Watching the NFL playoff games, I heard the announcers discussing the possibility of the first black coach going to the Super Bowl. A black coach has never made it to the Super Bowl. Really? I was surprised. Surely someone had done that, I thought, but no, no one had.
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Race will always matter, whether we want it to or not. Milestones like this will be noticed less and less, though, as we become a more accepting place for people of all colors.
I asked NewsOK users if it is significant that two black coaches — Lovie Smith of the Bears and coach Tony Dungy of the Colts — are going to the Super Bowl. Most answers shocked and saddened me.
When I posted the question, I expected words of encouragement for Smith and Dungy, maybe some comments about how they are positive role models for young people. The responses were much different.
One man wrote: "Yes, the fact that blacks can rise to the position of NFL coach, U.S. Secretary of State or Oklahoma's 4th District congressman exposes people like Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson for the lying, race-hustling poverty pimps they are. The only thing holding back anyone in this country is an unwillingness to hitch-up their hip-hop, prison-bride pants and work as hard in the classroom as they do at playing sports or behaving like anti-social gangstas, even if it means ‘acting white.'”
Someone else wrote: "I'm tired of every thing being black and white. The blacks want to be treated equal but they are always bringing up the ‘race card.' They use their color like an excuse. Big deal that the coaches are black. Ninety percent of NFL teams are black and have been for years. It's time they get over the color of their skin. A black man has a better chance of getting into the NFL than a white man just because of his color, and they want to make a big deal about the coaches being black? My thought on the subject is it's no big deal.”
Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and MyNewsOK is designed to be a place for discussion and debate. As furious as these comments made me, I'm glad they were posted. It's a reminder that prejudice still exists. In their explanations of why race doesn't matter, these two MyNewsOK users show exactly why it does. I don't even know what "prison-bride pants” means.
People who use terms like "race-hustling poverty pimps” and "race card” are the reason milestones like the game Sunday still need to be celebrated.
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