In the January 24th NCAA basketball game between the Arizona Wildcats and the Houston Cougars, an incident happened that has yanked the Band-Aid off to expose the scab of racism that still festers in the hearts of many. During the 2nd half of the game, Houston guard Aubrey Coleman was called for a charge against Arizona forward Chase Budinger. While Budinger was on the ground, Coleman stepped on his face. As a result of his actions, Coleman was charged with a flagrant foul and ejected from the game. Although this incident may be an unfortunate accident at best or an ugly display of unsportsmanlike conduct at worst, some feel that it's racially motivated. In case you didn't know, Coleman is black and Budinger is white.
After watching the clip several times, it still isn't clear to me whether or not Coleman intended to step on Budinger's face. It appears that Coleman does briefly look down at Budinger. However, it could be that Coleman looked down so that he could avoid stepping on Budinger. After all, Coleman wasn't looking down when his shoe landed on Budinger's face. A counter argument is that Coleman could have prevented this if he had walked around Budinger instead of trying to step over him. As Coleman left the court, one of his teammates can be seen giving him some play. Although that move is questionable, some are looking on it as proof that Coleman did step on Budinger on purpose. If that's true, Coleman should be gone for the season at the very least because there is no excuse for that type of behavior. You can judge for yourself by watching the following clip:
A misconception formed by some is that an incident is racially motivated just because the individuals involved are of different races. Because of America's shameful record when it comes to race relations, I don't see any harm in questioning whether or not a situation might be racially motivated. However, I think it's wrong to automatically cry racism when an incident involves different races. I could be wrong in thinking that the incident isn't because of race. However, if one is to label this incident as being racially motivated, they are assuming that it wouldn't have happened if Coleman and Budinger were of the same ethnicity.
I have no issue with debating whether or not an incident is racially motivated, but using this type of story to spew hate is something else entirely. It seems that some cannot wait for these sort of incidents to occur because they know they're only a mouse click away from littering up cyberspace with their previously hidden prejudices. I first came across the Coleman/Budinger story on Yahoo Sports. Below are a handful of the racist comments that have been posted. There was ignorance coming from both sides, these are just some of the cleaner responses. Reading stuff like this makes me chuckle because it's so easy for these people to hide behind their keyboards rather than air their views face-to-face.
82. what a thug. how afro-americanesque of him
88. Typical brother...
94. his (profane) is (profane) rediculous. i can guarantee if Budinger was black and Coleman was white, he'd be a little whiney (profane) and cry about it being racially motivated. I'm tired of certain groups that think they can literally walk all over us because they are protected by equal rights. Hey, equal rights for whites. You see it in the job market all the time, people with less education and experience get the jobs because of what they look like. I'd like to see Coleman get this same thing happening to him , be it a white guy, and we'll see if he cries racism.
127. i bet for coleman this got somethin to do with obama becoming prez
158. Typical African Roundball play.
166. welcome to obamanation
188. Well i will say this. I have lost alot of respect for black athletes. There always getting arrested and causing harm. Its too bad they cant see the harm their bringing to their cause. I try my best not to be racist in any way. But the black community is making that task difficult.
211. As usual black brainless thug in sports. It must be genetic because that race of people are useless for anything else. As we will see from our current mistake in office
5985. What are white people doing playing basketball still anyway? They suck at it.
If you'd like to read more comments on this story, click here.
It's no surprise that people are fired up over the Coleman/Budinger incident. When I started writing this post shortly after 2 PM EST, the story on Yahoo Sports had a little over 1,000 comments. As of 5:05 PM EST, it had 7,567 responses. I'm looking forward to hearing what you readers have to say on this matter.
16 comments:
I know a slick move when I see one, that was intentional hands down and he desereved to be ejected by what looked like an all black officiating team to me.
So I wont look at this in terms of race, how ever i will say That I saw Christian Latener when he was with Duke, step on a black player from Kentucky, he was not ejected.
As for the comments this is the ugly side the internet, it has given balls to a lot of cowards who wouldnt open their mouths anywhere were some one could reach out and touch them.
Even if he stepped in his face on purpose that does not make the action racist. Poor sportsmanship, absolutely, but racist I don't think so. It looks like it was intentional and if so, he got just what he deserved.
People get angry when playing sports and they do stupid things. That's why flagrant fouls and penalties were invented, to kind of curb bad behavior; unfortunately sometimes things just get out of hand.
