Re: [...]''He's in fantastic physical condition,.. ."

["I am. . . Anonymous" <ktoreed@yahoo.com>]

Regarding this whole racial thing:

Look, now i've been gone from the list a few days but
after reviewing the string of posts on this topic I've
noticed that this all started when Joe H. referred to
Herren as the "Great White Hope", and a few folks felt
insulted, which I feel is an overreaction.  Joe H
clearly is not a racist.

Kestutis did have a good point that the Celtics, and
many other NBA teams I believe, had sort of an
affirmative action roster spot for whites over the
past years.  

Do not tell me that racial bias does not exist in the
NBA.  It does.  Why did Vancouver trade away Mike
Bibby, a superior point guard, for Jason Williams? 
Financial reasons:  in that Vancouver believes Jason
Williams is more marketable.  Will anybody dispute
this?  And part of what makes Williams marketable,
beyond his often fantastic and just as often STUPID
passsing is that he is white.  Of course this point is
more debateable but I myself fall into the category
that this is so, even if part of it is based on my own
opinions and the lens with which I interpret the
world.

Part of Larry Bird's popularity is that he's white.
How big that factor was is debateable; after all,
Larry Bird is legimitately one of the greatest players
of all time. But to suggest this is not an insult
directed at anybody in this list, it is simply just
stating an observation, and one that to some degree
will vary depending on the perspectives of the
individual.  Nor am I or others on this list who
concur with these thoughts suggesting that anybody who
disagrees with this is a racist.

Basketball is a sport, and one of the beauties of
modern sports is that the players aren't hemogenous. 
Players are judged by their abilities by most coaches
and fans.  However, the NBA is a profit-driven
enterprise and it is not below them to analyze and act
upon every conceivable angle to maximize their bottom
line.

But I believe that the Boston area media's coverage of
Chris Herren was a bit overbearing.  I'm sure that
mostly this was because he was a local boy, but to
believe that Herren's race was also a factor is not in
itself an expression of racism, but rather a criticism
of the undeserved attention Herren received amongst
the media.  Therefore, referring to Herren as "The
Great White Hope" is not a racist expression, at least
in the context with which it has been used. 

Since there are people on this list who perceive this
as a racial insult, regardless of the merits of their
argument, I suspect that Herren will refered to Herren
as the Great Hope from now on.  But lets not get
around to calling people on this list racist.  I
sincerely believe that no one on this list is racist. 
We just all hate Ray.
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