Ferguson, Journalism, and the NBA

     I found this very interesting read earlier today that comments on the ongoing crisis in Ferguson, Missouri from the standpoint of an NBA sports journalist. Dave Deckard, the author of this article and Portland Trailblazers beat reporter, makes multiple good points on the double standards that often exist between black athletes and otherwise-ordinary black citizens. Like Deckard, I am not an informed sociopolitical journalist, nor am I aware of anything close to the realities of life in Ferguson at the moment.  With such a heated confrontation between the government and the citizens/media, it's hard to believe everything (or anything) that is reported. But in the often white-controlled world of American professional sports, Deckard asks us where to draw the line between African Americans who are talented enough to deserve "special treatment" as so many famous athletes receive and those who are only average enough to not receive protection from circumstances like those occurring in Ferguson?  He writes, "do we believe that guys with a 40-inch vertical leap are somehow special and talented but average African American people, not so much?" And this is a great point - what is it that truly separates the two?  Do such organizations as the NBA and NFL create these double standards simply in an effort to exploit talent from black athletes to make more money, and those who are not talented enough must face the possibility of being subjected to war-like conditions in their own backyards?  Deckard continues, "NBA players are acceptable as long as they don't look or dress 'too black'...Jump for us, play for us, give us something we can live through vicariously and we'll let you live...reward you, even. Your poster will hang on our wall. Otherwise, it's the evening news." In a society that supposedly supports racial equality in all facets of life, it sure seems hard to believe this notion with such contrasting standards that only seem to reinforce the superiority of white interests from all angles.