The Perfect Disguise

            Have you ever asked yourself exactly how the wealth gap in America became so large? How about the fact that white people have obtained and maintained most of it? Do you believe this was strategical or just strokes of good luck and possible circumstance and/or coincidence? Ultimately, it doesn't matter which one you believe. The facts clearly outline that America the corporation was designed to operate under a capitalistic structure that wasn't meant to include everyone on an equal basis. So what does that have to do with college athletics? Thank you so much for posing that question because I thought you would never ask. Let's examine some recent events in closer detail, starting with the defending National Champions of college football, the LSU Tigers. 

             Recently, this program banned notable alum O'Dell Beckham Jr. Now, I know what you're thinking. It's O'Dell...what a clown...that buffoon got what he deserved...he's always attention whoring and this was no different. You're not entirely wrong, but those thoughts have no bearing on this specific case, so hang with me here. Beckham was banned for joining the team in their locker room to celebrate and pass out money...$2000 in the form of hundred dollar bills to individual players. On the surface, you're probably thinking, "Well of course. That's a violation of NCAA rules." Hold up a second. It's time to open some financial books. On top of his $4 million base salary, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron will receive $500K for 12 regular season wins, $200K for winning the SEC title game, a quarter million dollars for playing in the CFP semifinal, $150K for playing in the national championship game, and another half a million for winning the national championship game. Assuming my math is correct, that comes to an additional $1.6 million he received on behalf of the work completed by the unpaid labor force known as the football team. LSU as an institution also received an additional $6 million for their national title victory. 

            So with those figures in mind, they had the audacity to cry foul at the unpaid labor force (the players...you know those folks whose performances made all this happen) receiving a measley $2000 for their services. Man that sounds a lot like a tradition that used to take place in this country legally and helped to build its foundation. About the only things missing are some chains, whips, a cotton field, and a plantation. Or perhaps the cotton field was just replaced with a football field. In any event...not yet convinced that the NCAA is operating under a slave mentality? Let's continue. Remember a fella by the name of Dabo Swinney? Sure you do...the head coach of Clemson football. The one who's won two national titles within the last five years and really put Clemson on the map as a notable football program. While those accomplishments are certainly impressive, here's where the train goes off the tracks. 

        As a result of his accomplishments and Clemson's last national title, he was rewarded with a ten-year contract extension worth a maximum of $93 million. Shortly after being rewarded with this absurdly princely sum, he proceeds to vehemently speak against the paying of college athletes. To put that in perspective, here's a direct quote on his behalf, "But as far as paying players, professionalizing college athletics, that's where you lose me." Let's pump our brakes there, Dabo! Have you forgotten how you got into position to even remotely be considered for such an amount? How many passes did you complete or catch, how many yards did you gain, how many tackles or interceptions did you make? Don't think too hard wit ya selfish ass because the answer is Z-E-R-O! The players did those things. As the coach, you made a significant contribution, but a contribution doesn't completely equate to the actual performance and execution on the field. With that in mind, it's very clear what you think of your unpaid labor force and what they did for you in terms of getting that contract extension. 

        To your other point about not "professionalizing college sports." In 2019, your very own program raked in $77 million, and that amount was good enough for a number 25 ranking of Division I teams and their overall revenue intake. If $77 million and more ain't enough to convince any reasonable individual that college sports became professionalized a long time ago, they're just being naive or possibly protecting their privilege. At this point, it's impossible to accept a head coach of football or any other sport who just got $93 million to do it speaking against paying the labor force (Who got him that contract) as anything other than modern day slave master rhetoric. Here's a third example that doesn't involve as much money but still carries the same mindset. 

        Last Saturday, likely NFL prospect and Alabama player Jaylen Waddle suffered a season-ending injury in the form of a broken ankle while attempting to return a kickoff. When asked about his injury, Alabama head coach Nick Saban offered up small condolences, but here was the most telling part. "You're not supposed to bring a ball out when you're that deep in the end zone." So, lemme get this straight. The proper response to a player who just broke his ankle playing for free in your program and whose athletic future may now be uncertain is to publicly chastise him for having made the wrong play. That a way to be a leader Nicholas. But then again, you were just showing your true colors and what you really think about your unpaid labor force. 

        As I begin to close out with this piece, allow me to revisit that Swinney fella because his arguable the biggest offender of these three coaches. I'll pose this question. How is Dabo Swinney making millions off the unpaid labor of athletes, a good portion of them young Black men, and using that money to create an exceptionally comfortable life for his family and significant generational wealth any different from the way slavery created a ginormous wealth gap that still exists today between Black and white? What did the athletes ultimately get out of this deal that matched their sacrifice? The potential for serious injury, the waking up at 5 A.M. every day, having your whole day planned for you against your will? Don't let the words "Full ride scholarship" roll off your tongue because it doesn't cost anywhere near $77 million to send entire football and basketball teams to college. What did the athletes get for seeing their jersey sold at the bookstore or mall for $80/piece? The answer is in comparison to what the "Masters" got, the athletes got nothing. They got no way take care of their families or themselves. They got praise for their ability to score touchdowns and slam dunk, but that's about it. How much money did the Fab Five get for having their own sneaker? Pretty sure you know the answer at this point. 

