despite the little to no value that has been displayed by the justice system by the mere fact that most of these police officers are rarely held accountable for their acts of terrorism. 

Companies from around the country have issued statements expressing their disapproval of the vicious and evil killing of George Floyd that was caught on video for the world to see. These companies include Netflix, HBO, Starz, McDonnalds, Target, Apple, Disney, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter, Google, NHL teams, MLB teams, the Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA and most of the NBA teams (except James Dolan and the New York Knicks but we’ll save that for another article) 

https://www.si.com/nba/2020/06/02/james-dolan-defends-absence-statement-george-floyd-death

Which brings me to the NFL who also issued a statement which you can see in its entirety below (Editor’s note: I would say just post the actual tweet to save word count) 

"The NFL family is greatly saddened by the tragic events across our country. The protesters’ reactions to these incidents reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Mr. George Floyd and to those who have lost loved ones, including the families of Ms. Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Mr. Ahmaud Arbery, the cousin of Tracy Walker of the Detroit Lions.

"As current events dramatically underscore, there remains much more to do as a country and as a league. These tragedies inform the NFL’s commitment and our ongoing efforts. There remains an urgent need for action. We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society. We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners."

“We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society ?” 

Where was all of this when Colin Kaepernick took a knee ? 

I asked Eric Reid specifically why he and Kaepernick took a knee in my book We Matter “Athletes And Activism” and this is an excerpt of what he specifically told me. 

“I just felt that people were losing their lives over traffic stops and nobody was being held accountable for that. The way things kept playing out was, you would have the initial report, they would say it was under investigation, and nothing would really happen. All of these families would be forced to deal with another loss of life, and nothing seemed to be changing. So, since my personal beliefs were in line with his (Kaepernick) on this subject, I wanted to show some solidarity and support for my teammate. He was getting a lot of backlash and I couldn’t just not support him when I felt the same way he did” 

And that backlash came directly from the NFL who has white-balled Kaepernick from the league since the 2016-2017 season when he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick became an international symbol of resistance  and non violent protest. He embodied everything that the Roger Goodell just ironically stated that the NFL is striving to represent. 

“We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important walk to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners ?”

Who is advising Roger Goodell ? You mean to tell me that nobody in their NFL office told him that this wouldn’t go over well ? That this statement wasn’t dripping with hypocrisy ? That neither Jay Z or any Inspire Change songs were going to mask the sanctimonious of everything he wrote in his statement ? 

https://theundefeated.com/features/nfl-partnership-an-open-letter-to-jay-z/

This would’ve been an opportune time for Roger Goodell to announce, 

not give a written statement (which let’s be honest is starting to sound a little manufactured by the different companies and entities. Like they all have the same ghost writer preparing their statements) but this would’ve been well -timed for Roger Goodell to call a press conference and actually verbalize something along the lines of...

We have seen the errors of our ways in our handling of the Colin Kaepernick situation and we as the NFL want to reach out to him to make amends for our caving into the pressure from the White House and our conservative fan base who purposely twisted Colin Kaepernick’s message of peacefully protesting police brutality into being anti police, anti veterans, and anti American. We know he was actually utilizing the example set by the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (since they love to bring Dr King into the discussion all the time when they want to talk about non violence which ultimately waters down and twists his message as well but I digress) We know that it is not Anti-American to speak out on the injustices of police brutality and we would like to not only give him a real opportunity to play in the NFL and not the sham of an opportunity that we created before 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/16/colin-kaepernick-nfl-workout-sham

We will come to terms with him and his agent on parameters for the tryout, we can make it all public if they like so that we are 100% transparent and regardless of that outcome, we want to work with him in particular and his Know Your Rights organization moving forward to bring about real change in our country because what happened to George Floyd cannot keep happening. 

Then they can discuss how they recognize the power of their platform in communities and as a part of the fabric of American society etc etc. They don’t even have to throw in Black Lives Matter like most companies have. They would’ve actually gone above and beyond all of the statements made by various companies because they would’ve given a distinct example of something they were specifically going to implement to put their words into action. A lot of companies are giving pretty words without any specifics which is a nice sentiment, but much more is needed. 

Now, I know what I just described is completely far fetched and wouldn’t happen in a million years, but it would take something drastic and far fetched to actually make amends for the white balling of Kaepernick. And it’s not just about one person, it’s about what white balling Kaepernick represents. The suppression of the powerful voices of NFL players out of a fear of being Kaepernick’ed out of the league if they dare to use their voices and platforms to speak out. 

Statements like 

"The NFL family is greatly saddened by the tragic events across our country. The protesters’ reactions to these incidents reflect the pain, anger and frustration that so many of us feel.

Are just as hypocritical as Donald Trump calling Violent White Supremacists Protestors who were actually Found guilty of first degree murder for killing paralegal Heather Hayer “very fine people” but calling protestors after the death of George Floyd “thugs”. You both reek of hypocrisy 

It’s wrong to criminalize black players for the Kansas-Kansas State brawl

A day after a brawl that took the entire sports world by storm between rivals Kansas and Kansas State, Dick Vitale publicly called for Silvio De Sousa in particular to be permanently expelled from the NCAA for the rest of his days. 

