Sports are often far ahead of society when it comes to
change. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson started at first base for the
Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier which not only ended segregation
in baseball but also led the way for integration of African Americans in all
sports.
Although the decision to have an African American on the
team did not come without some criticism from newspapers and teammates alike, people
soon realized that the color of Robinson’s skin didn’t matter. What mattered is
that Jackie Robinson could play baseball.
Breaking the color barrier in baseball came much sooner than
integration did in society. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education sought to end
segregation in public schools. At the same time, numerous African American
baseball players were playing for teams throughout the MLB. It took seven years
for society to catch up to baseball, which is a testament to sports leading the
way for social change.
The United States has progressed tremendously regarding
civil rights since the time of Jackie Robinson. With that being said, there are
still many people who hold biases and contempt for different races. One of
those people is Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
Sterling made headlines when a leaked phone call between him
and his girlfriend V. Stiviano, was given TMZ. Sterling was upset that Stiviano
posted a picture on Instagram with Magic Johnson saying, “It bothers me a lot
that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people.” He went
on the say, that he does not want her to “bring them [black people] to my games”
It’s astounding that anyone could say such prejudicial words,
let alone the owner of an NBA team.
There are only two players on the clippers roster who aren’t African American, and Coach Doc Rivers is also black. How do you think Rivers and the players feel knowing their checks are coming from someone who views them as inferior?
78 percent of NBA players are African American. They are the
reason that owners are making millions of dollars, and they are the reason that
the NBA is as profitable as ever. The least Sterling can do is show a bit of
respect for his employees.
Donald Sterling is a proven racist, and the phone call is
not his first slip up. He was involved in a lawsuit that settled for 2.7
million dollars, in which he allegedly refused to allow Hispanics or Blacks to rent
apartments that he owned. After that, Laker legend and former Clippers general
manager, Elgin Baylor, went to court with a lawsuit stating that he was
wrongfully terminated because of racial discrimination.
Mr. Sterling should be forced to sell his team. There should
be no tolerance for people who speak poorly of other races and discriminate.
Sports are a platform that is usually years ahead of society regarding social
change, but in this case, sports took a giant step backward.
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