Jesse Jackson's group meets with Braves over lack of blacks

[frostwyrm]

This is just noise-making for people who have nothing better to do. As I recall, Hank Aaron gave an interview (paraphrasing) on Jackie Robinson Day where he stated that it's much easier for inner city kids to pick up a basketball or football and head to the court or field and it's popular. Baseball is dying because the kids can't afford what they need to play and the scouts are afraid in some cases to go into the inner cities and watch kids play. Additionally, the ball fields in the inner cities don't exist anywhere close to the levels they do in suburban and rural communities.

 

Jesse Jackson and his cronies must have something better to do than hold a meeting with the Braves because they don't have black players.

 

I'm planning on holding a meeting with the Hawks next week to figure out where all their white players went. Gone are the days of Jon Koncak and company.

 

:roll:

 

If poverty is the problem for black kids in the US then why do dirt poor latin kids in Central and South American barrios keep finding a way to play baseball? I think they just like it more.

[sunnydoo]

Andruw Jones is an Indian from Curacao if i remember correctly. His father was supposed to have been better than him but never got a chance b/c no one used to scout the Islands.

 

Renteria is from Colombia. Soriano from the DR. Dont know the heritage on either one. Possible that either could have African roots or may just be dark Indians.

[soccer10k]

I just laughed when, on Jackie Robinson Day this year, that they had interviews with some black players who made it sound like it was a huge tragedy that the number of blacks in baseball is decreasing and that it's imperative that more blacks get play baseball. I mean, it's not like they are getting kept out of the game. The kids are simply choosing to play other sports. It's not that big of a deal.

 

Oh yeah, and Jesse Jackson is a moran.

[sweetpeteman]

Now, we all know that Schuerholz is just sitting in his offices rubbing his hands together saying, "I know, I'll get rid of the blacks!" and laughing like an evil genious.

[Rob]

wasnt this after some kids were kicked out of school for a fight at a HS football game? iirc there was a video of the victims starting a large brawl.

 

The victims weren't really starting the brawl, but yeah, you're thinking of the right thing. People were up in the bleachers fighting and tumbling down onto the people in the rows lower than them... considering how many people were fighting, it was really quite dangerous.

 

The funny part was that Jackson was upset about them getting suspended and expelled from school... not about some criminal charges. He was organizing sit-ins and all sorts of crap about how the videotape was racist or some asinine thing until the city council had him cuffed, thrown in the back of a paddy wagon, and turned lose outside the city with a deal that said they'd drop the charges if he'd stay the hell away from Decatur. It was the first time I was truly proud of the town... its Midwestern values had kicked Jesse Jackson in the crotch.

 

well Rob, I know plenty of people who wouldn't mind being banned from Decatur...that smell from the plant is just too much

 

Bah, I can't even smell it anymore. I don't even live there, but I guess I was so used to the smell that even return trips don't get to me. Although for what it's worth, the smell is getting legitimately better. ADM is turning into a real powerhouse company, and they're doing a heckuva lot more about the smell than they used to. I worked for them all summer and only noticed a bit of a stench at a few locations, but nothing like the nauseating "hold your breath on the way through" stench of five or ten years ago.

 

That is probably the most distinctive memory of going to visit my grandparents in Decatur. Of course, my dad used to say it was my grandmother...

 

It was.

[Jehrico]

This is just noise-making for people who have nothing better to do. As I recall, Hank Aaron gave an interview (paraphrasing) on Jackie Robinson Day where he stated that it's much easier for inner city kids to pick up a basketball or football and head to the court or field and it's popular. Baseball is dying because the kids can't afford what they need to play and the scouts are afraid in some cases to go into the inner cities and watch kids play. Additionally, the ball fields in the inner cities don't exist anywhere close to the levels they do in suburban and rural communities.

 

Jesse Jackson and his cronies must have something better to do than hold a meeting with the Braves because they don't have black players.

 

I'm planning on holding a meeting with the Hawks next week to figure out where all their white players went. Gone are the days of Jon Koncak and company.

 

:roll:

 

If poverty is the problem for black kids in the US then why do dirt poor latin kids in Central and South American barrios keep finding a way to play baseball? I think they just like it more.

There's a few other factors there. First, you don't find nearly as many 6'6" and above latinos, so you're probably not going to have the same talent pool that realistically could make the NBA. Second, baseball players are idolized way more there than other sports. Third, it's warm year round down there, so baseball is more of a year round sport there, where it's seasonal here. Fourth, a large percentage of the African-American population resides in large cities, where it's much more difficult to quickly pick up a back yard game due to space and what not. Basketball courts are far more numerous in the cities than baseball fields. Latinos choose to play with sticks and improvised gloves, Americans who can't afford the gear just pick up a basketball. It's a result of a combination of many factors. The poverty is certainly a factor, but it's only one of many.

[RynoRules]

Dear G-d what next?

 

In terms of major sports, the only eye-brow raiser that I can recall is the lack of black head coachs in major college football, particulalry in the South. (Advance apologies to OMC and Vance, BTW) Not that I want Jesse Jackson to champion that cause either.

[TruffleShuffle]

how'd the astros get off the hook for this?

[The Voice of Reason]

Maybe he's just trying to extort the beer sale business at Turner Field for his sons. The same type of "strategy" worked on the North side of Chicago with Anheuser Busch.

[RynoRules]

how'd the astros get off the hook for this?

 

Jesse has asthma and doesn't want to breath the air there?

[Derwood]

I'm going to name my next band Lack of Blacks. It just rolls off the tongue

[Soul]

Maybe Jesse should meet with American blacks over their lack of participation in baseball.

 

But no, we wouldn't want to attack the actual source of a problem when we can engage in high profile grandstanding instead.

