Do any white guys break the law in the major sports?

[IndianaJones]

Is it not reported? Why? I see Vick, Bonds, Pacman, Tank, Artest. I saw a picture in USA Today of offenders in the NFL that was overwhelmingly african american. I can come to only one conclusion as to the reason for this phenomena in the media.

[Spiffarino]

1. No. Never. Nothing to see here. Move on.

:eyes:

[Buzz Clik]

2. Ok. What's that conclusion?

[IndianaJones]

21. racism. nt.

[genie_weenie]

52. The reason Vick was indicted is racism?

Do you recall any recent college cases?

I suggest you read Pros & Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL http://www.amazon.com/Pros-Cons-Criminals-Who-Play/dp/0446607479

and Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Bounds-Inside-Culture-Violence/dp/B000HWYLDS/ref=pd_sim_b_1_img/002-5672609-6795212

[ThatsMyBarack]

64. Welcome to DU, IndianaJones!

:hi: :patriot:

[freesqueeze]

3. Wasn't Shoeless Joe Jackson White?

Or did you mean in the last eighty years?

[freesqueeze]

4. Pete Rose?

I think he's finally admitted it.

[DrDan]

66. were there any actual laws he broke?

[DrDan]

69. yes - there were laws he broke -

"On April 22, 1990, Rose pleaded guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from selling autographs, memorabilia, and from horse racing winnings. On July 20 Rose was sentenced to five months in the minimum security Prison Camp at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois and fined $50,000. He was released on January 7, 1991 after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and interest."

from Wiki

[Virginia Dare]

5. Didn't some wrestler just murder his family?

BTW, I know where you're going with this, and I agree with your general thesis,but I don't think racism has much to do with the Vick case.

[bottomofthehill]

8. Not a sport

[Virginia Dare]

19. So he wasn't considered an athlete?

What was he taking steroids for? Then exactly what was he, an actor?

[Warren Stupidity]

36. stick with the program, will ya?

[IndianaJones]

44. Perhaps Sylvester Stallone could answer that. nt.

[MNDemNY]

6. Pete Rose, Mark Maguire, The "Black" Sox....all white.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Art Schlister

He was convicted and did time. And that former NFL guy who went to Nebraska, (Peter was his last name). He did time for violent crimes.
GAC

[underpants]

7. OJ?

Look someone had to say it

[Midlodemocrat]

13. My father went to his grave believing he was innocent.

[karlrschneider]

9. The conclusion is pretty obvious.

...

[panader0]

11. Okay, I'm a big San Francisco fan, but Bonds has never been

busted, even once, for any illegal use of anything. It's all been conjecture. And CNN puts him up next to Vick as if he's a big criminal. Bonds has been under intense scrutiny and stills keeps knockin' 'em out of the park.

[IndianaJones]

I am a huge Bonds fan. There is a blatant double standard. nt.

[AllegroRondo]

30. MLB didnt have a steroid policy until 2005

so there was no way to "bust" him for anything.

[Buzz Clik]

39. And to counter the bullshit charge of racism established in the OP...

we offer Giambi, MacGwire, and Lance Armstrong who have been similarly smeared (tho' Giambi admitted his use).

[Toasterlad]

78. Bonds is an Asshole, Not a Criminal.

He might be the most hated man in baseball, besides Roger Clemens. But as far as I know, he's done nothing illegal*.

*well, there WAS that steroid dust-up, but he totally, completely had no idea that the stuff the trainer was giving him was steroids. *wink* *wink*

[softwarevotingtrail]

12. The NFL is overwhelmingly African-American, as is the NBA

70 percent of the NFL is black. 76 percent of the NBA is black. So even if the media was completely unbiased, statistically you'd expect most sports/crime stories to involve African-Americans.

[MNDemNY]

14. What percentage of Pro athletes are black?

I don't know, but I may hazard to guess it is a hight percentage then in the general population.:shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

27. The NBA and NFL have a much higher percentage of African-Americans

than the population at large. I think 75-80% of the NBA is African or African-American, while it is around 12-13% of the population at large. I'm guessing at least 60% of the NFL is African-American as well.

Baseball has a far smaller percentage of African-Americans than it used to have - there are far more players of Hispanic descent than African-American.

[MNDemNY]

31. Thanks, May that account for this "perception"? Maybe.

[NewJeffCT]

38. That is part of it, but not all of it

See my post below. I think the media (mostly white) often has a love-hate relationship with black superstars. They love to build them up, only to tear them down later.