“Well, just absolutely sickening, unbelievable. The 40 years I’m on TV, I haven’t seen anything like that, unless you go to the NBA and the Pistons’ brawl that took place at the Palace. I think there’s no doubt in my mind that De Sousa never, ever should put a uniform on in college basketball again," Vitale said during ESPN's broadcast of Miami at Duke. "He’s holding a chair. I mean, that’s criminal! He’s going to hurt somebody! I mean, I don’t want to hear any excuse that ‘They stole the ball with time running out, they should never have done such a thing.’ Give me a break. That was ugly.”

https://www.si.com/college/2020/01/22/dick-vitale-silvio-de-sousa-ban-kansas-fight

A day after the fight, Silvio De Sousa issued a genuine apology on his twitter feed. He took full responsibility, didn’t place the blame elsewhere, expressed his regret and articulated how thankful  he was to always have the love and support from Kansas University and fans. All I can say to that is live and learn young fella, there is a blessing in every lesson. 

https://twitter.com/silviodesousa5/status/1220160517496606726?s=21

The expected punishment has been handed out, 

“ The Big 12 suspended four players from Kansas and Kansas State a combined 25 games Wednesday for their roles in a melee that spilled off the court and into a section of disabled seating in Allen Fieldhouse near the end of the third-ranked Jayhawks' win over the Wildcats.

Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa, who already was suspended indefinitely by Jayhawks coach Bill Self, was given a 12-game suspension by the league office. His teammate, David McCormack, was suspended two games while Kansas State forward James Love received an eight-game suspension and Antonio Gordon got a three-game suspension.

Both schools also were reprimanded by the Big 12 for violations of its sportsmanship policy.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-coach-self-school-preparing-punishment-brawl-163631529--ncaab.html

After the punishments had been handed out, Vitale took to Twitter to voice his disapproval of what he called “light penalties”

The @Big12Conference has passed down it’s ruling on the ugly fiasco that took place in Kansas. I am shocked how light the penalties were considering how dangerous that fracas was. In the case of Silvio DeSousa I thought the minimum should have been the entire season.

https://twitter.com/dickiev/status/1220136810036301825?s=21

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated wrote an article titled “Silvio De Sousa Gets Off Easy With Punishment for Kansas-Kansas State Brawl 

https://www.si.com/college/2020/01/23/silvio-de-sousa-gets-off-easy-kansas-kstate-brawl

Which brings me to: 

The over-criminalization of Black Boys. 

I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have been punished, but the collegiate death penalty is a bit much. Many have made the case of what “could have happened” had De Sousa swung the barstool he picked up. But let’s fully examine what actually occurred. Yes he picked up the barstoool. And yes there was an unnamed photographer who calmly attempted to grab the barstool, and Kansas assistant coach Jerrance Howard was also there to intercede as well if De Sousa hadn’t already had a moment of clarity and dropped the barstool on his own admission. But let’s be honest, De Sousa is 6’9 250, If he wanted to use it, no scrawny reporter (no offense of course) was going to stop him with one hand. The fact is, he dropped it on his own. So those making the case of what could have occurred, aren’t paying attention or concerned with the fact that he wasn’t stopped from using it, he stopped himself. 

The reality is, this was a fight. Nothing criminal occurred, it was a fight. It was against NCAA rules, thus the suspensions, but the words “criminal assault” that have been a recklessly thrown around seem to only come from pale lips when describing Black Men. 

Again, I’m not making a case for no punishment. 

In fact, if I were speaking directly to De Sousa, or any other young Black Men like the AAU team I coach FBCG Dynamic Disciples, my message would be that you cannot put yourself in a position where you will be at the mercy of the courts, the police, in school, or in this case, the NCAA. Why ? Because you are going to have people in Mainstream America who will call for your head on a platter. Who will portray you as a menace to society, a criminal, and someone who needs to be taught a lesson as your actions prove that you are ungrateful to everything they have given you. 

I would also explain to them that it doesn’t matter what your white counterparts have done. So it’s pointless to bring up the many infractions of Grayson Allen and him never being called a thug or a menace, or the fact that the same people who are now “outraged” at the “horrific” “sickening” display in front of the children of America , also tune in and attend (with their children) hockey games every night where fights are not only commonplace but encouraged. 

I would explain that it doesn’t matter that bench clearing brawls that occur in baseball typically never results in anyone being called a thug or pursuits of criminal charges of any kind. Even when a player charges the pitcher’s mound carrying his bat like Jon Snow ready to slice through the Night Walkers.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-cuban-baseball-brawl-20140218-story.html

Or other mound charging incidents https://bleacherreport.com/articles/808444-10-most-surprising-mound-charging-moments-ever

Or when hockey players have actually used their stick as a weapon 

https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/13/barstool-sports-hockey-stick-swing-video/

 I would explain that in this society, there are different rules for us. And as seen by the likes of Dick Vitale, Pat Forde, and many of the people outraged at the perceived light sentence handed down by the NCAA, those different rules are not going anywhere anytime soon.  

David Stern's complex legacy is worthy of high respect and close inspection

David stern The passing of longtime NBA commissioner David Stern has prompted impassioned reactions in basketball circles over the past week. On one hand, Stern was a visionary figure of far-reaching influence who transformed a second-class league into a global marketing force. But he was also a man who leaves behind a complex legacy, one that was captured in the comments that trickled onto my Facebook page when I offered my condolences.“All I saw was a slave master when I saw him,” Mann Frisby wrote. “Sorry. It’s 2020, time for rich management/leaders to properly reflect the TALENT that’s generating billions.” Jamie Ayers offered a different perspective: “The analogy forgets a basic, fundamental factor, Slaveowners stripped Black men of every facet of their identity. David Stern propagated the idea that Black male athletes were marketable, intelligent and relatable. No other league has ever accomplished this feat to the extent of the NBA.”

