An Important Role

In this modern day of sport, the black athlete has a larger presence than ever. With African American’s making up 78% of the NBA, and 67% of the NFL, the sporting world has become one of the more diverse bodies of people in the US. Their representation in the media has also seen an increase, with each leagues most marketable starts like Lebron James and Richard Sherman each being African American. However, the path to sporting stardom is not always that of glamor for some black athletes, with movies like “Hoop Dreams” and “The Blind Side,” showing some of the darker aspects of the ‘rags to riches’ type stories. “Hoop Dreams” shows us the journey’s of William Gates and Arthur Agee and their journey out of Chicago’s rough inner city, as basketball becomes their one-way ticket out of a less-than-ideal situation. Similarly “The Blind Side” shows us the path of current Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, and his path out of Memphis, Tennessee. Both films depict the real life situations that many African Americans deal with in America, and ultimately show that although some succeed, many don’t. That is the real truth behind the significance of sport in African American culture. To some, it means a new life.

            Growing up near the end of the 20^th century and into the 21^st, the issue of race was not as prevalent as it once was. Man, if not most, of my childhood sporting heroes were black, and I didn’t think twice about it. Players like Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Tracy McGrady, Deion Sanders, and Randy Moss were all athletes that I admired, and at no point though that they were fundamentally different from myself. It was not until I grew older that I began to study the history of the black athlete, and learned of the oppression the went through just to get to the position they hold now, and it would be naïve of me to claim that the issue of racism is one hundred percent diminished. It is not, but great progress has been made. Films like “The Blind Side,” “Hoop Dreams,” “Remember the Titans,” and many more show the modern day struggle of not just African American athletes, but of the many of those who don’t make it out of those difficult situations at all. Sports are becoming a huge part of African American identity, and I believe it can only do good things. Sports are becoming blind to the color of skin, and that is the example the rest of the world would benefit to follow.