This is what they think of you

Dion-HenryThis is what they think of you

Inspired by Ice Cube and Donald Sterling

By Dedrick D. Henry, Sr.

     With the past comments from Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, the sports’ airwaves are in an up-roar. Fans, sponsors and even other team owners are questioning their peers, and persons of interest for their content of character and what they truly represent or feel about people of color. This is just the average white man’s perspective of a Negro in White AmeriKKKa and nothing really to be shocked about if you asked me. Trust me, many team owners, whether NBA, MLB or the NFL, feel the exact same way. They just have not been publicly exposed.

Black athletes make billions of dollars for team owners from ticket sales, jerseys and NBA memorabilia, but are not allowed near their homes or near their families. Nothing has changed; no white man wants to see his precious Jessica with Tyrone. Just as it was four hundred years ago when we were forced to pick their cot-ton fields, but not allowed in the big house, the same applies today. Nothing has changed. To them we are only worthy of making money for them and entertaining them, but not making money with them and openly sharing all that comes with each. Black athletes are making good money, but compared to the average team owner it is scraps just like the scraps we were once fed.

Not all NBA players have multi-million dollar contracts. Some have had 10-day contracts and need the money to survive, so the silent protest  by the Clipper players was considered  acceptable to some. Had I been a NBA player on the Clipper roster, my full participation, if any to win anything for a racist owner, would be questioned, too. It is hard enough to work with racist people, but to work for a racist has to be that much harder. Donald Sterling is making billions of dollars on the backs and sweat of athletic Black men and for them not to be respected for their athletic abilities instead of the color of their skin is ludicrous.

The days of Black people being jesters, uncle toms, jigga-boos, the entertainment or the help is long gone, but Sterling refuses to come from under his rock. Does he not realize that the Clipper organization will not be a success without Black athletes? An all white NBA team – how many games would they win? Seriously, how many?

With all the money the NBA makes in revenue in this predominately Black sport, minority players should be uplifted and rewarded daily for their rigorous schedule and strenuous traveling. Rather than being bombarded or disregarded as simply “The Help” or the enemy, mind you the help has provided for you and your family since your purchasing of the Clipper organization. But in the end,” It is what it is,” a closet Klansman has been exposed.

I mean I can honestly agree to a certain degree because ain’t no redneck coming in or near my house! But to be honest, I’m kind of glad it happened because you should always know who you invite to your dinner table or who you rub elbows with. For some of you sellout brothers/sisters, this is a prime example of why not to sell out because this is what they think of you. Sometimes the grass needs to mowed just a little bit lower to reveal the snakes in hiding…

 

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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