The divergent reaction to Stern’s death, which I spoke about at length on my radio show The Collision: Where Sports and Politics Collide this week, asks the question: Should we be able to highlight the accomplishments of Stern while still pointing out the missteps he made along the way?Definitely.Like countless other NBA players, I have a vivid memory of walking across the stage on draft night and shaking Stern’s hand – a recollection that will be permanently etched in my memory. That moment is what every young basketball player dreams of: it’s your official welcome to the professional ranks.But I also experienced an up close and personal view of the Stern that existed after the cameras are turned off.

I was on the negotiating team for the NBA players’ union’s executive board during the 2011 lockout. I sat across the table in dozens of contentious negotiation sessions with Stern and the CEOs of every NBA team – I don’t call them owners – deliberating into the wee hours of the morning as we made oftentimes minimal progress.

I recall one morning before a bargaining session, I arrived early and there was Stern walking around, looking out the window and having a pre-meeting snack. I don’t remember if it was peanuts or candy, but I remember him very intensely crunching whatever it was. He looked up when I entered with a piercing glare as if he was cursing me under his breath. Then he said: “I see Billy brought out the big guns tonight” – referring to Billy Hunter, then-head of the players’ union.Then he walked up to me, shook my hand firmly, looked me in the eyes and told me – and I thinkhe was halfway joking – that I challenged him in ways that made him want to strangle me. He also said that I had been a royal pain in his … backside throughout these entire negotiations. But then he gave me a smirk and a knowing nod of respect, which was all I was going to get from him, and he walked out of the room. It was a begrudgingly given expression I’d become familiar with over the years.

See, these labor negotiations were hardly the first time I challenged Stern during my decade in the NBA – and anyone who knew the commissioner knew he did not particularly like to be challenged.• I’d felt the controversial dress code he enactedfollowing the Malice in the Palace, the 2005 fight between the mostly black players of the Indiana Pacers and white fans of the Detroit Pistons, was playing to an overarching societal fear of black men and I didn’t shy away from discussing it. It bothered me that sports like baseball and hockey had bench-clearing brawls, but nobody was branded as a “thug” in response. I felt it was ridiculous to believe that by putting black athletes in suits instead of street clothes, that mainstream America’s perception of us would magically change.

* I felt the 19-year-old age limit for NBA draftees, introduced in 2005, was unfairly punishing athletes in a league that’s mostly black as opposed to the the majority white hockey and baseball leagues where young prospects turn pro without anyone batting an eye. Let’s be honest: what logical sense did it make to have no reservations in sending an 18-year-old to join the army and ship them overseas to fight in a war, but at the same time, tell them they are too young to play in the NBA?•

• I believe he never took responsibility for Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges both being whiteballed from the league under his watch. I also feel he never took responsibility for allowing former LA Clippers head Donald Sterling’s well-documented racism and discrimination cases during his slumlord days to go unchecked and unpunished.• I also challenged him on violating the collective bargaining rules by changing to a synthetic ball without consulting the union, and the NFL type hard cap he was inching us toward – where NBA players would become at-will employees like in the NFL.I could go on. And as I look back on our battles, maybe I was a pain in his … backside.

But I have to give credit where credit is due. Stern’s legacy is that he put the right creative minds together to market the NBA and turn it into a worldwide leader in sports. An important fact to remember is that when Stern took over the reins of commissioner in 1984, the NBA finals were regularly shown on tape delay. That’s only the start of what he changed.He instituted a plan to skyrocket the value of each NBA teams. And it worked. For example, Abe Pollin bought the Washington Wizards – then the Baltimore Bullets – for $1m. Today, the Wizards are valued at no less than $1.6bn according to Forbes magazine.

Stern deftly marketed Magic Johnson and Larry Bird with brilliant narrative command – their friendship off the court, their vastly differing backgrounds – and promoted basketball as being the tie that binds. And it worked. Then he leveraged Michael Jordan and the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with designs on making the NBA an international phenomenon. And he did just that.The league as a whole became a worldwide juggernaut defined by megastars with international appeal.

Today, more than a billion people across the globe tune into an NBA game every year. Much of this is again directly attributable to David Stern’s vision.And as present-day NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who was mentored by Stern, said in a statement after his passing:

“Because of David, the NBA is a truly global brand – making him not only one of the greatest sports commissioners of all time but also one of the most influential business leaders of his generation.”

All of this has resulted in players’ salaries rising to staggering levels that see athletes in other sports envy-tweeting during every NBA free agency period. The NFL may have higher ratings across the United States, but the NBA is a far bigger deal abroad. This is all down to Stern. That’s not an opinion, those are facts. And you can’t debate facts (unless you’re Fox News).

The David Stern legacy should be examined, discussed, remembered, critiqued, and honored for years to come. But it’s important to present the entire story. So to my Facebook commenters: Stern’s legacy can’t simply be cast aside like the objectionable odor of tyranny. Nor can he simply be seen through rose-colored glasses. But he must be remembered – and his impact will be felt for generations to come.

Slip or not, ‘thug’ is a word with a painful, complicated history

After Trayvon Martin was killed by the self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in 2012, Geraldo Rivera went on national TV and said, “I was right about the hoodie wasn’t I? I mean, I hate to brag, but I got criticized by every pundit in America when I said Trayvon Martin would be alive today but for the fact that he was wearing thug wear – he was wearing the hoodie.”