I watched the clip several times and it appears to me that Coleman purposely stepped on the other guy's face. Was it racially motivated? Only he knows that, no one else will every know. It could have been but it could be he just doesn't like that player or would have done that to any opponent regardless of race.
I agree with what you said about automatically crying racism when an incident like this occurs.
I think the media will use anything to get attention and they love to fuel the fires of any thoughts that may have been leaning toward racism.
As for the comments on the site you mentioned, Mike is right about them probably not having the guts to say those things in public.
There are a lot of ignorant, ugly people of all races.
I read the comments on these articles and they make me angry...angry because the people that decide to post their opinions do so without any regard and without any conciousness.
Racism is a scar on the face of our country, and it doesn't apply in every situation. It doesn't apply here. And what does this have to do with Obama? From now on, when someone stupid does something, someone has to bring up Obama...when he is the antithesis of stupidity.
This idiot Coleman stepped on this young man's face intentionally...and that has nothing to do with race...but has everything to do with his attitude and lack of sportsmanship and immaturity.
Honestly, the fellow deserves a long suspension from the game. It doesn't matter who he is or who the victim is. Barring a suspension, Budinger should file a civil suit; there needs to be a message sent that this is unacceptable in college athletics.
It does look intentional to me, but like you said, other than the fact the two involved are different races, I can't say that there's racism involved in the incident.
Those comments are unbelievable. Sometimes I read the comments after a Yahoo! news article and I see similar things posted, especially in reference to Obama like you've noticed in this article.
There's a lot of idiots out there.
I don't follow sports as closely after football season. I was at the Titans v Cowboys game when Albert Haynesworth deliberately stepped on a player's head. In Haynesworth's case, it was a history of anger management issues while working at a job that rewarded him for being "angry". That was addressed and, to my knowledge, hasn't happened again. I can only speculate what might have been said had the other player been white.
That said, would I be correct in saying that race and the speculation of one's intention are questioned more in basketball? It appears that way to me, although I have no valid point of reference. I'd be interested in what others think about this.
I lean toward poor sportsmanship and immaturity. I believe we forget how young these players are but, yes, I realize that is no excuse.
I agree with everyone...
purposefully stepping on my man's face...yes
racially motivated...who knows
Like Pam said...very poor sportsmanship and should be handled according to the school's policy on this type of behavior.
But the comments...those comments. Not surprising.
What the hell does Obama have to do with anything?!?
Were comments made in reference to Bush when those white boys walked into that highschool and killed all those people, or when that black guy in Atlanta went in that courthouse and shot up everybody?
P.S.
It always makes me feel really warm and fuzzy inside when people who make ignorant comments have very poor grammar and can't spell worth a crap. :-)
He was stupid but banning him from playing or even giving him anything over a one game suspension is extreme.
It's sports, testosterone let loose, you aint supposed to be kissing anybody on the cheek.
When I played organized sports you had better not be looking to friendly with opposing players or you would find your self on the bench with the quickness.
The way he tripped after stepping on his face, I believe he meant to step over him, not on him. He was still being arrogant in the way he did it, without a doubt. I think he may have done it whether the other player was white or black. He just seems like one of those cocky guys who tries to get away with stuff and acts sly about it.
I kind of believe he actuaally meant to step over him...but he also didn't seem too concerned afterwards.
I am of the same camp as "clnmike" actually.
I don't see anything in the video to supprt jumping to any racist conclusions and I am horrified at the comments fromt hat Yahoo site. I feel sick to my stomach.
But...I think the player was trying to look like he didn't care...and for the easosn"clnmike" shares...thees no room for touchy feely in that game situation. The player was moving on. And showing sympathy to opposing teams would be a reason for being benched.
I am a hockey fan...and although I am against violence many of the retaliations are justified...the hisptry of sports and viol=ence I believe is undergoign a change...for the better.
Meanwhile...even an accidental injury and this action should be penalized. The player still SHOULD have taken care near ANYONEdone during a game. It is plain good courtesy and common sense. He didn't look where he was going and he should be penalized.
We won't be able to read motives or intentions...but we do have perfectly good rules for sports. Watch where you're walking.
In hockey if a player accidently puts his stick above his shoulder...he gets a penalty.
You're supposed to be able play sports and watch where your going!
p.s. Great post Malcom, enjoyed it very much. Much to think about!
