Well this had to make it to the D&D. Surprisingly to myself, I didn't realize watching the 30 for 30 that Rose's comments on black players at Duke would be a topic of conservation. There is a cultural divide in this country that is demostrated by me and by other memembers on this site. I don't think people really understand where Rose is coming from or maybe I don't but I am going to attempt to clarify the deeper meaning behind his comment. I don't think he really has a problem with Duke (or maybe he does being a former bluechip) but from the perspective of lower middle class black americans the problem is with the american media. Blacks don't have a problem with the black kids at Duke as much as they think the media loves Duke for what it represents. Status Quo. But even more than status quo, what it is not, everything else. There is obviously no doubt that the inner city kid has taken over much of college basketball since the mid eighties. That's the reason blacks feel that Duke is celebrated as the program to be. I personally feel that what Duke does represent does need to be celebrated. But I also think that media does give a back handed slap to the rest of big time collegiate basketball and its athletes by its love of Duke, deliberately or not. That's to be debated. I also would be lying if I said I didn't think you see it on this site even with Shane Battier. I think some people, more explicitly than other, express that they wish more black athletes were like shane. its beyond shane's intangibles on the court.
Lets be brutally honest here, I think you'd see a lot more honkeys watching basketball if the league had more Shane Battiers and less Terrance Williamses. A fact that is not lost on David Joel Stern. I think the biggest problem here is the perception in the black community that wealth and status go hand in hand with acting "white". That is what Jalen Rose is saying, he's sipping the haterade because Grant's daddy played for the Cowboys, stayed with Grant's mom, and made sure Grant had opportunities. Jalen's daddy was never around. I get the bitterness and jealously that is there in the mind of an 18 year old kid, but all Jalen had to do was claim that was how he felt at the time and thinks now he as incorrect. He never did that. The implied stereotype here is that black people lose their "blackness" when they achieve some form of financial freedom, as if they had to "sell-out" and become subservient to whites to make it in a white man's world.
Somehow the culture of learning became entangled with racial tensions, and it'll likely be reflected in this thread where both sides with legitimate stances will talk past each other with different points to score. Maybe Duke encapsulates all that inner tension, but I never considered Duke basketball as representing the status quo or the epitome of bone throwing for a few chosen Black Americans Being a dumbass in school is cooler than being a preppy geek, and it just so happens there are preppy geeks who are rich enough to influence things at school as well. The first part is a problem that goes beyond racial perceptions. The latter half of the statement can pass as a symptom of the establishment, where it sets the tone early with kids getting preferential treatment. Just my opinion, but the perception of sell outs and Uncle Toms has to go. There's a bigger problem at hand with our entire culture kicking education to the curb, and nobody else is going to care about that tension blacks have amongst themselves for trying to overachieve in a professional "Caucasian" dominated setting. That excuse works if Jalen hadn't exec. produced the documentary or made some effort to address it early on. That it was a puff piece for his team doesn't make me think he included it to strike any balance.
Yeah, and thats how BSPN will spin things to soften the blow of Jalen's public b****slapping. Jalen knows what he said, and he obviously still feels the same way he did when he was 18 because a.) he went out of his way to say it and b.) he didn't back away from the comment.
Jalen Rose said that he used to call the black Duke players "sellouts" on the court. What do you think about that? Jalen Rose may have said this when he was 18, but he still harbors the same feelings. It's just that he isn't so angry about it as he once was.
chris webber came from a two parent home, and wasn't by any means poor. i really think jalen's larger problem is with Duke and I really don't think you are taking into account the perceived media love for Duke.
kingcheetah made a joke statement in one of the threads, that Rose must have hated the cosby show. there is a lot irony in that thread because I can tell you that there was no hate for the cosby show back in those days.
Somebody else said it already, but Jalen should have been a little more careful when putting it out there, perhaps framing the discussion/context of the comments better. Hell, dude apologized for it before it even went on the air. He knew he effed up.
Yet still didn't back-track from the comment itself. So does 38 year old Jalen think 39 year old Grant Hill is an Uncle Tom?
People don't apologize unless they f*** up. He never backed off his comments. He presented them, laid out there like a big stinky turd, and never even bothered to clean it up. Never followed it up with "I know better now", etc. He only tried to deflect and defend and make excuses for himself. If he isn't apologizing for it, then he isn't sorry for it, and most likely does still feel the same way he did then.
