Comments on: Thy Beneficial Yet Harmful Impact of Sports On The Black Community.

By: Eric L. Wattree

Eric L. Wattree — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 23:28:33 +0000

Reality,

I’m in total agreement with you. Black people need to exercise their minds. an entire culture will not fit on a basketball court, and many of them get rich and forget they’re Black anyway.

By: Satchel

Satchel — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:49:30 +0000

@reality_check…. I cannot imagine what our collective state of mind would be if were not for professional sports and it’s heroes going back to the turn of the century. Walter “Major” Taylor and Jack Johnson were world champions and gave us a sense race pride back in the late 1800’s. There are Mayors, a Senator and a Judge that used their sports celebrity status and education to get to their positions. It’s not Sports that traps our young men in chasing the dream of playing pro sports, it’s the parents, coaches and mentors that promote sports over education.

By: reality_check

reality_check — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:09:39 +0000

sports for black men is toxic. I disagree with your commentator friend that sports has moved black people forward because black people as a whole are not benefiting from sports. Not at all.

I discourage black men from playing pursuing professional sports because of the extreme commitments and sacrifices it takes to get to professional sports. Also, the odds are just not in your favor. Like you said, I hate that sports have been used as a great diversion for many black men. They focus on sharpening their athletic ability at the expense of their intellectual abilities. this is not a good strategy for a down-trodden people. We can’t rise as a collective if most of our men are dreaming of chasing a ball down a court or field. This is not realistic.

Sports are meant for recreation, not careers.