After Michael Brown was killed by officer Darren Wilson in 2014, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said that it could have been avoided “if he’d have behaved like something other than a thug.”

Almost a year after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by police officer Timothy Loehmann in Cleveland in 2014, Miami police union president Lt. Javier Ortiz engaged in a debate on Twitter and said, “Act like a thug, and you’ll be treated like one.”

They all used the word “thug” in their description of the young men in an attempt to justify their killings to America. The word was used as a way to make the public feel less traumatized by the killings. Those statements are usually accompanied by “he was no angel.”

Enter Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Beilein.

Beilein is in his first season as coach of the Cavaliers and during a film session in which he was actually singing praises of the team’s revamped play, he told the players that they were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs,” according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Beilein later explained that “thugs” was not what he intended to say, but rather “slugs” was his targeted word.

“I didn’t realize that I had said the word ‘thugs,’ but my staff told me later I did and so I must have said it,” Beilein told ESPN on Wednesday night. “I meant to say slugs, as in slow-moving. We weren’t playing hard before, and now we were playing harder. I meant it as a compliment. That’s what I was trying to say. I’ve already talked to eight of my players tonight, and they are telling me that they understand.”

Has the word “thug” become the new N-word? Is it a code word for black people misbehaving? Is it now a racial pejorative used to describe black men in a way that escapes the description of white counterparts?

I’m not here to judge the authenticity of his apology, or whether the players should forgive his claimed slip of the tongue, but one thing that can’t be denied is that the word “thug” has a history of being used in a very targeted way against black men.

Has the word “thug” become the new N-word? Is it a code word for black people misbehaving? Is it now a racial pejorative used to describe black men in a way that escapes the description of white counterparts?

In many cases, the answer to all of the above is a simple yes.

I remember in high school being pulled over by the police while on my way to a basketball game and being told to get out of the car and sit on the ground while they checked everything. That was routine in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by the Tulsa Police Department whenever they pulled over black and brown men back in the 1990s when I was attending Booker T. Washington High School. I remember vividly one of the officers saying, “he looks like a thug to me, keep checking. Sure he’s got a prior.”

That told me everything I needed to know about how those police officers viewed me. Didn’t matter that I was an honor roll student, on the speech and debate team, was a junior deacon at Antioch Baptist Church, all that mattered to those police officers was that I “looked like a thug” and they put me in a specific category.

If Beilein had a slip of the tongue and he apologized, that’s fine, but it shouldn’t happen again.

If I heard a coach refer to me as a thug, it would take me right back to that night in Tulsa when I was sitting on the curb with flashing lights and four police cars surrounding me while I tried not to make any sudden moves while I’m waiting for my fate as my life was in their hands. If Beilein had a slip of the tongue and he apologized, that’s fine, but it shouldn’t happen again.

Language matters, and those are mistakes that simply can’t happen in this day and age. And to all the people who think too much is being made of this, and it’s just the liberal society that is too politically correct now and that everything is offensive, imagine being the mother or father of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, or Michael Brown, and hearing a white person use the same word that was used to justify the murder of their son.

Then tell me we are being too sensitive.

Cleveland Cavs coach John Beilein apologized for the slip, but the damage is done

Coaching The Knicks is a career liability

I have always been a Knicks fan. I was born in Harlem, and although I moved from Harlem to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when I was young, I spent every summer in Harlem. My grandfather was a die-hard Knicks fan. He loved his Yankees and Giants, along with St. John’s and Syracuse. He was a typical emotional New Yorker. Tuned in to every game, yelled at the screen, called the players bums when they didn’t play well, respected guys who played hard and always sported a Yankees cap. As a result, I too became a fan of all things New York, including the Knicks.

I had my Patrick Ewing jersey, was throwing up the LJ sign like Larry Johnson, admiring hard fouls by Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason and their “no easy buckets” mentality; respecting Greg Anthony having his teammates’ back, running from the stands in street clothes. Everyone played with emotion. Those were the glory days of my youth as a young New York Knicks fan.

Which is why it hurts to witness the lowly, sad, pitiful, embarrassing state the entire Knicks organization has been stuck in for some time now. It’s been one catastrophe after another. From Oakley being accosted on live TV during a game by Knicks security, the utter disrespect of Carmelo Anthony by president of basketball operations Phil Jackson, the letdown from not receiving the No. 1 pick and missing out on Zion Williamson to now, the firing of coach David Fizdale after tying the worst start in the team’s history at 4-18, making Fizdale the eighth coach to be fired by the Knicks since 2004 (not including interim coaches).

I’m not a Knicks hater. I want to see my childhood team thrive. It would be wonderful if the success the NBA is experiencing with big-time free agents pairing together to create excitement in their respective cities could run through the Knicks as well. But with the current state of the Knicks, I am starting to wonder if I will ever see this team succeed. But it’s not the coaches. They’ve tried that, and it hasn’t worked.

Doug McDermott (center) of the Indiana Pacers drives to the basket and dunks the ball against the New York Knicks on Dec. 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES

This is around the time I would begin my campaign for the Knicks to hire former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson. He laid the foundation for the success the Warriors enjoyed, winning three championships in the last four years. However, I can’t in good faith recommend he coach the Knicks. He’s better off remaining in the broadcast sports analysts’ booth with Jeff Van Gundy.

