Smug & Inept

Sorry for not responding to this as of yet but lets get to it now. Bryant Gumbel said the following on his HBO show on Feb 7th--

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games begin. Count me among those who don't care about them and won't watch them...Because they're so trying...Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something's not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what's called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won. So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they're done, when we can move on to March Madness' for God's sake, let the games begin."

First off, I love the Winter Olympics, even more so than the Summer Olympics. I know that might sound crazy but the simple truth is I like the idea of some less successful country being able to compete in a crazy event like Snowboard Cross simply because they had an athlete who was so far beyond driven that they committed themselves to being out in the freezing cold because they loved it or they had nothing better to do. Now that is not the case for all of the events such as Ice Skating or Hockey but it is clearly the case when you look at Cross-Country Skiing, Curling or even Speed Skating. The joy of the Winter Olympics is that they are loaded with unknown/underdog athletes and their unusual personalities (aka Flying Tomato or Zorro) while the Summer Olympics are always defined by the favorites and the media due to the ratings they garner. This is simply my opinion but I believe I can back this up with some historical data but that was not the point of this note.

My main point is that Bryant Gumbel is an ass. He always has been one and he always will be one. These comments were clearly devised to arouse controversy and ratings by pulling the race card prior to a major sports events which he (and HBO) has no leverage in covering/discussing although it is his profession to do so. Why didn't he say before the NBA All Star game this weekend that this is not a true All-Star game due to the lack of Hispanics. And before you agree that this was a ratings stunt but still with a valuable and honest issue at hand remember that this is not 1969 again and the Olympics are far greater than the USA Team which is a fact that Bryant is simply and conveniently forgetting.

The Olympics are made up of over 70 participating countries many of which have had normal (This is a bit hard to define but you get my drift) race relations within their countries for over a century if not more. The Olympics are far bigger than the Caucasian race and you can see this in watching a great Japanese women's figure skating team or a triumphant Korean mens speed skating team as well a gold medal winning black speed skater from Chicago (A minority, but how many Irish people win a medal in Luge by the way). What Gumbel is also forgetting is that the athletes choose what they want to participate in and times and scores are what count, not race.

Trust me that I do understand (As much as I can) how environment and economic prosperity can work against a minority athlete and be an major impact in their inclusion but what Bryant is forgetting is that this is not an event dominated by simply US or cash-rich nations. Incredible athletes come from varied countries such as Norway, Russia, Germany, Korea, China, Sweden, Kazhakstan and even Australia. These athletes are not from the elite class but generally make up that countries ethnic and religious breakdown.

I also find Bryant's attack on "pseudo-athletes" to be a pretty thinly veiled attempt to attack gay athletes and sports which do not live up to his masculine ideals. Is he thinking that an athlete is not as good or deserving because of their sexuality or because their sport is not up to his standards? Is a triple axel completed by man in a frilly, sparkling costume less athletic than a dunk by a 6'6 black man in short shorts and a tank top? And how many athletes in the NFL or NBA are gay Bryant? If you knew Kobe was secretly gay would that make him less of a baller?

In closing Bryant could never comprehend that anything is bigger than himself and that is where his overall fault lies. The beauty is that this has been exposed time and time again with Bryant's stints at NBC and CBS and I have the choice to continue to not watch him and hopefully convince a few other folks to do the same down the road.