Antonio Cromartie and the Role of Sports in Black Run America

In Black Run America (BRA) sports act as one of the main deterrents from any action or protest being coordinated by those experiencing what is called “White Racial Anxiety." Though these besieged people could easily confront that which keeps them in bondage, the sports heroes they enjoy watching ensure the stability, health, longevity and omnipotence of BRA.

Many of the individuals who become prominent professional or collegiate sports participants come from the same type of families that are discussed here at SBPDL: the children of welfare queens; recipients of free lunches at school; or kids deprived of child support by derelict sperm donors known by the alias “father” in other racial groups' familial distinctions.

Michael Oher famously was adopted by a white couple so that his true potential could come to fruition.

It was stated here recently that the continued lowering of standards and academic requirements for incoming at major universities and colleges can no longer be perpetuated, as the threshold for admittance for people incapable of earning legitimate acceptance to higher education has been reached.

Today, distressing news was published regarding the ACT and the deplorable rates of college readiness that exist among the different racial groups in America. Sadly, the majority of the athletes who play college athletics belong to a group that sees only 5 percent score proficient enough on the ACT to be prepared for college (not to mention that 50 percent of the males in this group don’t even graduate high school):

Newly released data show that slightly more than one-fourth of the students in the class 2010 who took the exam met minimum benchmarks in all four of the exam's subject areas – reading, English, math and science.

And even more troubling, ACT -- the American College Testing Program -- reported significantly lower rates of college readiness among non-white kids. Only 7 percent of Latino students were considered college ready in all four subjects and for African American students, the number dropped to 5 percent.

"Obviously, we have a lot of work yet to do," Susan Castillo, state superintendent of schools, said Wednesday. "That's why I'm committed to the high school diploma work and increasing the rigor of the curriculum we expose to all students. We need to remain committed to that no matter what challenges we face now because we need to get these kids the knowledge that they need."

ACT sets a benchmark minimum score in each subject-area test and students who reach that score are more likely to score a B or higher in the college course focused on that same subject.

In Oregon, ACT reported a strong connection between students taking rigorous courses and meeting the college readiness benchmarks. Only 7 percent of students who took less than three years of math were considered college ready. In comparison, 63 percent of students who took three or more years of math beyond algebra I were deemed college ready.

America is sports mad, but this situation poses enormous problems for the future when one of the only plausible vocations for a growing underclass is the hope of being athletically gifted and making it to the professional ranks. The odds of being a professional athlete are sobering, which raises the question of future employment opportunities for those unfortunate enough not to make it pro:

The April 27, 2006 issue of The Columbus Dispatch had an article about inner-city children learning to play golf. The instructors deserve credit for their work. But they were incorrect in telling the children: “If you dream big enough, you can be just like Tiger Woods.”

Too many young Americans already have unrealistic expectations of becoming rich and famous in professional sports. As a result, they neglect the academic studies that are their true avenues to success in life.

The odds of becoming a professional athlete are sobering. That is shown in a 1988 report by sociologists Wilbert M. Leonard II and Jonathan E. Reyman.

The report is discussed in Andrew W. Miracle Jr. and C. Roger Rees’s 1994 book Lessons of the Locker Room. They say the report shows that for all sports, only 4 of every 100,000 white males, 2 of every 100,000 black males, and 3 of every million Hispanic males achieve professional status.

The report further states that in football, just 16 of every million white males, 21 of every million black males, and 4 of every ten million Hispanics attain the pros. For baseball, the report sets the odds per million as 12 for whites, 3 for blacks, and 2 for Hispanics.

Also according to the report, of every ten million white high school basketball players, only 28 make the pros. The number for blacks is 65 per ten million.

An article from Ebony in 1996 shows that 2/3 of young Black people strongly believe they can make it to the professional ranks of sports:

Art Young, director of Urban Youth Sports at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sports in Society, came up with some staggering figures concerning the possibility of realizing a dream to become a pro athlete. Based on some extensive studies, he says that only I out of every 50,000 high school athletes will ever become a part of a professional team. To put those astronomical odds in perspective, that's like filling each seat at Denver's Coors Field (the home of the Colorado Rockies), then placing each name in a huge barrel. If yours isn't the one, single name drawn, then -- just like that -- your lifelong dream is dead!

Amazingly, even with those huge odds, Taylor (also education director for the award-winning movie, Hoop Dreams) says 66 percent of 7th- and 8th-grade African-American boys still strongly believe they can make a living in pro sports. That's 2 out of 3 youngsters who ignore these odds and continue the pursuit even though they clearly would be better served if the incredible determination, dedication and time to prepare that's necessary to become an athlete were directed in areas where the odds to achieve are much less.

We have shown you the ultimate commercial that explains what BRA means in practical terms. Now let us show you the ultimate athlete who personifies the repercussions of what the continued refusal to confront BRA portends for the future:

So here I thought Travis Henry and his 11 kids by nine women was bad, and now I find out that Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie is hot on his trail. A nice Sunday feature on Cromartie in the San Diego Union-Tribune talks about all the work he’s doing this offseason to try and have a great year on the field. In addition to the hip injury Cromartie played through all last year, we find out that Antonio was distracted by several off-field issues as well.

UPDATE: In this video, Antonio Cromartie has a hard time remembering all eight of his children’s names.

All throughout the organization there were whispers that the then-24-year-old’s head was not right. But sitting down between workouts last week, Cromartie acknowledged a less-than-focused drift through the 2008 season.

“Last year my head wasn’t in there,” Cromartie said. “I was dealing with my kids and their moms. It had my mind somewhere else.”

There are a lot of directions to be pulled when you have seven kids living in five states. Cromartie has been named in at least five paternity suits in the past two years.

Only so many Black people can make it to the professional ranks, where even being a highly paid athlete lasts for so fleeting a time.

As the American experiment comes to an end, we can safely surmise that no stand will ever come against sports by those experiencing “White Racial Anxiety”. Ratings will only go up, while the 401(k)’s and tangible assets decline among those who watch with such raving glee.

And Cromartie will continue to donate sperm to women so that children he has no intention of remembering will continue to be brought into this world.