I have started and stopped this piece an unknown number of times.  The chief reason, my perception was there was no response required.  To be honest I'm still unsure if a comment is actually needed but here it goes anyway.  Before beginning I must acknowledge I have no credentials as a race relations expert.  I am the polar opposite of one individual in the sports community.  This person would have you believe he has all the answers regarding race and it's relationship to sports.  Although we don't often like to discuss it we all can acknowledge race and race perceptions remain a part of American society.  My argument with Buzz Bissinger is it does not exist to the extent he would have us believe.  The key problem is too little time and space to devote to an important piece of the American fabric, race   

 

Buzz Bissinger author of Friday Night Lights and several other books took an opportunity to write an article titled NBA All-Star Game: White Men Can't Root.  Mr. Bissinger took the game to task claiming younger white males no longer follow the NBA.  The key reason according to his article there are too many players who don't look like them!  The problem for me (and maybe others) Bissinger uses skewed methods for formulating his conclusions.  Here's an example, "based on various statistics, the percentage of African-American players has remained relatively constant over the past decade, fluctuating between 72 and 75 percent.  The number of foreign-born players has increased exponentially to about 18 percent.  The number of white American players, meanwhile, has decreased from 24.3 percent in the 1980-81 season to roughly 10 percent now."  I'm not arguing with the numbers he claims I'm just curious as to the basis for his conclusions since the percentage of black players has basically remained the same.  The self-appointed race relations expert mentioned above has concluded tattoos are part of the problem.  This writer has even formulated a plan to "save" the NBA from itself, one of his proposals is a monetary bonus to any player who refrains from gracing his body with tats.  I'm still trying to figure out how tats inhibit one's ability to play basketball at a high skill level!  

 

If we had no NBA knowledge and saw a photo of Kirk Hinrich of the Hawks and Pau Gasol of the Lakers we could conclude easily both men are white.  Once their names were revealed we might conclude Gasol might not be an American based on his name.  That might not be the case because native born American's sometimes have difficult names too.  We can agree with certainty the Magic-Bird rivalry fueled increased NBA viewership and attendance in '80s.  Shortly afterwards Michael Jordan arrived on the scene, he was to take the Bulls on a successful run over the next several years.  Many pseudo fans quite watching and attending NBA games after Johnson then Bird retired.  The culmination was the retirement of Michael (Air) Jordan.  I've held conversations with several black folks who admitted to me they quit watching NBA basketball when Jordan retired.  Could it be the retirement of the aforementioned superstars rather than "he doesn't look like me" factor in slipping viewership and attendance?  We can use Bissinger's own statement, remember what he said "the percentage of of African-American players has remained relatively constant over the the past decade."  Perhaps expansion and other factors have been key contributors to a drop-off, we really have no method of measurement other than opinion.   

 

Almost everything in this nation is cyclical including the NBA.  Prior to the arrival of Johnson and Bird the NBA experience several serious problems, drugs, labor issues and other matters had caused the league to suffer in the eyes of the public.  How bad was the leagues image, the 1980 NBA Championship game between Magic Johnson's Lakers and Dr. J's Sixers was tape-delayed to a significant portion of the country.  I can remember waiting till 10:30 p.m. to watch the game, could you imagine a similar scenario occurring in 2011?  CBS which held the NBA rights then probably concluded there was limited interest in even a championship game.  In any event at some point in the early to mid '80s the Johnson/Bird matchup plus the later arrival of Michael Jordan the NBA exploded in viewership and attendance.  Today we can safely conclude ABC/ESPN and TNT would not expend the billions for a sport if nobody is watching!  To refresh your memory the latest figures we looked at last week covered six-year contracts which ended in 2008, Turner Network paid $2.2 billion and ABC/ESPN paid $2.4 billion to the NBA.  In addition Fox Sports provides regional coverage for a significant number of franchises throughout the league.  What I know is this, watching the playoffs from my favorite chair I see a great number of white guys in all the arenas throughout the country.  These same white guys appear excited and enthusiastic regarding their teams.  Must we really take stock in Bissinger's column or is it yet another attempt to sensationalize a story that really is no story?

 

 

Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. Vince Lombardi