(That said, I think the crime Vick has been indicted for would have gotten publicity no matter his race - it's really shocking)

[Squatch]

15. Floyd Landis (pending), Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso,

[Squatch]

20. Who can forget Zinedine Zidane

(Though I don't know if that can be classified as "breaking the law"...but it did earn him a red card post haste)

[MiniMe]

16. Raphael Palmero?

[rubberducky]

17. Denny McClain paid one hell of a price.

I really don`t think it matters, but he`s white.

[givemebackmycountry]

18. There is a scandal that's about to break that's going to be BIG -

NBA referee under investigation for shaving points.
Referee has ties to "the mob".
No idea if said referee is black or white.

If true - this is going to be pretty serious.

[Kagemusha]

45. Just the math odds would suggest a white ref

Furthermore a white ref's more likely to have ties to "the mob".

I've been waiting to see if something like this would get into the media for literally years now.

[IndianaJones]

57. I am not familiar with this. Is there a link to a story? nt.

[Change has come]

81. Here is a link to Sports Illustrated.

They are reporting this story today.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/07/20/bc.bkn.bettingprobe.ap/index.html

[Mike Nelson]

22. I don'r see racism there

It's a fair question, though.

[blogslut]

23. White athletes break the law all the time

They just don't get arrested as often as their brown counterparts.

[IndianaJones]

24. Or investigated. Or indicted. Or reported in the media. nt.

[RB TexLa]

25. Wasn't there a white ice skater that paid someone to kill her competition?

[Warren Stupidity]

28. America's sweetheart: Tanya Harding!

But she wasn't a guy, or at least I don't think she was a guy. Maybe she is now.

[Warren Stupidity]

26. Only black men are able to break the law and get caught..

White men aren't able to do this. It is known as Felonious Playing While Black.

We aren't sure what hispanics are, so who knows about them? Japanese men break the law with impunity but are never caught. Serbian basketball players look like they probably killed many people during the troubles 'over there', but that doesn't count. Dirk Nowitzki is huge and shouldn't be allowed to have a three point shot, that should be a felony but isn't. Mark Cuban, on the other hand, is just a violation. Women are sneaky, but rarely break the law, and we laugh contemptuously at their major sports, except for the Williams sisters, they are awesome.

I hope this clears this urgent matter up.

Now about the declaration of a dictatorship by the bush administration...

[blogslut]

29. LOL

:rofl:

[Freddie Stubbs]

32. Of course they are overwhelmingly African-American

Take a look at the NFL. An overwhelming majority of players are African-American.

[warpigs]

33. Mark Chumura (he was aquitted)

Tight End for GB Packers

[NewJeffCT]

34. In the NBA and NFL, the stars are predominantly African-American

So, if a star player gets in trouble, they are most likely going to be African-American. And, the crime that Vick is being accused of is rather shocking, to say the least. I think any athlete indicted for that would be getting put through the meat-grinder.

That said, I think there is a love-hate relationship between the mostly white media and these African-American stars. They love to build them up, only to tear them down.

I don't think it's nearly the same for white athletes, but I know that any time a white kid from the US comes along and can play basketball, the white kid will almost invariably be hyped beyond his capabilities - I'm guessing that almost every white kid that played for Duke in the 90s was labeled the "next Larry Bird" at least once while in high school.

[theHandpuppet]

35. Ask Pete Rose

One of the best players to ever take the field in baseball. Banned for life.

[Buzz Clik]

37. This thread gets my vote for "Most Transparent Flame Fest"

Truly, the premise of this thread is asinine.

[ProfessorGAC]

40. What Buzz Said.

GAC

[IndianaJones]

41. I see no flaming. Do you have a link to a primer on what acceptable posts should contain? nt.

[Buzz Clik]

43. You charge the entire media with racism and you're not flaming? holy crapoli!

Shit, man, you didn't bother to do an ounce of homework on this subject and simply tossed out this stink bomb.

[IndianaJones]

46. perhaps another thread essentially calling for Vick to be lynched would be more acceptable. nt.

[Toasterlad]

80. Vick Gets Indicted for Killing Dogs, and Suddenly the Media's Racist?

Sorry, friend, but it's wolf-calling like this that makes people turn a blind eye to REAL racism. The acts of criminals should be condemned whether they're black, white, or fuchsia.

Edited due to misspelling of fuchsia. What a sorry, sorry gay man I am.

[Bill McBlueState]

58. It's not all that outlandish

to claim that the media are racist. Most American institutions are to some extent.

[malaise]

68. The media is racist

through and through.

[Buzz Clik]

82. Yeah. Okay. And the fact that Michael Vick was busted and it was reported is racist?

This whole damned thread is insane.