Similarly, Patrick Ewing, who I believe has been disrespected by the Knicks time and time again, should be coaching in the NBA. But again, I can’t in good faith recommend he leave Georgetown. Ewing is rebuilding his alma mater’s team and has a tremendous coaching staff, even as the school navigates controversy around his players, including two who are transferring. Ewing has a level of respect and security at Georgetown that he surely won’t receive with the Knicks.

New York City native and two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith also has emerged as a top candidate. He has a wealth of basketball knowledge that is displayed on Inside The NBA with TNT. But again, I couldn’t recommend him leaving the studio where he is part of a show that has become must-see TV for all NBA fans.

Then there’s San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, who has the chance to make history and become the first female head coach in the NBA. She’s ready to spread her wings and fly on her own after 16 seasons in the WNBA and six years as an assistant with the Spurs. But again, I wouldn’t want her to take on this challenge. It would do nothing more than set the stage for all the blame to be put on her if things don’t go well.

How does an organization get so bad that it is more of a liability than an opportunity?

Some say the problem lies squarely with James Dolan, who is in his 20th year as CEO of the Knicks (I don’t use the word owner). Many say that he doesn’t care about the team and is perfectly complacent being that he has secured such a lucrative deal with Madison Square Garden. It doesn’t matter if the team loses every single game, he still wins. Forbes valued the Knicks at $4 billion. The fact is, Dolan made both himself and his investors a lot of money.

There have been “Fire Dolan” chants that have erupted at the Garden, and footage of a run-in that Dolan had with a fan while exiting the arena who screamed for him to “Sell The Team!”

Others say it’s not Dolan’s fault at all and that he is a great person who cares about the community and respects the tradition of the Knicks like no other CEO does.

Former Knicks forward John Wallace recently shared that sentiment with me.

“Dolan has done more for former Knicks than any other NBA team does for their former players,” he said. “He’s also done a lot for pancreatic cancer, and he’s written every check that’s been asked of him. Dolan hired people who were supposed to get the Knicks to the championship and it didn’t happen. Phil Jackson left us in purgatory and when Dolan hired him, everybody, myself included, thought Phil was the answer. So is it Dolan’s fault for Phil Jackson’s wrongdoing?”

Fair point.

It’s not just Dolan. Many have pointed to Knicks team president Steve Mills as the main culprit for causing the Knicks’ woes.

A report in Newsday last month suggested that Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri may have interest in taking on the task of bringing his Midas touch to the Knicks.

You’ll have to excuse my pessimism, but I’m not going to allow them to toy with my emotions yet again.

Let’s be realistic. Why would Ujiri leave Toronto? He brought them a championship. Seems like he has the key to the organization and the city.

Former Knicks guard and current co-host of The Knuckleheads podcast Quentin Richardson told me he doesn’t see the issue as Dolan or Mills, whose record is 167-349 in his time with the team.

“I personally don’t blame it solely on Mills or Dolan. A big part of this whole problem is that for whatever reason, the top-flight free-agent guys don’t wanna go there,” Richardson said. “My take on it is that they have been down for so long that the top guys look at it like if they go there, it’s all on them to bring the title to New York. And from the results, it’s obvious guys would much rather bypass on all that comes with playing for the Knicks.

“Yes, the microscope is there, the spotlight on and off the court and the never-ending media too. The part I feel guys are missing is that if they do go to the Knicks, it’s not just about winning a title. If you go and give those fans in that city all you got and they know you’re laying all you got on the line night in and night out, they will respect you forever! Now, if you do that and win, you’re a made man, period. If you go win with the Knicks, that will be the biggest thing in forever for that city, so that player who is the guy responsible will be MADE.”

Another great point.

But the truth is, Knicks fans are sick of excuses and hearing the multiple reasons that the Knicks aren’t good. We’re tired of rebuilding processes. Fed up with waiting, hoping, wishing, praying for better days. At this point, Knicks fans are not even asking for a return to greatness but at least respectability.

New York is a special place and die-hard New York fans wear our hearts on our sleeves. Don’t believe me? Go up to anyone on the street in New York and ask them what they think of the New York Knicks and you’re sure to receive a long-winded emotional diatribe of frustration, anger, sadness, and more frustration.

Bottom line, whatever is going to happen needs to happen soon. New York is tired of waiting and deserves much better.

I was called the n-word as a player. I was lucky someone heaRd it

The reported accusation that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph directed a racial slur at Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett before their ugly brawl on Monday Night Football takes me back to my freshman season at Syracuse University. I was playing in a game and a white player on the other team called me the N-word. I remember walking away from him after a little tussle, then turning around and rushing towards him the moment I heard it exit his mouth. My teammates restrained me and I managed to get a push and a swing off – that didn’t connect – before I was ejected from the game. 

After my ejection, our assistant coach Louis Orr came to me at halftime and asked me what happened to get me so upset, as it was out of character for me. At the time I was mostly known as being the quiet kid on the team. I remember telling Coach Orr what occurred and him shaking his head and saying that he was sorry that happened and that he would support me – but that I had to think first before I reacted, that I was too intelligent to give anyone that type of power over me and that now I put myself in a position where the media could demonize me the way they do. They can use language like Etan Thomas brutally attacked or violently assaulted or maliciously mauled this poor innocent player and encourage the powers that be to throw the book at me as far as a punishment. You put your fate in their hands, and more times than naught, we will lose that battle. As much as I didn’t want to hear it at the time, Coach Orr was 100% correct. 

