Did we hear about the suspension of Marcus Smart?
Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart shoved a Texas Tech fan in the final seconds of the loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday night in Lubbock, Texas. Marcus tried to block Jaye Crockett’s dunk attempt but stumbled out of bounds behind the basket. As he was being helped up, he exchange words with super-fan Jeff Orr and then pushed him with both hands. What the cameras didn’t pick up was the racial slur that Marcus alleged he called him. Marcus was later suspended for 3 games. Check out the news commentators’ assessment of the scene HERE
Where do I begin? I typed out a rant, but decided to scale it back. I will not even begin to debate whether the shove or suspension was accurate. I want to address a different angle. The news commentators’ amazement at what occurred was truly baffling and struck a major cord with me. Here’s why … Racism is very real. Often times, because we’re so far removed from the 1960s and prior, we associate racism with very overt acts (like the N-word). However, in my world – which is the real world – racism is always present. It’s just present at a tolerable level. So when overt acts like the N-word is used, it appears that it’s this huge outburst from its victims when often times it’s the culmination of day-after-day of turning the other cheek. I’ll just let that simmer.
Leave a Reply