ESPN'S Chris Low interviews Ridley

I dunno about you guys, but I like seeing leadership awards go to linemen.

 

Possibly, but do you agree that when the word articulate is used to describe an athlete, it's almost always talking about a black one? For instance, whenever you hear media types talk about Curtis Granderson, including a spring training game I watched the other day, they praise him for being well-spoken and articulate. They also do the same thing with Braves rookie Jason Heyward, and always make sure to point out that his parents are educators (just like Granderson's). I have never heard anyone say John Smoltz, or Tom Glavine, or Chipper Jones was articulate, though all three have been proven to be very good interviewees during their careers.

Whether it's intentional or not, it's all too prevalent in the media.

What? However the hell you derived that from original reply is beyond me. I don't find anything inherently racist about who is or isn't well-spoken at LSU, what I did find inherently racist, were the phrases used in this thread. Ones like (paraphrasing) "he actually sounds intelligent, go figure" or "wow, surprisingly, he can formulate logical thoughts", as if these things shouldn't be expected of athletes, particularly black ones.

If I'm reading too much into it, so be it, but it can't be denied that "surprisingly articulate" is a backhanded compliment, on the level of saying a woman is surprisingly a good driver, or a white defensive end has a "good motor" or that an unimpressive QB is a great "game manager"....

While it's true that a lot of athletes, black and white, do not speak well in interviews, (Tim Tebow being one), we don't have to condescendingly pat them on the back whenever they actually do . If Ridley is a well-spoken guy, say that...no need to throw a "go figure" or "surprisingly" in there, as it implies that your initial notion was to think otherwise.

And whether it's against black athletes, or just athletes in general, that line of thinking is prejudiced.

Not all athletes are dumb. Go figure.

/not a black guy, or a "white guy who pretends he's black" (since that's not racist, or anything, Charlie) just a pasty-white Mick who has been noticing this unfortunate distinction since the days of "the articulate" Tony Gwynn.

 

Get a life buddy. And while you're at it get the chip off your shoulder like Charlie indicated. Anyone who can get in front of the camera and expresses his/her point of view in an intelligent manner impresses me, especially if it is a young person. I would be all over the place trying to not look stupid. Some people want to play the race card any time it is remotely available. Have you never seen the way some black athletes make fun of the not-so-athletic white athlete? One could either take that as either racist or funny. If you have a choice and it's not in your face racist, laugh at it. Here are quotes I found about some of the Braves players you referred to:

"When [director of media relations] Brad [Hainje] told me they wanted me to do the speech, I thought they wanted the smartest and most articulate player to do it. But when I found out Smoltzie did it last year, that blew that out of the water."
--Tom Glavine, joking about John Smoltz during a Luncheon. [View More]

"Glavine has been appreciated now by more than one generation of reporters. He is as accessible, as articulate, as thoughtful in defeat as he is in victory. He may not be as humorous in defeat as he is in victory, but all the other qualities are still present."

"Chipper sounds smart enough to one day work in the front office. He seems to know what's going on and can articulate it in an intelligent way.
I'm honestly not sure why the Braves can't compete monetarily with the New York teams, but that's just one man's opinion I suppose. I do find it interesting that he didn't suggest that there needs to be a salary cap as a solution to the problem New York presents. No player would be caught dead suggesting that."


Do you need anymore examples? These were easy to find. And if you question how honest I am with these posts all you need to do is copy a section of any of these and google.



By the way, you stated "not all athletes are dumb". I'd like to add to that by saying not all athletes are black. I have the feeling that to your thinking they are.

 

We should ban "articulate", "motor", "smart", "intelligent", "student of the game" - these are all prejudicial because, by highlighting these qualities in one player, you are implying the others like him do not possess these qualities.

Wait - that's stupid....

 

I was talking more about in-game announcers, but congratulations on mastering google. I stand corrected, there are like 4-5 results for "Chipper Jones articulate"...Now google "Curtis Granderson articulate" and see how long it takes you to get to the end, I gave up after page 10 (granted many are the same quote from Jim Leyland, re-used by the AP).

As for your last point, that's quite a leap based on the points I've made, and a pretty retarded statement in general. One would have to never watch sports to think this. Quite obviously, this is not the case.

Either way, this topic has run its course.

If you don't think it's a backhanded compliment to say "wow I'm surprised he's not stupid" then that's on you....I think it is, and I wasn't the first, or only, one in this thread to think so.

 

Personally, I can't jump at all...I hate to admit it...I want to dunk one day !!!:hihi:.


I can swim real well though !! Thank heavens that I'm mostly white...(I guess)
I'm mixed...AND...mixed up at the same time.

I wish I was articulate. I do read the dictionary though. Maybe one day?

 

I was only taking what you said and (about some Braves) and wanted to see if it was true. It wasn't. And when you stated that not all athletes are dumb was a dumb statement to make because Glavin, Jones, etc are athletes. To state that ALL athletes aren't dumb after mentioning their names, I had to think, because they're white, that you either don't consider whites as capable of being athletes or you're talking out of both sides of your face.
And I believe parents of a handicapped child would take offense to your throwing around "retarded" to criticize things that aren't to your liking.
And I agree, this thread has run its course. Lets stay positive, we both love our Tigers and would like nothing more than to see our young men and women do well in whatever they're involved in.

 

It's always nice when people put words in your mouth and assume that they know what you are talking about. It's one of my favorite qualities in people.

On the Ridley interview, I like how he represents :lsup:. Find racism in that.