Coach Boeheim had a somewhat different tactic when he approached me – but quickly understood that it wasn’t the best time to berate me and quickly backed off. 

However, later on a few of my teammates told me that while they were going through the line after the game shaking hands with the other team, Coach Boeheim said to the player something along the lines of: “You know what you said to my player,  and you were wrong”. 

The newspapers asked me what happened in the locker room and I told them that I shouldn’t have responded the way that I did, but that word should never come out of a white person’s mouth any time for any reason. I added that I didn’t even allow black people to use that word in my presence and with a history as ugly as this country has, it would be disrespectful to my ancestors if I allowed a white person to ever say it. 

Most of my coaches had my back the entire time, but not many other people were willing to believe me until someone in the media who was close to the court verified that they did in fact hear the player call me the N-word. I remember asking Coach Orr why would I need someone to validate my story in order for them to not believe that I was making the entire thing up. And he told me, unfortunately, that’s just the way it works. 

Enter: Myles Garrett.

Garrett made an allegation during an appeal hearing with the NFL on Wednesday that alleged Rudolph called him the N-word prior to their altercation, a claim that Rudolph vehemently denies. Unfortunately for Myles, nobody else is backing his claim or offering him any type of support. His coach didn’t support him the way Coach Boeheim and Coach Orr supported me, at least not publicly. 

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens on Thursday declined to address the incident or his conversations with Garrett regarding the incident.

"What Myles and I talk about stays between Myles and I," Kitchens said. "I'm sure Myles presented himself professionally, like he's done ever since the moment it happened [and] afterward. He's been nothing but professional in his responses.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. 

In addition, none of the players have come forward to support his claim. 

If even one person came forward and said that he heard it would definitely help his case, but for nobody to come forward and support his claim leads a large amount of the public to question the validity of his claim altogether. It doesn’t mean his claims are untrue, but as I learned many years ago at Syracuse, it’s beneficial to have a witness to validate your story.  

Another factor working against Garrett is the question of why he didn’t shout this from the mountaintops immediately after the game? Why wait until a week later to make the allegation during the appeal process? Again, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but the optics are not in his favor.

Not surprisingly, Rudolph told reporters he didn't say or do anything to provoke Garrett or escalate the situation. Although we have all seen the video evidence of what started the altercation and can easily come to the conclusion that Rudolph is far from an innocent victim in this, he maintains that he did nothing wrong. The reality is, we can clearly see that Rudolph was attempting to pull Garrett’s helmet off first and that he started the entire altercation. N-word or not, Rudolph picked a fight and Garrett finished it. And although rumors are swarming that a possible fine could be handed down in the near future, Rudolph hasn't been punished in any way, shape or form to this point and insists that he is completely unaware of any reason for Garrett to react in a violent manner towards him. Garrett asserts that all he wants to do is play football for the Browns and be the best human being he could be. (An exaggeration, but that’s the picture he is painting with his comments.) 

Also against Garrett’s favor, the Steelers issued a statement saying: "Mason vehemently denies the report of being accused of using a racial slur during the incident Thursday night in Cleveland. He will not discuss this accusation any further and his focus remains on preparation for Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals."

To pile on even further, Rudolph's attorney, Timothy M Younger told reporters according to ESPN: “In his appeal, Myles Garrett falsely asserted that Mason Rudolph uttered a racial slur toward him, prior to swinging a helmet at Mason's uncovered head, in a desperate attempt to mitigate his suspension. This is a lie. This false allegation was never asserted by Garrett in the aftermath of the game, never suggested prior to the hearing, and conspicuously absent in the apology published by the Browns and adopted by Garrett.

"The malicious use of this wild and unfounded allegation is an assault on Mason's integrity which is far worse than the physical assault witnessed on Thursday. This is reckless and shameful. We will have no further comment."

Naturally, Rudolph’s lawyer is putting a lot of extra on it and earning his fee while addressing the media about his client, but that’s what he’s supposed to do. All the chips are stacked against Garrett. 

To make matters worse, the NFL didn’t budge on his appeal as they “found no such evidence” that Rudolph used a racial slur. They also rejected what was probably a much better argument: that there were no witnesses, the coach didn’t support his claim, and no teammate came forward in support either. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Garrett’s team attempted to use a precedent-based argument pointing to the fact that the NFL's punishment of former Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith in 2013, when he swung a helmet at Richie Incognito of the Miami Dolphins, wasn’t a suspension for the remainder of the season but only a ban of two preseason games and one regular-season contest. In addition, Garrett and the NFL players’ union argued that an indefinite suspension was not legal under the guidelines of the league's collective bargaining agreement. 

So it comes as no surprise the NFL denied his appeal and upheld their original suspension. Doesn’t mean that this didn’t happen. But with no support, no one verifying the story and the coach not backing him, Garrett has painted himself into a corner where he’s placed his fate in their hands. And as Coach Orr told me, more times than naught, we will lose that battle. 

Myles Garrett’s claim that a racial slur prompted his outburst brings back an ugly memory from my career. But as I learned, his fate is out of his hands unless someone backs him up

Colin Kaepernick’s NFL Workout Is A Sham With only one winner

The NFL’s decision to organize a private workout for Colin Kapernick on Saturday in Atlanta is not what it looks like on the surface. Mostly it feels like a guy inviting an old girlfriend to dinner and getting her hopes up at the thought of reconciling when he really has no interest besides ending the relationship on good terms. He wants her to *think* he’s a good guy so she tells all her friends that he isn’t the lying and manipulating pig they all know him to be.

