I received my Master’s degree from Auburn University. When I was there, probably the best athlete in the history of athletes was competing on the football and baseball fields: Bo Jackson. There were others there as well: Charles Barkley, Chuck Person. Some years later, another great athlete took Auburn to a national championship: Cam Newton. Maybe Cam isn't a better athlete than Bo, but he is close. He is good…very good.
I was a Cam guy. Loved him when he played for Auburn. But when he got to the pros and started all of his “all about me” stuff, I started to wince. I really don’t like it when athletes act as if it is all about them…“Look at me” dances and all of that. I have always thought that if I were an NFL coach the first thing I would tell my players is that nothing in this game is all about you. If you score a touchdown, it is because you had ten other guys doing their part, including the rest of the team, the practice squad, the coaches, the support staff…even the water boy. If they don’t do their part you don’t score. If you sack the quarterback, it isn’t because you did it all by yourself. The rest of the defense had a hand in it. If you happen to do something, score a touchdown, sack the quarterback, tackle the running back behind the line, catch a pass…run back and thank the guys who made it possible. Don’t let me catch you acting like it is all about you or I am going to assume that you are not a team player and you can sit on the bench until you change your attitude. And if you can’t change your attitude, then you can change your team.
But, I’m not an NFL coach.
You see, I look at guys like Johnny Football and I have to say, I don’t like him. That’s a bit strong, because I really don’t know him. But I don’t like how he acts.
I remember how much I used to like Carmelo Anthony when he was playing basketball in college. Then he got to the NBA and got an attitude. I don’t like many NBA players because of their attitudes. I stopped watching professional basketball because of it. I didn’t like Jimmy Connors because of his attitude on the tennis court. Baseball Carlos Perez type antics don’t sit well with me. Even players on my personal favorite teams get a big thumbs down from me when they act like it’s all about them. I don’t mind them showing emotion with their teammates after a good play, that’s a great part of the game and why I prefer watching high school and college sports more than professional sports. They don't tolerate attitudes down there.
I guess it is just the plague of our culture. We are becoming so self-centered…so “all about me”…and I can’t stand it when I see it on the field. Maybe I’m supposed to go along with it all…but I can’t.
But...it has nothing to do with race.
So, when Cam now says that people don’t like him because he is black, it is a poor time to drop the race card. There are times when it is proper. We still have some racial problems in this nation…on all sides of the color lines, and when it is appropriate, it should be discussed out in the open.
But this isn’t one of them. In fact, when you drop the card at the wrong time, it just makes it less meaningful when it is the right time. It’s like the old story of the boy who cried wolf. After a while, no body cares anymore. And when the cry is real, nobody listens. That’s a shame.
How often has the race card been played by Obama supporters? Hundreds of times, if not thousands. But, guess what? I don’t oppose him because of his skin, I oppose him because of his worldview and his policies and his actions. I was pulling for Ben Carson in the early part of the cycle and would have been ecstatic if he had become president. I am a complete fan of Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell. I was at the White House when Clarence Thomas was sworn in, watching with tears in my eyes because of what he had to go through and how much I had been pulling for him through a horrific gauntlet. They happen to have the same skin tone as Obama.
It isn’t the race that makes for my opposition.
To say that it is, is crying wolf when there is no wolf.
So, come on, Cam. Let’ s use the card wisely.
Truth is, I really do like you. I actually like it when you smile and have fun playing the game. That was what endeared me and a lot of folks to Carmelo. And if you would keep the smile and drop the self-centered stuff, I would be your biggest fan again. And guess what, it wouldn’t be because you changed skin tone. Because it isn’t about skin tone.
It’s just the wrong time to be playing the race card.
“…true agape love does not brag or boast or parade itself or display itself haughtily, it is not puffed up or arrogant or conceited or filled with pride or inflates oneself, it does not act unbecoming, it does not seek its own, not selfish, nor self-centered…” 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV, NAS, NKJV, ESV, AMP, AMPC, Vines)
Comments