        With all this in mind, it's really no surprise that this system exists. Slavery was entirely too economically beneficial to ever be completely abolished (See 13th amendment). It had to be legally remixed. In finding a way to legally remix it, they found the perfect disguise...college athletics and called it entertainment. And to this day, we stand and cheer for this system that oppresses us while being fooled by its deceptive appearance.  

One Hit Wonder

 

    As I write this, it's been perhaps a month since the Los Angeles Clippers had an epic meltdown reminiscent of the Thunder's 2016 blown 3-1 lead against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Also being up 3-1 over the underdog but highly touted Denver Nuggets, the Clippers managed to deny national and global basketball fans the much anticipated joy of seeing the battle of L.A. for the 2020 Western Conference Finals. For all intents and purposes, that matchup would have been considered the championship for most since it was pretty much an accurate forgone conclusion that the winner would have easily defeated the Eastern Conference champion be it the Celtics or Heat. This conclusion came true as the Lakers went on to easily defeat the Heat in six games, providing LeBron his 4th title, Anthony Davis his first, and the Laker franchise their 17th, tying them with longtime rival, Boston. All of that's well and dandy, but let's reflect on what exactly caused the Clippers (a team predicted by numerous media pundits and alleged analytic experts to win the title EARLY in the season...like TWO GAMES IN EARLY) to fall apart like a cheap suit. 

        The first signs of trouble were their first round struggles against 7th-seeded Dallas. Granted, Dallas had a decent team this season with second-year man Luka Doncic leading the way and Kristaps Porzingis finding his game again. That still doesn't excuse the fact that the Clippers were at one point tied at two games a piece and needed six games to put them away. Given their play in that series, they were actually lucky to not be down 2-0. So, how did a team with such lofty expectations fall so far this quickly? A team that traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, THREE FIRST ROUND draft picks (2022, 2024, and 2026), and two first round picks via Miami for 2023 and 2025 in exchange for simply Paul George. That's not to say that Paul George ain't a bad man on the court (despite his Houdini act for much of the Clippers' playoff run). It is to say that if you give up that much for one player, then you're not allowed to come up short (i.e. the Lakers' trade for A.D. resulting in a title). Let's also not forget the acquisition of two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Combine that dual threat with two quality sixth men in veteran Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell and a future Hall of Fame coach in Doc Rivers, and the Clippers should not only be celebrating their first trip to the Conference Finals, but hanging their first Championship banner as well. 

       Instead, they gave us the Clippers of old. The Clippers of 2015 (a star studded cast led by the trifecta of CP3, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan coughing up a 3-1 lead to Houston). The Q Rich and D Miles era (great highlight reel but not getting it done come playoff time). Again, how did this happen? Revisit the above paragraph towards the end where it talks about the last piece of the Clippers' puzzle. No, not the sixth men duo. Read that part about the future "HALL OF FAME" coach. Read about that fella for whom this is his second time in five years with the same franchise coughing up a 3-1 lead in the semifinals. Read about how in 2003, he was coaching the Orlando Magic and coughed up another 3-1 lead, this time to the Detroit Pistons. So, it's at least somewhat safe to say this is a pattern of behavior for Doc. It's a pattern of behavior that was overlooked given his title run with Boston in 2008 against the Lakers. Adding to that resume is the fact the opposing coach was indeed the G.O.A.T. of coaching, Phil Jackson. He also faced one of the greatest to do it on the hardwood in the Black Mamba (Rest in peace). Anytime you can beat those two guys, the faith in your coaching ability will naturally rise. 

        So, there it is. There lies essentially the sole reason for why Doc was heralded so heavily. We evaluated the lightning he caught in a bottle and crowned him. We considered that 2008 title as compensation for the 2003 meltdown. We also allowed that title to cause us to overlook a few flaws that may have been worth a little more attention. Flaws that included but were not limited to Boston's failure to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone the Finals in 2009 with a semifinal loss to eventual ECF champion Orlando. We believed if he was good enough to go 1-1 against Phil Jackson (with the loss being in 7 games), he surely could be the one to finally get the Clippers past their second tier status in a basketball haven such as Los Angeles. Alas, it was not to be. Despite he and the team being crowned so early, they faltered. As a coach, he failed to check guys like Patrick Beverley and Paul George as they ridiculed Dame Lillard for missed free throws. He failed to adequately address the "Lemon Pepper Lou" situation. He failed to develop the necessary cohesion of a team to keep focused in spite of the pandemic. He failed to emphasize to his team the necessity of keeping their foot on the gas when they had numerous double digit leads on Denver in the middle of the third quarter. He failed to make adjustments for Jokic raining treys like they were layups. He failed to deliver on the expected promise of "The Battle of L.A."