Some of the commenters on the Yahoo board mentioned the Laettner stomp. He should have been ejected... I think he was saved because he was one of the golden boys of Duke. Although I don't believe the Laettner incident was racially motivated either, it was intentional (Laettner even admitted that it was retaliation for the player pushing him down earlier in the game).
Pjazzy: Some people just love to jump to conclusions and bring race in no matter what.
Barbara: When a news story involves people of different races, the media loves it because it boosts ratings, sells more papers, etc. Although the gentleman who wrote the story on Yahoo Sports didn't bring race into it, he's probably not surprised by the venom spewed by some of the commenters.
Marvalus: The people that brought Obama into this are bitter, pure and simple. It makes me want to say to them, "Obama is the President of the U.S., deal with it!"
Anonymous: I don't know if you've heard, but Coleman was given a one-game suspension. I wouldn't be surprised if Budinger has hired a lawyer.
Kimberly: Even though I wouldn't go so far as to banish Coleman from sports forever, I wouldn't call you a traitor or an Uncle Tom. If someone did label you as such over this issue, they'd be implying that you should be on the side of a black person regardless and that's wrong.
Rock Chick: Even though it can be disheartening sometimes, reading comments like the ones on Yahoo Sports helps serve as a reminder to me that there are some twisted individuals in our midst.
Judi: I was thinking of the Albert Haynesworth incident too when I first read the Coleman/Budinger story. Because Haynesworth clearly intended to stomp on the player's head, if the victim had been white... the media would have been smiling like the butcher's dog.
You've raised an interesting question. Because there is a small percentage of black players, I would say that race and the speculation of one's intention would be questioned more in hockey. Whether or not a fight between a black player and a white one was racially motivated, it would be portrayed as such by some.
Bea: The folks who brought Obama into this issue will blame him when there's bad weather. Some of those fools who comment couldn't put together a complete sentence or avoid spelling errors if it meant the firing squad.
Clnmike: If it was intentional, Coleman needs to be given more than the one-game suspension he received. In sports, people sometimes let their emotions get the best of them and that's understandable. However, they have to be prepared to pay the price (be it suspension, fine, etc.)
Angela: That's an interesting take because Coleman tripping and the fact that he didn't look down as he stepped on Budinger's face are a couple of reasons why I am torn as to whether or not it was an accident.
Candy: I'm glad you enjoyed the post! Because Coleman didn't show any remorse after stepping on Budinger is another reason I am torn. Had he apologized when it happened, I don't think he would have looked soft. He would have looked like a human being with some class.
The comments are sickening, but somehow, painfully harmless. Yeah, it seems like a contradiction, but hate spewed online is hate taken out of the real world.
I'm sure that everyone could agree that we'd rather have racial disagreements online than face-to-face. There's too much at stake in the real world, whereas the morons who spew the race drivel online are most likely basement bound for their adult life. :)
@ everyone claiming Christian Laettner should have been ejected, there's one important thing you're foretting:
The Laettner incident happened more than a decade before basketball started cracking down. John Stockon and Karl Malone used to do this to people on a nightly basis lol. Once Stern came down hard on Ron Artest and the Palace brawl, the entire sport changed.
And as far as racism goes: I think it's easier to label someone a racist than it is to understand their true motivation. Since racism exists, it's easy to stick someone with that dart.
What probably really happened? The got kicked dude probably said something bout the kicker dude's mom/sister/gf earlier in the game lol That's sports!
Josh: Thanks again for taking me up on my invite to join in on the discussions here.
As I alluded to in the post stating the purpose of this blog, I'm hoping that the discussions brought up here will lead to people talking face-to-face about race. I know it's a lofty goal, but one can dream right? :-)
I feel the NBA changed long before the brawl at The Palace during the Pistons/Pacers game. However, I think the change was Piston-related. During the "Bad Boys" era, the Pistons sent the message that opposing players shouldn't get used to making uncontested layups/dunks. David Stern started cracking down on the physical play that was the Pistons' calling card, thus paving the way for Michael Jordan's domination of the league.
You may be on to something as to why the Budinger/Coleman incident occurred. It'll be interesting to see what happens when these players face each other again.
No problem ... I like leaving comments anywhere I can ;)
Since I work from home, I'm writing 12 hours/daily regardless; reading and commenting is a welcomed break.
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