Showing posts with label Tommy Lasorda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tommy Lasorda. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
 |
| Hank Aaron |
By Larry Elder, Apr. 11, 2014
Michael Sam appears to be a fine young man. But, no, he
isn’t the first openly gay male U.S. athlete to play in a major sport. And
“brave”? Can we please dispense with the absurd Jackie Robinson comparisons?
Wake me when a black collegiate pro prospect “comes out” as a Republican.
A starting senior on the University of Missouri football
team, Sam looks like a mid-round draft pick in the NFL. He recently “came out”
to his teammates, many of whom said they already knew or suspected. Neither
teammates nor coaches had an issue. Most normal people ask, “Who cares?” or
“Can he play?”
Some, however, liken Sam’s “pioneering status” to that of
Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the modern baseball major
leagues. “Michael Sam has the opportunity to be the Jackie Robinson of the
NFL,” said professor Orin Starn, chairman of Duke University’s cultural
anthropology department. “Michael Sam is a Jackie Robinson Moment For NFL,”
according to the editorial headline in the Boston Globe. And then there’s Fox
Sports analyst Brendon Ayanbadejo who said, “We were there to celebrate his
groundbreaking voyage that in many ways is similar to those of Jackie Robinson
and Rosa Parks.”
Where to begin?
First, Sam isn’t even the first openly gay male athlete to
play in a major American pro sport. That distinction goes to Glenn Burke, who
played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics from 1976-1979.
He might well have played longer and been more successful had he not clashed
with management – not his teammates – over his sexual orientation.
Burke was “out” to teammates, management and sportswriters.
It is not Burke’s fault that both media and management preferred to say
nothing. Dodger management reportedly offered him money to go through a sham
marriage. Burke refused.
Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, whose son died of AIDS in
1991, allegedly helped engineer a trade of Burke to Oakland because of a
friendship between Lasorda’s son and Burke. The trade of the popular, outgoing
player stunned many Dodgers. Team captain Davey Lopes said, “No one cared about
his lifestyle.”
Traded during the 1978 season to the Oakland A’s, Burke
ended up managed by the openly homophobic Billy Martin. The volatile manager,
according to a documentary about Burke, “baited” him with gay slurs.
Frustrated, and never realizing his potential, Burke left baseball in 1980 and
became a drug addict. A former Oakland teammate, Shooty Babitt, said, “They ran
him straight out of the game.” Burke died of AIDS in 1995. He was 42.
Sam will encounter no Billy Martins. He enters an NFL with a
written policy against discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity and
sexual orientation.
Second, let’s discuss Jackie Robinson. Many of his own
teammates signed a petition stating they would not play with him. At least one
petitioner was traded.
Viciously taunted, and sometimes threatened by players, fans
and others, Robinson faced enormous pressure to not only play well, but to do
so while restraining the desire to punch somebody in the face. Had Robinson not
“succeeded,” the path for other black players would have become even more
difficult, about which the former UCLA student was quite aware.
The attention and pressure on Robinson makes Sam’s future
career look like a coronation. Robinson’s was a pre-television, pre-Internet,
Jim Crow America, where sports fans really paid keen attention to only three
sports – boxing, horse racing and America’s pastime, baseball. Most everybody
was watching, many hoping and expecting him to fail. Robinson played Major
League Baseball for 10 years and died early. His death certificate described
the official cause as a heart attack. But it might as well have said pressure
and stress killed him. He was 53.
Yes, Sam will have some challenges. But tell that to Hank
Aaron.
In his autobiography, “I Had A Hammer,” Aaron writes about
when he and others were the first black players to play the South Atlantic
League – a minor league affiliated with the majors – five years after Robinson
entered the major league. Southern newspapers, covering the “Sally League,”
refused to print pictures of the black players. Taxi drivers in places like
Florida refused to pick them up. Players, Aaron said, could be arrested simply
for being on the street at night.
Robin Roberts, the Hall of Fame Philadelphia Phillies
pitcher, broke into the major leagues the year after Robinson. Roberts recalled
a double-header in Philadelphia when Robinson tore the cover off the ball while
playing dazzling defense. The next day, Roberts’ manager, Ben Chapman,
approached Robinson. “Robinson,” he said, “you’re one hell of a ballplayer, but
you’re still a n–ger.” Robinson, according to Roberts, just smiled and walked
by. Chapman was fired not long after. Robinson is in the Hall of Fame.