        Within all of these failures, the biggest one was how he failed our expectations. He failed our strong-held belief that he could duplicate the championship magic he showed in Boston during his tenure in L.A. He failed to prove he wasn't a one hit wonder like Timex Social Club or Oran Juice Jones. It is because of these failures combined with the franchise sacrifices and expectations that Doc had to go. As much as it pains me to write those words, it was necessary. Fortunately, he has been given another chance at redemption with the Philadelphia 76ers. While I wouldn't bank on a championship run with that squad, let's at least hope he can do enough on the tail end of his coaching career to not allow those blown 3-1 leads to define him more than his successes. 

The Real G.O.A.T. (Carry over from last year, reflects stats prior to 2019-2020 NBA season)

The Real G.O.A.T.

“You out yo gat damn mind…what you mean Bron is better than M.J.?” shouts one of the men debating a hot topic in sports. “Nah, you out yo mind…other than six rings, tell me what makes Mike better than LeBron,” says the other one. Welcome to a typical day in a black barbershop. A place where endless jokes commonly known as roasting or clowning happen consistently, sports is a daily topic, but most of all fellowship and brotherhood are actively practiced. On this particular day, a popular topic about the possibility of LeBron James being better than Michael Jordan was on the table. 

For some folks, this is a no-brainer in favor of the legendary M.J. For others, it’s just as easy leaning towards LeBron. In a lot of cases, it’s a generational thang. For others like myself, it’s certainly worth noting why the “G.O.A.T.” discussion is often time between LeBron and M.J. instead of M.J. and Kobe, but that’s another discussion for another day. However, despite the generational gaps that exist within the context of the debate, there is a great deal of facts to be placed on the table before deciding either way. It will probably be impossible for me to look at all of them, but allow me to try to get as many as I can. 

We’ve got M.J. at 6-0 in the finals and LeBron 3-6. Each with a Rookie of the year award. M.J. with 6 Finals MVP’s and LeBron with 3. M.J. with 5 seasonal MVP’s and LeBron with 4. M.J. with 10 All-NBA first team honors and LeBron with 12. M.J. 9 All defensive first team honors and LeBron with 5. M.J. with 1 defensive player of the year and LeBron with 0. M.J. with 10 scoring titles and LeBron with 1. M.J. averaged 30 points/game while LeBron through his 16^th season has averaged 27 points/game. As you can see, in most of these categories (save for championships and scoring titles), they are fairly even. 

So the question still remains. Who…is…the…G.O.A.T.? And the answer is….Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Not only is that the answer, it’s actually not even close despite some of the statistical similarities. Let’s go over some of the reasons why. The first one is obvious. 6-0 in championships beats 3-6 all day long. Some will say well LeBron got there 9 times and M.J. only six. Mentioning that doesn’t help LeBron’s case because it highlights the fact he won three less titles with three more chances. Here’s a list of guys M.J. prevented from winning championships. Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Gary Payton (his sympathy title with the Heat does NOT count), John Stockton, and Karl Malone just to name a few. For good measure, it can also be speculated that Hakeem Olajuwon wouldn’t have hardware either if M.J. hadn’t taken a break to play baseball. 

He also overcame the Bad Boy Pistons (defeating them in a clean sweep in 91 en route to the Bulls first title) and got past those fellas in New York. So, we’ve got the guys he made it past and the ones he prevented from getting titles. Now LeBron’s turn. “King James” allowed the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant to walk around with hardware on their fingers. Granted, the guys I just named are all future hall of famers. However, they are all deemed by most to be inferior in talent and ability to LeBron. I would actually agree with that assessment. It is that assessment which makes his six final losses too difficult to stomach. I probably could have made an allowance for 2007 when he was 23 and swept by a Tim Duncan led Spurs team. Those other five, he must stand accountable for. I can’t recall M.J. ever losing to competition deemed inferior to him. Some will say LeBron brought Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit to which I respond M.J. never let the Bulls get down 3-1 in the first place. 

While we’re at this, let’s not forget the time LeBron abandoned his “Alpha male” status in favor of teaming up with two all-stars from his same 2003 draft class (Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), one of whom was a former finals MVP. Like M.J. said, “I never would have teamed up with Larry or Magic. I was trying to beat those guys.” It’s not possible to be the King of the mountain by teaming up with those in your way of getting there. Lastly, when we evaluate LeBron’s physical prowess in comparison to M.J., the game should have been easier for LeBron. That ease should have translated into a better finals record than 3-6 and a decision to team up with one of your rivals. So yes, M.J. is the G.O.A.T. plain and simple. Where I can credit LeBron is that he is the better athlete than M.J. Him being the better athlete is where I believe most people are blinded regarding whether or not he is better than M.J. LeBron is arguably the greatest athlete to ever step on the hardwood (Allen Iverson being one of his strongest contenders). With that said, regardless of what generation you’re coming from, if you want to make a case for someone being better than M.J., neither “King James” nor “LBJ” fit that mold.