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When my dad joined the Airforce, he had the opportunity not only to defend his country (He joined during the Korean War) but to travel the world. His final tour ended in Weisbaden, Germany at Strategic Air Command or SATCOM. While doing some extra training back in the US, he stopped by a town in the south. He needed to use the men's room, when he approached, he did not know what to do. One bathroom said "Whites" the other "Blacks"! He was neither, a second generation American of Japanese decent, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. So what bathroom would he go to? I remembered this story most. He knew it would have a huge impact on my psyche. He never told me what state or town it was, he did not want me to hold a grudge, he always told us to go through life with a open mind.
So here we are, some 60+ years later. After much change and progress, I feel that we do have more progress to achieve, but we have as a nation truly done a great thing! It surprises me when an issue arises, it's always a racial thing. He said she said! I look back at the story my father told me and I think to myself; "Now that was what racism really is, when you can't even piss, eat, or ride a bus in the same space"!
When Johnny Manziel was banned for 30 minutes, I immediately heard that black players are treated differently than white players. Now, I'm not denying that's not the case, it does happen. But in my humble opinion, the Manziel issue is not based on the color of your skin. We as humans have for the first time in history have access to information in seconds. Yet we tend to not fully recognize the great power we now have. I reaserched the Manziel issue all day. Yes, as I mentioned people of color may at times have a different set of rules to deal with. But this is not true for Manziel! I always tell my children that money is not the root of evil, it's the greed for money that is the true evil.
The Manziel family are a extremely affluent family from old world money. So much so that they could open their own little University and call it the U of M. When Dez Bryant and Reggie Bush became entangled in issues with the NCAA, they did not have the resources to defend themselves. Has anyone seen the movie "Blind Side"? Most not all African American athletes come from a similar situation. Hence trying to afford to pay legal fees are out of the question. With Manziel, although officially they could not find evidence in the issue of autographs for money, I feel they did not want to create a legal issue that could back fire and cost the university a huge legal fee. And the 30 minute ban? An equivalent is Bryant and Bush were sent to detention, Manziel wrote I will not do this again 10 times.
I think athletes should be able to make as much money as they can! What should be done is this money they earn can be used to either create a scholarship for inner city children or the money can go to a charity of their choosing. You see, ultimately, it's not evil to have money, the greed of it is.
So here we are, some 60+ years later. After much change and progress, I feel that we do have more progress to achieve, but we have as a nation truly done a great thing! It surprises me when an issue arises, it's always a racial thing. He said she said! I look back at the story my father told me and I think to myself; "Now that was what racism really is, when you can't even piss, eat, or ride a bus in the same space"!
When Johnny Manziel was banned for 30 minutes, I immediately heard that black players are treated differently than white players. Now, I'm not denying that's not the case, it does happen. But in my humble opinion, the Manziel issue is not based on the color of your skin. We as humans have for the first time in history have access to information in seconds. Yet we tend to not fully recognize the great power we now have. I reaserched the Manziel issue all day. Yes, as I mentioned people of color may at times have a different set of rules to deal with. But this is not true for Manziel! I always tell my children that money is not the root of evil, it's the greed for money that is the true evil.
The Manziel family are a extremely affluent family from old world money. So much so that they could open their own little University and call it the U of M. When Dez Bryant and Reggie Bush became entangled in issues with the NCAA, they did not have the resources to defend themselves. Has anyone seen the movie "Blind Side"? Most not all African American athletes come from a similar situation. Hence trying to afford to pay legal fees are out of the question. With Manziel, although officially they could not find evidence in the issue of autographs for money, I feel they did not want to create a legal issue that could back fire and cost the university a huge legal fee. And the 30 minute ban? An equivalent is Bryant and Bush were sent to detention, Manziel wrote I will not do this again 10 times.
I think athletes should be able to make as much money as they can! What should be done is this money they earn can be used to either create a scholarship for inner city children or the money can go to a charity of their choosing. You see, ultimately, it's not evil to have money, the greed of it is.
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