The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

I am not sure why I do this to myself.

Whenever Ralph Wiley writes something for ESPN, I always read it and then wonder why I keep reading his stuff afterward. Today's piece is about why the Lakers are beatable. In and of itself if you can get past him telling about how wonderful a ball player he is and pretending to be a hip, urban dude by using inexplicably poor grammar it is a good article. He has a great point about kids learning an important lesson in the NBA, there are TONS of guys who can shoot the ball but not so many that can get the shot off. So much of the NBA anymore is standing around watching one guy drive the lane.

Of course Wiley rambles off onto race issues, as if anything at all in the context of the article has anything to do with race. He just can't see the world around him because he is so consumed about perceived racism, and yet has the temerity to claim that HE alone has risen above racial issues, even referring to race some made up construct, at one point referencing >>>the other so-called "race,"<<<

So-called race? He then goes on to claim he is the black equivalent in sports journalism to Larry Bird, the guy on the outside looking in at a profession full of people of the "other so-called race". He claims that his being such a great writer and black "made you not a colleague but a threat." He claims people said that if he were white he would be just another writer. Hey Wiley, heads up: you ARE just another writer. I daresay if you WERE a white guy you would be unemployed because your writing is miserable. This may be the best line of all "One thing I did learn: I always could tell when I was writing well, because I would come in and nobody would speak to me."

Good Lord the arrogance of this guy! He has some good insights into the game and he has some great contacts, but you can't ever enjoy that because he is slapping you in the face with his angry black man routine. Maybe if you truly tried to just write instead of climbing on a soapbox about how wronged you are as a black man (who has a great job, writing for ESPN, appearing on TV, going to tons of sporting events for free, no doubt with a very nice house and very nice car) we could find out if you are as great a writer as you claim. Do you think that if someone who doesn't know you read your work without the racial overtones they would find it brilliant? I doubt it.