No Homo: The Fall of Bishop Long

Mark your calendars: 10-10-10 approaches. The first year of Stuff Black People Don't Like released in book form.

A major announcement will accompany the release of the book as well. Major. What will that be, you inquire? Stay tuned. Just know that Stuff Black People Don't Like draws the proverbial line on 10-10-10. Prepare yourselves.

Bishop Long with George W. Bush

Speaking of preparing oneself, news of a most shocking nature is shaking the very foundations of a mega-church in Atlanta. Alleged sexual abuse by Bishop Eddie Long, a man who has denounced homosexuality and led marches against gay marriage, is causing his congregation much consternation and contemplation.

No Homo, right? Of course all of the sexual predatory accusations are alleged at this point and Bishop Eddie Long - a man who preaches the gospel of Jesus-Christ with noticeable nod to the charismatic Ric Flair of professional wrestling fame - is presumed innocent at this point.

Nonetheless, the accusations of homosexual, predatory misconduct are piling up against a man who loves form-fitting suits and takes Facebook quality photos of himself with a cellphone wearing Under Armor:

"This man manipulated us from childhood," Parris told WAGA-TV, who interviewed the 23-year-old outside a Colorado grocery store. "This was our father and we loved him."

Parris, who alleged that Long used church funds to lavish him and the other victims with gifts, said he reached out to the bishop privately before filing suit.

"This man turned his back on us when he had no more need for us," Parris told WAGA-TV. "That's not a man. That's a predator."

Attorney B.J. Bernstein, who represents the accusers, said she did not authorize the interview.

In a civil lawsuit filed last Wednesday, Parris, a former member of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and one of Long's "spiritual sons," claims the charismatic bishop made him call him “Daddy," exploiting his role as a father figure and mentor.

Long has denied the allegations and told his congregation Sunday he will "vigorously" fight the charges against him. He has yet to comment on Parris' interview.

Meanwhile, 32 pastors gathered at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday evening.

No Homo, right?

Bishop Eddie Long preaches in DeKalb County, renowned as one of the top counties for Black people in America. This lawsuit filed for alleged sexual misconduct with four (thus far) Black male accusers threatens to hit Long where it hurts the most; the pocket book.

You see, Bishop Long is cut from the same cloth of entertainers who have graced the squared circle of professional wrestling. He created a character, a persona, that played well to an audience (25,000 members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and countless celebrity Black friends), all the while acting and manipulating them for financial gain.

He became a limosine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, Rolex wearing, wheeling-dealing son of a gun that Ric Flair has boasted about in promos for years. Bishop Long was the same type of actor, manipulating the passions of the crowd (congregation) for his own economic betterment.

In a way, white professional wrestling grapplers have long influenced Black athletes, singers and entertainers. Bishop Long is first and foremost an entertainer, exciting his flock with verbosity and linguistically charged sermons that resonate with the power of God, but he owes a debt of gratitude to Gorgeous George:

Some fans--and NFL suits--are appalled. They long for the days before the hip-hop-ization of American sports, when you broke the plane and didn't get fancy. Even those who enjoy the end zone antics tend to see them as, Billy White Shoes Johnson's Funky Chicken aside, a new thing and a black thing. But not so: This all goes back some 60 years to one slightly pudgy white man, a wrestler, who's since been largely forgotten. It's a Gorgeous thing.

Wrestlers have long influenced hip hop and been a catalyst for Black people to hone their persona's, creating larger-than-life images of themselves to broadcast out to the world. Funny, that's all they are, though, images of what they want people to believe.

In reality, they play a character for the amusement of others. It appears Bishop Long bought into this idea and has played the character perfectly, all the while amassing popularity, a vast fortune and prestige.Where some wrestlers have catch-phrases to get the crowd fired-up (and to purchase merchandise), Bishop Long implores people to "Cross it up" with much gusto and fanfare.

One can only speculate if he told the alleged accusers to "Cross it up"... No Homo, right?

We wish Bishop Long 'God speed' in his upcoming legal battles against the accusers. DeKalb County hasn't had much positive news of late and the harrowing news that a beloved Bishop is someone who might have not stated "No Homo" is just to much to swallow.

Professional wrestling is fake, the wrestlers merely acting. Sadly, it appears Bishop Long bought into this character and the "Big Man" persona he had created.

#133. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon

Black people love professional wrestling. They adore the theatricality, the drama, the story lines and the professional athletes/actors who perform staged, premeditated, choreographed action in the square circle.

Black people have long had many wonderful performers to cheer for: The Ugandan Giant, Kamala; Virgil, the former servant of The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase; Ron Simmons, who led the Nation of Domination - a Black power themed group that also included the half-black Rock - and the recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Koko B. Ware. Many more Black wrestlers are currently active, but they have yet to acquire the status of these gentlemen in the eyes of Black people.

With all these talented grapplers, it is hard to imagine Black people having any grief or beef with promoters of wrestling, consider the only way wrestlers "get over" is by impressing the audience and having them part ways with their money to watch them fake wrestle and buy their merchandise.

The problem though, is that Black people consider Vince McMahon, the chairman of the publicly traded company World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) a racist.

Consider, there has never been a Black person crowned as WWF/WWE champion (The Rock is not fully Black, thus Black people will not consider him Black enough. He does not pass the Paper-Bag test).

Vince McMahon has continually cast Blacks in stereotypical roles. Consider Cryme Tyme, an African-American duo, noted for their propensity to commit crime. Thus, McMahon is buying into the idea - although crime stats do prove its veracity - that Black people commit crime.

WWE.com wrote about the duo:

"Tonight a new tag team, Cryme Tyme, will be introduced to the RAW audience. In an effort to humor and entertain our fans the tag team known as Cryme Tyme will be parodying racial stereotypes.
Shad Gaspard and JTG do outlandish, outrageous "stunts" to ready themselves for tag team action on RAW. This attempt at Saturday Night Live like humor is bound to entertain audiences of all ethnic derivations.
We hope you enjoy the weekly adventures of Cryme Tyme."

 Most recently the WWE had a Black wrestler named MVP, whose character played upon the stereotypical, over-confident, flamboyant Black athlete (think NFL, NBA). Despite numerous attempts to push this character, he never got over with the fans.

 Booker T is the only Black man to hold the WWE championship in the history of the WWWE/WWF/WWE:

"Without overwhelming the reader with statistics allow me to once again point out the obvious. In it’s history, the WWE has never had an African-American world champion. WCW, before it’s demise had a few, namely Booker T and Ron Simmons, both of whom were buried upon their arrival to the WWE. While the argument could be made that Ron Simmons (known as Faarooq) never had the charisma required of a WWE champion (particularly at the time of his jump) Booker T is/was a charismatic showman with much to offer when given proper room to develop a character.

"The long standing excuse for these burials the WWE simply does not have the fan base to support a minority champion. This argument fails to hold water, particularly when one attends a live event and notes the demographic of the crowd. Consider also, the success of John Cena, portraying a character that most fans would admittedly associate with an African-American culture."

Vince McMahon might be a marketing genius and self-made billionaire, but he is no friend of Black people or of promoting a Black person (besides the half-Black Rock), which is why he is included in Stuff Black People Don't Like.