Yes, racism exists. But organizing dog fights is against the law, and Vick was indicted for it. That's pure fact. It only becomes racist when only one group's indiscretions are reported. That is NOT happening here.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Squatch]

60. BWAHAHAHA

How incredibly appropriate for this thread! :rofl:

[JANdad]

76. ROFLMAO!!!!!

Good one and Spot On!

[napi21]

47. Vick deserves everything he gets! I live in Ga. about 4 minutes

from the Falcon Training Camp. I've gone to watch them practice many times. Vick has been am arrogant ass since he was drafted. What he did with these dog fights is worse than almost any of the other sports stars have ever been accused of or convicted of doing.

I was listening to Scarboro last night and Joe asked if anyone really thought the Falcons owner would suspend Vick after the NFL said they would let him play. One guest said "Vick has several problems, but you have to recognize one thing. Many Falcon supporters love their dogs more than they love the NFL." THAT'S Vicks problem with this mess! I contacted Arthur Blank yesterday and told him I would NOT support the Falcons in anything until he suspended Vick pending the outcome of the court case! I know I'm not the only one who contacted him either!

[leftofthedial]

48. are you aware of some allegation against a white guy that have been covered up?

if not, what is your point?

[IndianaJones]

49. How would I know? The vast majority of what I see reported...

are african americans.

[Buzz Clik]

53. In other words, this is all bullshit. As we suspected.

[IndianaJones]

54. I am sure racism is bullshit to many Americans. Perhaps the majority. nt.

[ProfessorGAC]

59. Give It Up

You've got nothing. You've been caught making unfounded charges. There is no defense. This is not about people defending racism. There are plenty of examples in this thread of high profile, very rich, white athletes who did time.

Your premise has been invalidated.

You're now resorting to insults. That's proof you know you've been caught.
The Professor

[IndianaJones]

63. No insults from me. Denying of institutional racism is common...

there is a wide gulf of opinion between those that are victimized and those that are not affected.

[ProfessorGAC]

67. On This Site, It's An Insult

You cannot come on to a progressive website and insinuate than anybody here is willfully ignorant of racism and not expect it to be insulting. It's preposterous of you to not see that.

You also failed to address the fact that your premise has been invalidated by the list of names on this thread. That's intellectual lazy and pretty darned convenient.
GAC

[IndianaJones]

70. I am sure disagreement abounds. I see several very popular threads...

that essentially call for a man that has not been convicted of a crime to be lynched or worse. Your encompassing use of the progressive label seems to be a little off. Denial of institutional racism in the media and government is something I have found to be impossible to argue with.

[ProfessorGAC]

71. Read The Site Rules, Slick

I didn't decide this is a progressive site. It's the dictate of the people who own this site.

The rules are not for you to follow at our discretion.

And, i read the other thread. It's obviouisly metaphorical, and you should be ashamed that you missed that clear implication.

And, you're still not addressing the fact that the list of names in your own thread invalidate the tenuous premise on which it's built.

You can repeat your mantra over and over, but that just establishes my point that you've got no real argument.
The Professor

[gatorboy]

72. "Forget it, Jake. It's Trolltown."

[ProfessorGAC]

75. You're Right, Gator

Jonesy is just a troublemaker.
GAC

[IndianaJones]

73. the common ground between left and right is denial of racism...

any argument about the widespread existence of racism in the media and government is futile. Simply turning on the television is evidence enough for me. It is interesting to see the zeal with which Democrat and Republican alike will deny the existence of institutional racism in this country. And so it will continue.

[mondo joe]

74. There are no posts in this thread denying the existence of racism. Please try to be

more accurate.

[IndianaJones]

77. metaphorical as well?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1385637&mesg_id=1387920

[gatorboy]

61. Not to you. Race baiting seems to be your cup of tea.

Or Holy Grail.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. The OP Has No Such Information

And, this thread has listed at least a dozen white pro athletes that did time. The concept is apropos of nothing.
GAC

[Joe Fields]

51. Steve Howe

[H2O Man]

55. silly n/t

[UnyieldingHierophant]

56. FREE PAC!

[Yavin4]

62. I Love How Professional African American Athletes Always Cry Racism When They're Caught

Yet, while they're playing, they do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to move the nation forward on racial issues, unlike their predecessors like Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Arthur Ashe, and Ali. I marched right alongside of Arthur Ashe outside of the South African embassy to protest Apartheid back in the 80s.

Today's professional African American athletes have no sense of history, no sense of social justice, and no civility. They're over-grown, immature children with a lot of money and no self-control, and whenever they get caught, the pull out the race card.

My philosophy is this: unless you are actively doing something positive to improve race relations in the U.S., then you have no right whatsoever to play the race card when the hammer falls on your neck.

BTW, I am African American.

[DrDan]

65. nope

[Hawkowl]

79. Pete Rose