One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing sports and politics mix, whether it's athletes making statements on a hot button issue the rabble rousing over the 2008 Olympics in China or Major League Baseball debating about hosting the All Star game in Arizona due to it's immigration law.
With Martin Luther King day coming up on the 17th, ESPN goes into it's yearly event of talking to prominent black athletes and leaders during the civil rights era. In addition posting various polls on how white and black fans react to certain players and situations. ESPN tries to be non-controversial when discussing issues of race when they present themselves however bringing an asshole like Jesse Jackson is just a completely wrong move. Yes, Jackson was in Dr. King's inner circle but there is a huge difference between the Jackson of that era and the Jackson that we know today. For years Jesse Jackson has used Dr. King's legacy to line his own wallet and his own personal agenda. Dr. King would be turning in his grave if he saw what Jackson alongside Al Sharpton has done over the years. They have no intention of letting character dictate what a person is, it's skin color in their minds and nothing more.
I would be just as equally annoyed if conservative news outlets brought on Pat Buchanan of all people in an MLK discussion. Since just like Sharpton and Jackson, Buchanan and others like him Frosty Wooldridge being an example look for race whenever they can. One pair looks for racism at every corner while the other looks for affirmative action.
With Martin Luther King day coming up on the 17th, ESPN goes into it's yearly event of talking to prominent black athletes and leaders during the civil rights era. In addition posting various polls on how white and black fans react to certain players and situations. ESPN tries to be non-controversial when discussing issues of race when they present themselves however bringing an asshole like Jesse Jackson is just a completely wrong move. Yes, Jackson was in Dr. King's inner circle but there is a huge difference between the Jackson of that era and the Jackson that we know today. For years Jesse Jackson has used Dr. King's legacy to line his own wallet and his own personal agenda. Dr. King would be turning in his grave if he saw what Jackson alongside Al Sharpton has done over the years. They have no intention of letting character dictate what a person is, it's skin color in their minds and nothing more.
I would be just as equally annoyed if conservative news outlets brought on Pat Buchanan of all people in an MLK discussion. Since just like Sharpton and Jackson, Buchanan and others like him Frosty Wooldridge being an example look for race whenever they can. One pair looks for racism at every corner while the other looks for affirmative action.