Revisiting Racism in Sport

A few posts ago, I reported on one of the newest and most colorful invention of popular culture-the Lingerie Football League. For some, it is one-step above (or below) women's mud wrestling; for others, an affront to feminine sensibility; for still others, it represents liberation, equality and opportunity. Regardless of which of the above you endorse, perhaps it is more important that the LFL has stimulated discussion, and has offered us another opportunity to address the issues of gender bias, sex and the media, as well as the role of organized sport as a carrier of culture.

And just when you thought it was safe to return to your senses, along comes the All-American Basketball Alliance, the brainchild of promoter Don "Moose" Lewis who wants to create an 'all-white basketball league. Only those who are born in the United States to white parents need apply-and oh yes, please keep the tattoos to a minimum!

Sociologist Emile Durkheim argued that much could be learned about societies by studying crime, which he believed to be 'normal.' He suggested that crime provides rituals for solidarity (court trials, executions and crime/cop/court television shows), boundaries through which we define 'non-criminal' behavior and an impetus for self-awareness and social change. Additionally, crime, in a capitalist society, is a lucrative business-for the criminals, the attorneys and the ever-increasing number of privatized prisons.

I wonder if the All-American Basketball Alliance (whether or not it ever gets off the ground), rather than being viewed as racist revisionism (which it seems to be), can be instead viewed as a lens through which we can re-visit and perhaps deconstruct our historic relationship with xenophobia and racism. Perhaps the AABA, like the LFL is better viewed as an opportunity to continue and deepen the dialogue around the seeming purpose of racism in society, which along with all of the other 'isms' will likely exist as long as people differ from one another in age, color, language, intelligence and religion. Maybe Don "Moose" Lewis is really providing a public service by creating an arena for discourse, and we should not fall into the trap of shooting the messanger.

In a televised interview, basketball Hall of Famer "Sir" Charles Barkley, called the proposed AABA "blatant racism." Don Lewis argued that his vision had little to do with racism, and instead was an attempt to elevate and dignify the game. Maybe what Lewis is actually doing is elevating and re-dignifying the conversation around racism, and simply using popular sport as a vehicle.