In a recent interview, Lakers star Kobe Bryant was asked what he thought about the Miami Heat wearing hoodies during the Martin-Zimmerman tragedy.
Bryant said this: “I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, just because I’m African-American. That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and as a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American, we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, if we’ve progressed as a society, then you don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”
Bryant’s response on the situation created a firestorm of backlash from the media, fans and even an NFL Hall of Famer.
Bryant tweeted to clarify what he thought about the Trayvon Martin case. “Travon Martin was wronged THATS my opinion and thats what I believe the FACTS showed. The system did not work #myopinion #tweetURthoughts”
People are outraged because Bryant wanted facts of the situation before jumping to conclusions? Say it out loud: it sounds moronic.
The case was a mess from the start and people had already begun to form opinions from the first report (I was included in that). This is why the media should not be allowed to report on on-going trials. It skews the perception of the situation.
Initial reports surfaced about him being this sweet and innocent kid using out-dated pictures. As the investigation goes, the media released pictures of him holding a gun, using foul language and sticking the middle finger to the camera. Reports also indicated he was involved in organized fights.
The entire case spiraled out of control because people already had their minds made up. Much like the Casey Anthony trial, the prosecution of the state of Florida dropped the ball again. They went for murder, which means having the predetermined intent to kill. In this case, there was no evidence to show that.
Zimmerman was following Martin claiming he looked “suspicious.” Martin did not like that he was being followed and an altercation broke out. Unfortunately, Martin was killed.
When the Miami Heat took a team picture in their hoodies, this was well before any of the information surfaced. All we knew was that Martin had been killed by Zimmerman and people jumped to conclusions before any shred of evidence. Why? Because Martin was black. That is all Kobe Bryant was saying.
It is still a sensitive subject because Bryant’s comments would not be that big of a deal otherwise.
Bryant’s statement led civil rights activist Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E, to call for a boycott on all of Bryant’s products.
“African-American youth should no longer buy Bryant’s jerseys or shoes and should boycott all products he endorses,” Ali said. “Bryant doesn’t identify with the struggle that our African-American youth face nationally. So why should we continue to support Bryant who has never truly identified with the African American experience?”
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown said Bryant was “confused” about the culture because Bryant grew up in Italy.
Bryant fired back with a tweet, saying, “A ‘global’ African American is an inferior shade to ‘American’ African-Americans?? #hmm. that doesn’t sound very #Mandela or #DrKing sir.”
Brown, age 77, was around the hostile racist culture decades ago when the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacy was still heavily at large. But to say someone doesn’t understand the culture when you have no clue what they have gone through in theirs is ignorant and breeds an air of entitlement that is intolerable.
ESPN First Take host Stephen A. Smith had a fantastic outlook when asked about Bryant’s comments.
“This notion that because you’re black you’re supposed to think a certain way, I don’t understand. We’re not one monolithic group where we all look and think and act alike. That’s ridiculous,” Smith said. “We make up 14 percent of the population of the United States of America. We are not even the dominant minority anymore. That’s the Hispanic population in this country. We have to recognize that we are outnumbered and as a result of that, sometimes the system is unjust, sometimes is unfair. It doesn’t accord us the license to be unfair as well. We have to be just as fair-minded as we are asking other people to be toward us.”
Fair-minded is the key word in all of that. Stop putting race, gender, ethnicity or any other cultural difference above the facts of situations. I am not saying to forget your culture or where you came from because that to me is something that is utterly important. As far as the black community, two of my favorite political activists are ones that Bryant mentioned. Nelson Mandella and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are two of the most admirable people in history.
I love the idea of black history month every February: it should be celebrated. It is important to celebrate it because of the oppression and cultural ignorance the black community had to overcome. Every culture should be celebrated across the board whether you are black, white, hispanic, gay, Jewish, Muslim or anything else you can think of. That is part of what makes people unique.
Embracing your culture is important. Just do not be arrogant and self-entitled about it.