Those were my first thoughts after hearing about the “opportunity” for Colin Kaepernick, who has been out of football for more than two seasons, whiteballed by the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and lethality. 

And, yes, they definitely got his hopes up high as he tweeted:

https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/1194415935890894848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

But upon closer inspection it appears the NFL has made a chess move that Bobby Fischer would admire.

ESPN’s Adam Shefter tweeted that several executives with teams have reached out as a courtesy to Colin Kaepernick’s representatives saying they couldn’t attend Saturday’s workouts, saying they were confused by the NFL’s purpose in scheduling it on a Saturday and on five days’ notice. 

Well, I’m not confused at all. The NFL is fully aware that the majority of teams do not typically conduct workouts on Saturdays, when all the real decision-makers are scouting college players or traveling with their clubs for Sunday’s games. Which is why Kaepernick’s team requested to have it on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, the request was denied. 

The NFL has basically told Kaepernick to take it or leave it, leaving themselves with a no-lose situation no matter how Saturday plays out. Here’s a walk through every scenario.

Kaepernick declines the NFL’s offer of a workout

If Kaepernick refuses to accept the NFL’s less-than-ideal terms, the NFL’s spin will be: We tried to offer him a chance to come back to the NFL, but he declined. We’re not whiteballing him from the league. We would welcome him back with open arms. Look at the great lengths we went to in order to provide him with an opportunity to resume his playing career. We can’t force him to play. We’ve done all we could.

Kaepernick doesn’t perform well during the workout 

The spin will be: While we respect the fact that Kaepernick has a desire to resume his NFL career, the numbers are what they are. He didn’t physically perform well enough to be in the NFL. It would be unfair to the other quarterbacks if we put him in the league despite this poor performance at his workout. He has to be able to have a balance between being an activist, which we all respect, and being able to perform at the level of a professional NFL player. We will do everything we possibly can to further the cause that he raised through our efforts with The Players Coalition (which we generously donated millions of dollars to our Players Coalition social justice program “Inspire Change” and our partnership with Jay Z and Roc Nation to bring actionable items to make a difference. We wish Colin Kaepernick good luck in all his future endeavors. 

Kaepernick doesn’t promise to stand for the national anthem

Saturday’s workout, like most pro day-style workouts, will include an interview session in addition to the on-field workout. Let’s say Kaepernick doesn’t guarantee to teams he will stand for the national anthem.

The spin will be: Well, we wanted to give him a job, but he just was unwilling to convince teams that he wouldn’t be a distraction. Teams want to win football games, and we can’t force them to accept someone who won’t even agree to follow the rules, which clearly state that a player is to either remain in the locker room or stand respectfully at attention for the anthem. We have acquiesced to his right to express himself by giving him the option of remaining in the locker room, against the President Of The United States and our fans who want to see players stand and honor our veterans and respect this wonderful country we live in that affords NFL players to receive million dollar contracts they enjoy. We have done all we could possibly do and apparently, it’s still not enough.

Kaepernick is signed by a team on the condition he never kneels again

What if Kaepernick accepts a contract on the condition he stands for the anthem and never kneels again, as some sources have speculated will be asked of him. Then it will be: This fraud who you have idolized and held up as a hero is nothing but a phony. He was paid by Nike to tell everyone to “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” but doesn’t follow his own advice. He’s no Ali, he is only about the money. And you will see every Right Wing Conservative commentator across the country run with this narrative as they take their victory laps because they have discredited someone who had become a cultural icon. 

Kaepernick is signed by a team, no strings attached

The spin will be: We, along with the help of our most trusted ally Jay-Z, have been successful at proving to the world that we are truly a league that values black people, black lives and freedom of expression. We are going to continue our plan for progress as we set up concert series across the country with Roc Nation and deliver inspirational messages and actionable items towards a greater tomorrow. By putting this issue to bed, we along with Jay Z and Roc-nation will continue our goal to Make The NFL Great Again.

Like back in the day when Don King would be patiently waiting at ringside to embrace whichever fighter won, jumping into the ring with a big smile and open arms regardless of the outcome, that’s exactly the no-lose situation what the NFL has set up which will in addition extricate themselves from the PR catastrophe they made for themselves. It’s taken three long years to get there, but the NFL’s long national nightmare is over. They win the no matter the outcome. Well played Roger Goodell

The disingenuous decision to organize a last-minute workout for Kaepernick brilliantly creates a

no-lose situation that will extricate the NFL from the PR catastrophe it made for itself. Well played Roger Goodell

If athletes like Nick Bosa support Trump, they should at least be honest

In a democracy,  every one has the right to support whoever they want to support as President Of The United States. They also have the right to speak out on whatever cause they choose to speak out on or objection they have to the current administration. I would be a hypocrite if didn’t advocate for all athletes even the ones with positions that I disagree with while I am going around to multiple universities and colleges touring and lecturing and having panel discussions and round tables for my book We Matter, “Athletes And Activism” which is dedicated to promoting and encouraging athletes to use their voices and platforms. I interviewed athletes activists such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Eric Reid, Torrey Smith, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Swin Cash, Tameka Catchings, Anquan Boldin, John Carlos, Dr Harry Edwards, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, Craig Hodges, and many more in an attempt to promote and encourage other athletes to continue in the great tradition of athletes utilizing their platforms and illustrating the power of their voices.  

