6.9.20 Bee-otches of the Day: America's sports leagues

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Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

 

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Name: America's sports leagues
Ages: various
Occupations: sports organizations
Last Seen: many major cities
Bee-otched For: waiting too damn long to realize that Black Lives Matter                                                              

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It was a painful day in our nation's history. Six years ago, a black man named Eric Garner was beaten to death by a motley crew of police officers. While doing so, he uttered "I can't breathe". There were protests, and one person took a huge stand: Colin Kaepernick. 

When Colin took a knee to the National Anthem, some said that he was taking a stand against police brutality. Others, like (ugh) Drumpf thought that he was a traitor and was disrespectful toward America. Since then, he was released from the San Francisco 49ers and has not played for another team since. You can say that he's to sports what the Dixie Chicks are to music.

The NFL bowed to their owners and conservative fanbase by forcing all their athletes to stand for the flag no matter what. Yes, it's one of those things where they tell the players that they're role models and need to set a good example for our children. Nothing like telling people that the First Amendment is just a piece of yellowed paper.

And then came George Floyd. And well, we all knew the outcome of his death from a cop who was allowed to kneel... on his neck.

The mass protests and rioting has caused NFL commissioner Roger Goodall to finally admit that his league was wrong all along. The attitude to suppress players making a positive statement has forced people to take further and more-damaging actions, especially after Floyd's death on Memorial Day. 

But it's not just the NFL that's been under fire. 

Last weekend, NASCAR admitted that they haven't done enough to help the African American community. During last weekend's race, the league's only full-time African American driver, Bubba Wallace wore a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. He didn't win the race, but afterward, his fellow racers embraced him. 

This week, Wallace is calling on NASCAR to ban the use of Confederate flags. Many have looked at the flag as a symbol of racism. Others claim that it was simply a sign of southern pride, especially on TV shows and movies like The Dukes of Hazzard.

Of course, NASCAR has long been looked at as America's whitest and most conservative sports league. Not only is Wallace the sole black driver in their main cup series, but NASCAR has been noted for having races with the NRA as their main sponsor. And yes, the fact that during their first race of the season, Drumpf was their Grand Marshal. If I was being forced to follow the president in a race, I would have done the right thing and tapped his sorry ass into the wall.

When NASCAR was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they turned to virtual racing. Kyle Larson, one of the league's most-popular racers made a horrible mistake when he used the n-word during a race. As a result, he's been suspended indefinitely and was fired from Chip Ganassi Racing. 

The main thing saving NASCAR right now is the fact that normally this time of year, there's baseball, plus playoffs from the NBA and NHL. But since all three of the aforementioned are sidelined due to COVID-19, we're stuck with NASCAR and wrestling. For the past several years, NASCAR's fanbase has been getting older and still quite white. NASCAR's lack of diversity has indeed hurt the sport, whose history is rooted from moonshiners from the south. True, the WWE has done well with people of color and even women. But sadly, even the organization's patriarch is a racist asshole and one of Drumpf's buddies.

Look, sorry to sound like Barbara Walters, but this is 2020. It's sad to know that racism is alive and well here in America today. I'm happy that Roger Goodall did a good job by acknowledging the NFL's shortfalls, but it's not enough. I totally agree with black leaders that it's time for an NFL team to hire Colin Kaepernick to set a good example. But like I said, since many NFL teams are owned by white billionaires, it may never happen. But, if more people take a knee to support our underprivileged African Americans, it wouldn't just do Colin good, but for the good of others, too. 

Black Lives Matter. Not just in sports, but in life, too.

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