Sports 'N Stuff: Something To Think About

By Brian Flagg - April 28, 2008
iBerkshires Columnist

Tiger Woods last year at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland.

I know the NFL draft was this weekend and you probably expected me to write about that. I was going to but then a conversation between a friend and I changed my mind. 

We watching a game in the NBA playoffs and someone in the room said, "Hey look, this team sure has a lot of white guys ... you don't see that too often."

The first thought that went through my mind, honestly, was "wow, I never really thought about that." I think that in sports, we all just look at the game and don't really think about how far we have come, at least in the sports world, with integration and seeing people for what they really are ... people. 

That's not to say we are perfect and that there isn't still a contingent of people who are racist or who would rather things stay somewhat segregated. For the most part, though, we have made tremendous strides on the court, on the gridiron, on the baseball field and in the sports world in general.

Since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and since Muhammad Ali changed boxing for black Americans, sports has been more of a friend than a foe where minorities are concerned. When you watch an NBA game these days, my friend was right, it seems as though the majority of players is other than Caucasian.

On a Major League Baseball diamond on any given day, the players have names that suggest they are other than U.S.-born citizens, white or black. With a large number of players being from Cuba, Mexico, China, Japan and even Korea, baseball has moved beyond being America's pastime and gone global in its quest for talent.  

We all know about the Williams sisters who have become the most famous blacks since Arthur Ashe to play tennis and who even dominate Grand Slam events. Tiger Woods has been tearing up golf courses worldwide. He won't just be the best black player ever, he will the best player ever — period.  

With all of this happening in sports, we still have a long way to go. Many people will argue that the minority influx ends at the player level and not enough consideration is given to minority candidates for head coaching, managing and front office or executive positions. Rules like the Rooney Rule are now in place to mandate that minority candidates be given interviews in the NFL for head coaching jobs.

I could write all day long about this but I am more interested in what you have to say. Have we come a long way? Do we need to do more? 

I want you to comment here and also e-mail me at broncofan910@gmail.com and let me know your thoughts. I will collect them all and write my next column based what you, my readers, have to say. I won't be specific with your names or other information but will definitely be interested in your views.