[moorecg]

Here is what I just don't get: What, exactly, is the group suggesting? The Braves are discriminating against all American-born people of African heritage, but people of African hertiage who were born outside of the US are just fine? If the Braves really just hated black people, I think it would extend to Edgar Renteria and Rafael Soriano regardless of where they were born.

 

This is what kills me. These groups come in and say certain cities are racist...and then just don't even count 2/3 of the people because of where they were born...I personally dont' see one bit of difference between Soriano and Lee but to Jesse Jackson its something to start a rally about.

[Guest]

how'd the astros get off the hook for this?

 

My friends and I call the A's the "White A's" for their predominantly white team...granted they now have Milton Bradley and last season had Frank Thomas too. But there were a few seasons where Ricardo Rincon was I think their only non-white player. Heh.

[KenCub]

I liked the part where the PUSH guy says "Atlanta has many talented players", as if the Braves would have exclusive provincial rights to them. If Atlanta's available amateur players are good enough, 29 other teams would be scouting/drafting/signing them, too. So it's not as simple as having a Braves scout check out random youth leagues for talent.

 

If PUSH wanted to make change, not just make noise, they'd pump some money into youth leagues, sponsor high school programs, renovate or create playable fields in the inner cities, and things like that.

But that costs a lot more money than demanding a meeting does, so that tells me where their priorities are.

[VanceJergins]

Here is what I just don't get: What, exactly, is the group suggesting? The Braves are discriminating against all American-born people of African heritage, but people of African hertiage who were born outside of the US are just fine? If the Braves really just hated black people, I think it would extend to Edgar Renteria and Rafael Soriano regardless of where they were born.

 

This is what kills me. These groups come in and say certain cities are racist...and then just don't even count 2/3 of the people because of where they were born...I personally dont' see one bit of difference between Soriano and Lee but to Jesse Jackson its something to start a rally about.

 

Yeah, I remember hearing Joe Morgan say the same crap a few years ago about there not being enough black players and then said that players like Sammy Sosa don't count. Obviously racism is the problem, but hillbilly racists do a background check before they hate someone.

[Soul]

Yeah the whole "he isn't black, he was born in the Dominican" thing makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

 

And those stats they show that say only 6% black in the major leagues. I assume that's really AMERICAN blacks. Sosa and Soriano don't count, I guess. They're really hispanic, LOL.

 

How do we let people get away with such disingenuous drivel? I guess the fear of being called racist has become so strong that most people will simply agree with whatever anyone says regardless of whether it's really factual or not.

[Jehrico]

Here is what I just don't get: What, exactly, is the group suggesting? The Braves are discriminating against all American-born people of African heritage, but people of African hertiage who were born outside of the US are just fine? If the Braves really just hated black people, I think it would extend to Edgar Renteria and Rafael Soriano regardless of where they were born.

 

This is what kills me. These groups come in and say certain cities are racist...and then just don't even count 2/3 of the people because of where they were born...I personally dont' see one bit of difference between Soriano and Lee but to Jesse Jackson its something to start a rally about.

Don't forget about Andrew Jones in addition to Renteria and Soriano.

 

I would say that Jessie Jackson is the pot that calls the kettle black, but I don't want him beating down my door demanding an apology.

[Jehrico]

Yeah the whole "he isn't black, he was born in the Dominican" thing makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

 

And those stats they show that say only 6% black in the major leagues. I assume that's really AMERICAN blacks. Sosa and Soriano don't count, I guess. They're really hispanic, LOL.

 

How do we let people get away with such disingenuous drivel? I guess the fear of being called racist has become so strong that most people will simply agree with whatever anyone says regardless of whether it's really factual or not.

Don't you almost get the feeling that they actually endorse racism, as long as it isn't towards Americans of African descent? I don't see them doing any complaining about teams that have no asians or latinos (are there any that don't have any latinos?).

[Derwood]

um, Sosa, Soriano, etc. DON'T count if they mean African-Americans. Just because Sosa and company are dark skinned Latinos doesn't make them black

[jersey cubs fan]

um, Sosa, Soriano, etc. DON'T count if they mean African-Americans. Just because Sosa and company are dark skinned Latinos doesn't make them black

 

Actually, it does make them black. It just doesn't make them african-americans.

 

This is one of the most nonsensical distinctions that I don't get. If a white guy from Germany was playing in the US, he's still a white guy, just like a white guy from Australia or one from England. White athletes from any country get lumped into the category or white athlete, but black athletes are categorized differently. It's stupid.

[wekse]

but they ARE different....i hear they have an extra muscle in their legs that makes them run faster and jump higher!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and for those who can't figure it out, that was sarcasm....sad that i even have to put a disclaimer on the post.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

and Jimmy the Greek makes an appearance!

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

but they ARE different....i hear they have an extra muscle in their legs that makes them run faster and jump higher!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and for those who can't figure it out, that was sarcasm....sad that i even have to put a disclaimer on the post.

 

Dont sweat it Wekse. Its easier to be called a sexist, biggoted, homophobe, by someone than having them sit down with you and actually hold a conversation. That dosent make headlines, which is all you need to know about this.

[Derwood]

um, Sosa, Soriano, etc. DON'T count if they mean African-Americans. Just because Sosa and company are dark skinned Latinos doesn't make them black

 

Actually, it does make them black. It just doesn't make them african-americans.

 

This is one of the most nonsensical distinctions that I don't get. If a white guy from Germany was playing in the US, he's still a white guy, just like a white guy from Australia or one from England. White athletes from any country get lumped into the category or white athlete, but black athletes are categorized differently. It's stupid.

 

if Soriano is black, so is Ozzie Guillen