To forget Burke wastes an opportunity to remind us of how
far we have come. To liken Sam’s challenges – and there will be some – to those
faced by Robinson diminishes the legacy of number 42.
Follow Larry Elder on Twitter
"Like" Larry Elder on Facebook
Monday, March 10, 2014
By Larry Elder
Michael Sam appears to be a fine young man.
But, no, he isn't the first openly gay male U.S. athlete to play in a major
sport. And "brave"? Can we please dispense with the absurd Jackie
Robinson comparisons? Wake me when a black collegiate pro prospect "comes
out" as a Republican.
A starting senior on
the University of Missouri football team, Sam looks like a mid-round
draft pick in the NFL. He recently "came out" to his teammates, many
of whom said they already knew or suspected. Neither teammates nor coaches had
an issue. Most normal people ask, "Who cares?" or "Can he
play?"
Some, however, liken Sam's "pioneering
status" to that of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the
modern baseball major leagues. "Michael Sam has the opportunity to be the
Jackie Robinson of the NFL," said professor Orin Starn, chairman of Duke
University's cultural anthropology department. "Michael Sam is a Jackie
Robinson Moment For NFL," according to the editorial headline in the
Boston Globe. And then there's Fox Sports analyst Brendon Ayanbadejo who said,
"We were there to celebrate his groundbreaking voyage that in many ways is
similar to those of Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks."
Where to begin?
First, Sam isn't even the first openly gay
male athlete to play in a major American pro sport. That distinction goes to
Glenn Burke, who played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics
from 1976-1979. He might well have played longer and been more successful had
he not clashed with management — not his teammates — over his sexual
orientation.
Burke was "out" to teammates,
management and sportswriters. It is not Burke's fault that both media and
management preferred to say nothing. Dodger management reportedly offered him
money to go through a sham marriage. Burke refused.
Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, whose son died
of AIDS in 1991, allegedly helped engineer a trade of Burke to Oakland because
of a friendship between Lasorda's son and Burke. The trade of the popular,
outgoing player stunned many Dodgers. Team captain Davey Lopes said, "No
one cared about his lifestyle."
Traded during the 1978 season to the Oakland
A's, Burke ended up managed by the openly homophobic Billy Martin. The volatile
manager, according to a documentary about Burke, "baited" him with
gay slurs. Frustrated, and never realizing his potential, Burke left baseball
in 1980 and became a drug addict. A former Oakland teammate, Shooty Babitt,
said, "They ran him straight out of the game." Burke died of AIDS in
1995. He was 42.
Sam will encounter no Billy Martins. He
enters an NFL with a written policy against discrimination based on race,
religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Second, let's discuss Jackie Robinson. Many
of his own teammates signed a petition stating they would not play with him. At
least one petitioner was traded.
Viciously taunted, and sometimes threatened
by players, fans and others, Robinson faced enormous pressure to not only play
well, but to do so while restraining the desire to punch somebody in the face.
Had Robinson not "succeeded," the path for other black players would
have become even more difficult, about which the former UCLA student was quite
aware.
The attention and pressure on Robinson makes
Sam's future career look like a coronation. Robinson's was a pre-television,
pre-Internet, Jim Crow America, where sports fans really paid keen attention to
only three sports — boxing, horseracing and America's pastime, baseball. Most
everybody was watching, many hoping and expecting him to fail. Robinson played
Major League Baseball for 10 years and died early. His death certificate
described the official cause as a heart attack. But it might as well have said
pressure and stress killed him. He was 53.
Yes, Sam will have some challenges. But tell
that to Hank Aaron.
In his autobiography, "I Had A Hammer," Aaron
writes about when he and others were the first black players to play the South
Atlantic League — a minor league affiliated with the majors — five years after
Robinson entered the major league. Southern newspapers, covering the
"Sally League," refused to print pictures of the black players. Taxi
drivers in places like Florida refused to pick them up. Players, Aaron said,
could be arrested simply for being on the street at night.
Follow Larry Elder on Twitter
"LIke" Larry Elder on Facebook
|
