Barack and Basketball…Advantage or Disadvantage?
April 16, 2008 by P.Cash
On the latest edition of HBO’s Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel, Barack Obama appeared on the show talking about his love for Basketball, and how it helped him identify with his race in while living in Hawaii, a place without a large African-American community. Last Week, on the Afro-Netizen blog, Chris Rabb talked about Obama putting down the bowling ball, and using Basketball to gain the adoration of white America. Well, I laughed at the time, thinking that maybe he was a little crazy, but maybe he was on to something. With all of the Obama as “Elitist”, “Snob”, “Out of Touch Intellectual” talk going around, maybe this is just what he needs, for people to see him as an ordinary guy, playing basketball on the weekends. But on the flip side, will this play into stereotypes surrounding black men being good at sports but not being able to use their brains? During the last election, During the interview, Gumbel asks Barack if could he take George Bush in Basketball, and while I do believe that it was tongue-in-cheek, does it send the message that the only place that blacks can win is on the court? What do you think? Speak Out!