Enter Nick Bosa 

The number 2 draft pick of the 49ers  who is an avid Conservative right wing Donald Trump Maga supporter (which he has every right to be) and who apparently went scrambling through his twitter accounts to delete his numerous tweets in which he made disparaging remarks about Colin Kaepernick, Beyoncé, The Movie Black Panther, and evidently his displayed infatuation and support of white-nationalist twitter accounts. 

https://blacksportsonline.com/2019/04/nick-bosa-latest-likes-from-new-white-nationalist-ig-acct-shows-he-dislikes-beyonce-not-because-of-her-music-but-because-she-dressed-up-like-a-black-panther-protested-against-police-brutality-d/4/

Again, I would be a complete hypocrite if I didn’t defend someone like Nick Bosa’s right to use his platform to stand up for what he believes, even though I disagree with his stance, who he is supporting, and the positions he took in his recently deleted tweets. And I’m no hypocrite. Nick Bosa has every right to support whoever he chooses to support. I wouldn’t dare tell him or any other athlete to shut up and dribble or stay in their lane ie Laura Ingram simply because they expressed an opinion that I don’t agree with. They have every right to speak, tweet, post, or shout from the mountain tops whatever their opinion is. 

Nonetheless, it is interesting to see the hypocrisy on full display from the right when an athlete speaks out who aligns with their politics and beliefs ie Bosa vs when an athlete who takes a position they vehemently disagree with ie Colin Kaepernick.  

There has been an outpour of support for Nick Bosa from the right for his “courage” to stand up for what he believes in and to stand “unashamed” and “unbothered” of any outside forces who may attempt to silence his first amendment right of freedom of speech.  

Trump praised and congratulated Nick Bosa not solely on social media but at an actual rally while failing to mention the actual #1 pick Kyler Murray. Why do you ask ? Was it simply because Bosa is white and Murray is black ? No, it’s deeper than that. Trump celebrated Nick Bosa for the same reason that he publicly praises Tiger Woods, Jim Brown, Ray Lewis, Tom Brady and Kanye West. Because they pledged their allegiance to him and publicly supported him. They also spoke to the politics that align with his. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/04/28/trump-praises-nfl-no-pick-nick-bosa-doesnt-mention-top-pick-kyler-murray/

Mind you this is the same president who called Colin Kaepernick and all of the NFL players who took a knee “SOB’s” and said to get him off the field, encouraged fans to leave if they saw NFL players kneeling, encouraged teams to cut players if they kneel. The same conservative right winged sites who took turns condemning, attacking, ridiculing, mocking, and disparaging Colin Kaepernick for using his platform are now cheering, praising, and celebrating Nick Bosa. 
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/sep/22/donald-trump-nfl-national-anthem-protests
This week, my co host and I Dave Zirin had the opportunity to explore this topic extensively on our weekly show The Collision “Where Sports And Politics Collide” and Dave said, 
“The evidence shows that a Black player who expresses anti-racist ideals will find themselves blackballed from the league, like Colin Kaepernick, or harassed and drug tested repeatedly, like Eric Reid.  But being not only pro-Trump but also expressing affection for the ugliest parts of Trump’s white nationalist base is a non-issue” 
http://archive.wpfwfm.org/mp3/wpfw_190502_100000collision.mp3
Here in lies the problem and the hypocrisy. 
For the conservative right, Nick Bosa is a patriot who loves his country while Kaepernick is castigated as an anti American when in reality Kaepernick expressed his heartbreak and anguish after repeatedly seeing case after case of Black men and women being killed by the police with no accountability. So on one hand Trump tweets that the NFL should “Fire Kaepernick” but on the other he tweets to Nick Bosa to “Always stay true to yourself” The hypocrisy is overwhelming. 
https://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1764393
Now, in an interesting pivot, Nick Bosa conducted another press conference attempting to back peddle on his condemnation and disparagement of Colin Kaepernick https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/4073944-49ers-draft-selection-nick-bosa-apologizes-for-tweets/
This pivot was met with the displeasure of many from the right as Tomi Lahren had a segment expressing how unfair it was that Nick Bosa felt that he needed to delete his tweets http://video.foxnews.com/v/6025615106001/
I actually agree with Tomi Lahren. Nick Bosa has every right to support whoever he wants to support and yes that is his right. But Ms Lahren’s hypocrisy comes shining through as she would never be as animated and passionate when an athlete speaks out on a topic that doesn’t align with her politics but rather resorts to juvenile name calling like “Crybaby Kaepernick” and denigration of athletes or anyone else for that matter who she disagrees with. 
And my final word to Nick Bosa, don’t go on an apology tour saying you didn’t mean what you tweeted. If you think Kaepernick is a clown be a man and stand by it. If you think Beyoncé’s music is trash again be a man and stand by your words. If you think Black Panther was the worst movie ever, don’t be a simp and go back on what you said or what you tweeted and say I wasn’t in my right mind, or I reacted to something that happened in my childhood, or I was an impulsive tweeter, or whatever other foolishness you said, if you said it stand by it and own it. 
If you’re going to be a racist be an honest racist. If you’re going to be a white supremacist, be a proud white suppremacist unlike the cowards of the past who would hide behind sheets so nobody would know their identity while they terrorized Black communities by night. If you’re going to be a trump supporter, be a trump supporter who is out of the closet. You don’t have to lie and you don’t have to hide. To quote Malcolm X, 
“I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he’s wrong. Than one who comes up lie an angle, and is nothing but a devil.