‘March Madness’ raises student-athlete issues
By J. Jioni Palmer
Every year around this time, millions of Americans catch a
disease called "March Madness." This sickness brings together
people of all colors, shapes and sizes to rally behind their
favorite college basketball teams and players. With roughly 75
percent of the starting players in this year’s NCAA tournament
being of African descent, it is important to discuss their role in
the university in the context of African students in general.
The African student-athlete brings with her/him potentially
millions of dollars in UCLA apparel sales, donations and contracts;
not to mention the priceless advertisement of a national
championship, Final Four or Rose Bowl appearance. The African
student, on the other hand, does not inherently bring a dollar
value to the university. Given that the African family has a
greater likelihood of exclusion from workforce participation and
with the average family income around 90 percent of a comparable
white family, the African student is potentially a financial
liability to the university.
By understanding the historic legacy set forth by W.E.B. duBois,
Angela Davis, Paul Robeson and bell hooks, there is no guarantee
that the African student will be brainwashed into submitting to the
American capitalist system as the university is meant to train us
to do. Politically speaking, the African student is a crap shoot.
They can either become a gatekeeper of the institutions that
oppress their people (e.g. Clarence Thomas and Ward Connerly) or a
wrecking ball crushing the pillars of injustice (e.g. Assata Shakur
and Kwame Toure). It is understood that African athletes have this
political potential (Paul Robeson, in addition to being an orator,
lawyer, entertainer and international human rights activist, was
also the first All-American from Rutgers University), but we are
living in a capitalist society and therefore the price tag attached
to them has a greater value.
So it comes as no surprise to me that a person can support an
all-African basketball team and not affirmative action. While this
position is inherently racist and contradictory, it is consistent
with white supremacy and the historic role of African people in the
United States. Through slavery, Jim Crow segregation,
share-cropping exploitation, the military and athletics African
people have and will always be seen for their dollar value, not
their human value.
It is OK for Africans to run up and down a court, field or
around a track as long as the university is further empowered from
the money they generate. The stereotype created by white America of
African people as naturally good athletes has dire consequences.
The excitement of seeing Ed O’Bannon dunk over three competitors or
J.J. Stokes receiving and running 30 yards for a touch down quickly
turns to terror upon recognizing the intellectual, academic and
political potential of these obviously physically talented people.
In fact, among the most distinguished UCLA alumni are African
scholar-athletes Ralph Bunche, Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Tom
Bradley and James LuValle (to name a few).
Historically, it was through athletics that African students
were first able to come to UCLA. Given the competition, conquest
and "us vs. them" nature of American capitalism and American
society (of which sports is a cornerstone), institutions like the
university need African athletes to survive, both financially and
spiritually.
Opponents of affirmative action programs that consider race and
gender, among other factors, claim to support meritocracy based on
"objective" criteria (e.g. GPA and SAT scores). However, these
promoters of "quality" and protectors of "integrity" are willing to
waive "standards" for athletes but are not inclined to do so for
the historically disadvantaged; this mentality is the same as the
slave master, segregationist and plantation owner: "what can I get
out of you?"
More money and efforts are funneled into programs like Midnight
Basketball than Head Start or early academic university preparation
programs that have higher success rates. This is devastating to the
African psyche, because the message it sends is that you are
allowed to develop yourself physically but not intellectually. This
standard is an example of institutional racism because it devalues
the young Africans’ sense of self-worth.
To those who support an all-African athletic team and not
affirmative action, I hope that you become consistent in your
thinking and support affirmative action. Extend the opportunities
to all people so we may truly have a society that is inclusive.
Recognize that there are historically disadvantaged members of
society, and that this subordinate status stems from racism.
To the African student-athlete, you must fight against the
inherent exploitation of university athletics. Merely educating
yourself is not enough. You must carry on in the tradition of
Robeson, Robinson and Ashe, for as my grandmother told me, "If you
see a turtle sitting atop a fence post, you know that turtle did
not get there by itself." One way of bringing the university to its
knees would be to threaten to boycott all games in the event of the
abolition of affirmative action. If it is, "just do it."
To the African student, we must also understand that we too can
be exploited. We are useless to our people if we do not use our
"education" to benefit the masses. The infrastructure, health and
economy of African communities around the world are in dire need of
good engineers, doctors and economists. We must make our education
relevant to the uplifting of our people.
Palmer is the political action coordinator of the African
Student Union.