racism, specifically

"Racism, specifically, is the state-santioned or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death."

- Ruth Wilson Gilmore 

"We are not looked at as leaders, rather, just a labor force where the money is generated. Plantation capitalism is still alive today."

- Anthony Prior, Former NFL Player

Let me start of by saying I am not a football fan; I am not an advocate of professional sports at all actually. I cringe just thinking about the $ put into contracts and stadiums and instead I think of all the children who are homeless and hungry, and all the puppies locked away in cages at urban animal shelters, cold and sad and scared; I think of all the other things that $ could go towards. And I have a lot of ridiculous beliefs and convictions about the world and what people should and shouldn't do (like, everyone should own an animal so they can learn to love selflessly, and everyone should be forced to run or bike or exercise everyday. I believe in many other things that many, many other people would whole-heartedly disagree with and call silly, like the fact that pro players are paid too much and that might just counter all the points I go onto make in this posting, but I still can't get over that one….)-- so that's just me, but I digress….

This week's discussions, centered around the historic/recurring failures of US institutions & the government to analyze/criticize/change social structures involving issues centered around race/gender (i.e. the article Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe examination of the black matriarch) got me thinking just how hard it would be for anyone "not rich" or "not white" to rise above these structures have been held in place for so long, in such hateful, violent and even lethal ways.

 Like I said, I do not follow the NFL, but I think the graph above should be noted for it's breakdown of league by race in comparison to the overall population. These guys are rich, worshiped, considered heroes. So how can there be any chance of racism? Or are we paying them enough to turn a blind eye to it as a crowd and keep the mouths' of the players shut? Using Gilmore's definition of racism specially ("group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death") I'd like to explore how racism and the NFL correlate.

I'm sure there are many more, much better examples I could use of Gilmore's definition, but since so much $$ is in on this (to the tune of a $765 million lawsuit) and time (people's entire sundays) I thought it was worth mentioning.

In the wake of former Patriot's player, Junior Seau's 2012 suicide--- who post-mortem was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that directly caused his subsequent death-- the NFL is being sued for their alleged concealment of concussions and brain-traumas associated with play injury. NFL players are at twice the risk of suffering from Lou Gerhags and Parkinson. If the NFL is hiding information that directly linked nuerocognitive problems with athletes' injuries, I don't know how else to define Wilson's use of the operative term "exploitation." 

There is hard data proving these premature deaths too. Considering the NFL, the MLB, and ESPN record and analyze hits, yards, passes, sacks, injuries, dates, temperatures, and consistency of bowl movements on game day, it would be surprise me if  they did not not have adequate data about brain injuries and the health of their athletes/ex-athletes on hand.

The whole situation almost reminds me of Gladiators fighting; hoards of crowds cheering, yelling, going crazy for sport when someone might get hurt if not die. I wonder if this is a bit of a stretch as all NFL players are arguably treated the same regardless of race? Are players only discriminated based on how they play -- better players versus inferior players? 

Google racism and the NFL, articles about Coach Sherman's forced resignation for his racist comments is the first to pop-up.  The institution is touchy about PR issues, but is racism more deep rooted and hidden within the system?  Is this tied to class structure and limited opportunities for minorities? 

I found this interview with former NFL player Anthony Prior who wrote and published a book called, The Slave Side of Sundays. In the interview he talks  about black athletes' lack of control within the NFL and over their careers.  Prior notes that THERE ARE NO BLACK OWNERS IN THE NFL. He asserts that the black athlete is a submissive and obedient servant; forced into a type of "mental slavery."

"Black played in the 60s were united through their oppression and the black athletes of today are divided through their successes."

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"If we’re 70% of the NFL, we generate the money, we’re the oil, we’re the engine behind this industry, because without the black sweat on Sunday afternoon, leagues would crumble. The NFL would crumble, so we need to have more say-so. We need to have our own democracy […] The person that can make the chance is the assembly of black players. " 

* Check out this link to a webpage for the book and an extensive interview: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060309_anthony_prior_nfl_racism

I would love to get your two-cents. If you think this is relevant to any class discussions we have had? Is there racism in the NFL structure? Is it okay to ignore because we pay the players so much $? How does Gilmore's definition relate? anything else you want to add! Thanks --S