Reggie Bush Should Give the Heisman Back

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

Anyone even remotely familiar with the sports world is well aware of reports that former USC star Reggie Bush is at risk of having his Heisman Trophy taken away from him. The return of the Heisman would likely be related to NCAA violations that allegedly took place within the USC program during the time when Bush played for them. Bush didn't speak in detail on the issue when he was asked about it.
"At this point, it's kind of out of my hands," Bush said Wednesday after practice with the New Orleans Saints.
Bush would not confirm or deny whether he spoke with the Heisman Trophy Trust about losing the award. Executive Director Robert Whalen said that no decision has yet been made.

 

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Black Athletes Should Boycott the Heisman Trophy

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

 

When I read about the possibility that Reggie Bush may have his Heisman Trophy taken, I became irritated beyond imagination.  ”Here we go again,” I thought.  “Another self-righteous group of hoity-toity NCAA administrators making value judgments about the character of black male athletes.”
If they can’t defeat them on the field, the game is then to create artificially contrived mechanisms for evaluating the worth of the athlete from a morality standpoint.  The problem for the NCAA, however, is that when it comes to ethics, they have no room to claim the moral high ground.  In fact, you might say they are crooks.

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Danny Granger of Team USA Says Europeans Smell Like Dead Donkeys

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

If I were an old man responsible for managing Team USA's public image, I would be cursing Twitter every day of the week. Apparently, giving young, bold athletes instant access to media was a cruel joke orchestrated by both fate and Mother Nature. At any rate, the latest athlete to embarrass himself with his Twitter account was Danny Granger. Making reference to the fact that deodorant is not as popular in Europe as it is in the United States, Granger said that Europeans smell like "dead donkeys." Here are his exact words:
"i'm dying over here ..how come nobody in europe wears deodorant? guess they didn't get the memo – smellin like dead donkey..no joke"

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Yes, It's Time for the NCAA to be Reformed

Dr. Boyce Watkins - The Institute of Black Public Policy 

I wrote about a new book regarding the NCAA’s alleged exploitation of black athletes, written by University of Georgia Professor Billy Hawkins. In his recently-released book, “The New Plantation,” Hawkins goes out of his way to help us understand that the method by which the NCAA does business is not much different from the mindset of plantation owners of the old south.

The analogies used by Professor Hawkins are thought-provoking and appear to be alarmist at first glance. After all, citizens are commonly comparing nearly every modern-day injustice to slavery in order to make a dramatic point. But in this case, the analogies are appropriate, in large part because slavery is not a dichotomy. Instead, it is actually a continuum, with complete freedom on one end and total servitude on the other. One could even argue that slaves themselves were not completely devoid of freedom, since they could have always chosen to run away, buy their freedom, maim themselves or even commit suicide as a way to escape their condition. The point of this very grim example is not to say that slavery was not entirely horrific; rather, it is to say that something does not have to be entirely horrific to be compared to slavery.

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Terry Bowden’s Great Quote about Racism in College Football

Terry Bowden, former head football coach at Auburn University, had this to say about the NCAA’s lack of black coaches in college football:

“Many presidents won't hire black coaches because they are worried about how alumni and donors will react.”

He also makes this clear and interesting point when it comes to the NCAA’s lack of regard for hiring minority coaches:

“There are 117 colleges participating in Division I-A football and there are only three black head coaches. You don't have to be too smart to know how stupid this looks.

Let me lay it out for you:

 Fifty percent black athletes leads to 25 percent black assistant coaches leads to 3 percent black head coaches.

 Fifty percent white athletes leads to 75 percent white assistant coaches leads to 97 percent white head coaches.”

Wilmer Leon and Boyce Watkins discuss the NCAA Lawsuit

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University and Dr. Wilmer Leon of Howard University speak about the NCAA class action lawsuit.  The NCAA is being sued for illegal use of player images. What do you think?

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Black Women Taking Over: Serena Williams Wins Another Major

Serena Williams routed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 Saturday to win the Australian Open for her 10th Grand Slam title and a return to the No. 1 ranking.

It was total domination for the second-seeded Williams, who moved fluidly on the court and looked at ease in winning back-to-back majors, including the U.S. Open title in September.

"I absolutely, clearly, love playing here," the 27-year-old Williams said. "You guys root for me so much. I don't get that everywhere. So thank you so much."

Williams becomes only the seventh woman with double-digit Grand Slam singles titles. She leads all active players and broke a tie with two greats of the game -- 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Monica Seles and Maureen Connolly -- who each won nine majors.

Justine Henin was the last to win back-to-back major singles titles, at the 2003 U.S. Open and 2004 Australian Open.

Williams' near-perfect performance was in sharp contrast to No. 3 Safina, who was tight from the start. Later apologizing to the crowd for her performance, Safina said Williams was just too good, leaving her feeling like a ballboy.

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African American Males in Michigan Not Graduating

DETROIT (AP) — A national report says Michigan is the worst in the nation when it comes to graduating black male students from high school.

It also says Detroit has the second-lowest rate among big-city public school districts. The report issued by the Schott Foundation for Public Education says Michigan graduated 33% of black males in 2005-06, compared with 74% of white males.

Detroit Public Schools graduated 20 percent of black males and 17% of white males.

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan says the low graduation numbers are a “major concern.” He says Governor Granholm’s small high school initiative will help build greater relevance and relationships with schools and students.

Black College Athletes Being Exploited - Boyce Watkins