I just saw a clip from an ESPN show, Two on Two, airing tomorrow night. The funniest part was when Larry Bird said that he’d get upset if a team sent a white player to guard him. He took that as a sign of disrespect. 🙂 This article sums it up (text copied below):
Bird: NBA “a Black man’s game”
ESPN.com
KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. — Larry Bird says he wants to see more white superstars in the NBA, but the legendary former Celtic has also revealed that nothing in basketball bothered him more than being guarded by another white player.
Bird made the comments during an ESPN special that will air Thursday at 7 p.m. ET featuring Bird’s longtime rival, Magic Johnson, and rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. The one-hour discussion is called “Two on Two.”
ESPN host Jim Gray asked Bird whether the NBA lacks enough white superstars.
“Well, I think so,” said Bird, the Indiana Pacers’ president of basketball operations. “You know, when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it’s good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man’s game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.”
Johnson, a Lakers part owner, quickly added: “We need some more LBs — Larry Birds. … Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. When you say ‘Larry Bird,’ black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him the respect.”
Cleveland’s James and Denver’s Anthony, both 19, were also asked about race during the sitdown, which took place in the tiny gym used as Hickory High’s homecourt in the movie “Hoosiers.”
Asked by Gray if race is an issue in the NBA, James said: “I don’t think so. I think the fans look at the game, (they’re) not looking at the race. (They’re) looking who can play basketball. Or who’s athletic. … When you (were) a kid and you used to go outside, it didn’t matter who was the best player in the league. If Bird was my favorite player, I’m out shooting threes. … If Magic was my (favorite) player, I’m out there throwing my best passes. It’s not the race issue. If you can play the game of basketball, you know fans are gonna love you.”
Said Anthony: “Race is not an issue. Where I’m from, people love the Yao Mings, the Dirks, the Pejas. They love them guys. I don’t think race is an issue right now.”
Yet later in the discussion, Bird described being guarded by another white in his prime as “disrespect.”
“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me,” Bird said. “I still don’t understand why. A white guy would come out (and) I would always ask him: ‘What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did you coach do this to you?’ And he’d go, ‘No,’ and I’d say, ‘Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.’ … For some reason, that always bothered me when I was playing against a white guy.
“As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me — red, yellow, black,” Bird added. “I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me. Because it’s disrespect to my game.”
Said Magic: “His game, you see, Larry Bird was the only (white) guy that was mentioned in the barbershop. …’Cause that’s where all the talking in our communitity is, the barbershop or on the playground.”
Bird has declined to comment further, according to a Pacers spokesman, and NBA commissioner David Stern said he would reserve comment until seeing the entire interview.
Of course I think LeBron and Carmelo are just a tad bit naive about how race is a factor. See my earlier posts for example of what I’m talking about:
It’s amazing, even in sports we can’t escape the issue of race. Sports is supposed to be the one true equalizer. I guess we can’t deny our natural tendencies. Bird’s comments were interesting, borderline funny, but not racist in my opinion. We only compare athletes to those of the same race. Every potentially good white player is compared to Bird. Honestly, is this THAT much different from what Rush said about black quaterbacks? I despise Rush, but what he said wasn’t racist, just wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that a great white player would bring a few more fans to the games, but I think the fans aren’t as concerned about race as the media thinks.
This is so overblown… what is the big deal? It’s his honest opinion and there is some truth to it. I surely didn’t watch golf before Tiger.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it was racist or malicious in any way. I just think it was funny as hell.
this is amazing – do these folks even consider the history of basketball – how it wasn’t a game meant for black men. some YMCA game that later made its way to colleges for white men. and yeah i think the young gunnas are being way too naive. but as for bird on one hand i see him as saying white guys ain’t good enough to go up against him cuz he plays the game well – and to him well is like a black man.
as long as he didn’t get into the old blacks are breeded to be more physical and athletic ish – i ain’t too mad at his statements.
but yeah back to the young gunnas- i was watching this special on kobe the other day – and it was all oh he speaks five languages – oh he’s handsome – oh he’s so articulate and well educated – and now some of the same people who were saying that when the man entered the game or the first to say now he’s showing his true nukkaness.
I’ve heard the thing about Larry & white guys b4. Tom Tolbert does a radio show in the Bay Area and I remember him retelling a story about guarding Larry Bird and having Bird yell towards the Warrior’s bench “You better get this white guy off of me!”
Lynne,
That last part about Kobe is oh-so-typical and reminds me of what OJ went through.
Glenn,
I’m LMAO at Tolbert’s story.
All I have to say is Mendelian Genetics! People have DNA also, like animals duh, and if you breed a strong individual with another the probability of inheritance take place. I’m not a racist by any means, I work in a scientific community with all types of creed, race, & ethics and had a roommate from Kenya for a couple of years. And a black from Kenya admitted the physical traits that African-Americans have. You could do the same with caucasian, asian, hispanic, indian, arabic or whatever and end up with the same situation. Then Larry Bird would be saying, “you better guard me with an asian.” I don’t see the big deal about saying that black-americans are better athletes because of the past. Let’s not rewrite history so we can be politically correct. I feel that the best players need to represent every sport be it on the court, field, or ice; PLAY TO WIN and forget the color.
With the performance of the US basketball team in the olympics, it has given fooder to those that feels ‘these young black boys shouldn’t be paid so much money.’
Im actually surpised that so young a US team can actually play this well internationally, but the sports writers seem to take the view that the atheletes can’t play basketball but simply play ‘spectacular’ basket ball. One writer claimed the Lithuanian team could beat the Lakers the same way the Pistons did. They pray Davis Stern is watching and will make changes to who is recruited.
The envy towards these black players never ceases to amaze me.
As far as claiming African American atheletes are better because of what they went through, how does one explain the dominance of africans in certain sports. Is it just a black thing?
I think there is something of a fear factor involved. The whites boys fom East Europe are just not afriad of blacks like whites in the US are and play them straight up.
i got a .45 full of motherfuckin fun!!!!
plus larry bird is a fag for saying that about white people… idiot i tell you, what are you going to do now about it.. huh!!?!