(ThyBlackMan.com) I remember when I was a young black boy growing up on Jackson St. back in the 90s, I had very rarely watched any mainstream sports matches on cable TV. And when I did, I hated allowing 3-4 hours of my time being consumed on stuff that really didn’t mean much to me at all.
I spent most of my time playing video games like Mario and Sonic as well playing baseball in the front yard and tackle football around the street with some old homies. And went to “school” to get “educated“.
In that same decade, I was heavily immersed in recreational sports like kickball and tug-of-war and I had picked up several skills while doing that: toughness, hard work, determination, setting goals, perseverance, and being the best that you can be.
The Mainstream Sports Industry Is More Harmful In The Sense Of.
Most young black boys (9 of 10) mentally emasulate themselves by allowing other to define them as nothing more but athletes. I remember last month, a young brotha here in Alabama said “I was born to play RB at The University Of Alabama” and at that moment, I felt so sorry for him because he had been brainwashed to believe that his sole purpose in life is to serve an historically racist instution like The University Of Alabama that does absolutely NOTHING for the black community.
98% of guys that invest in it will never make it to the pros
There’s a very destructive culture that comes with it: alcohol, drugs, womanizing, baby mamas, STDs, financial and sexual irresponsibility.
Some guys kill themselves from either not playing anymore or suffering brain damage from taking multiple hits to the head, this is explored in the film concussion.
The mainstream media, white coaches, and single black mothers constantly tell young boys that “as long as you can throw a football or dribble a basketball“, you never have to learn how to read” and that is a very dangerous strategy that is way too common in our community and it needa to change.
The Mainsteam Sports Industry Can Be Beneficial In The Sense Of.
Playing a crucial part in intellectual development, if used to empower and uplift your community (ex: Jim Brown)
Developing skills to succeed in anything that they do like: toughness, hard work, determination, setting goals, perseverance, and being the best that you can be.
The Conclusion – Our young brothers need to understand that education should ALWAYS be your Plan A, not Plan B.
Staff Writer; Joe Davis
FB Page; http://www.facebook.com/joe.davis.165470