A hero asks writer if he makes difference
Full story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=allen26&date=20061126

By Percy Allen
Seattle Times NBA reporter

The raspy voice on the other end of the phone wants me to think about race, racism and what it means to be an African-American sportswriter living in the 21st century, which isn't the subject I had in mind when I asked him for an interview.

For days, I'd been anticipating what I'd say to William C. Rhoden, the New York Times sports columnist, who has been one of my heroes since the day I entered journalism school in 1987.

He's often taken brash and bold stances on race and sports during the past three decades and at times I'd been hesitant to follow him down the roads that he wants all of us to travel.

This time I take the journey.

It's 2 a.m. in New York, where he is. "Just finishing up a project," he says. Despite the hour, we talk for nearly an hour. In the past, we've had a few brief conversations at sporting events and journalism conventions, but never like this.

The interview, at least according to my notes, was supposed to be about his new book, Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete before Rhoden asks a series of questions.

Finally, he says: "Are you making a difference?"

It's the same question he asks today's black athletes in his informative narrative that traces their lineage from the plantations of the early 1700s to the present multi-billion dollar professional sports industries.

Aside from re-telling the stories of Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe, Rhoden richly chronicles the little known history of Tom Molineaux, a former slave who boxed in England for the British championship and the black jockeys who dominated horse racing in the 1800s.

He claims integration led to the death of Negro League baseball and diminished enrollment at historically black colleges, and he also examines the emerging dominance of black athletes in professional sports.

In many ways, $40 Million Slaves is a historical registry for today's generation.

"Never forget. Never forget. Never forget," he says. "Better still, always remember."

Rhoden, who drew inspiration from Harold Cruise's 1967 novel The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, admits that his book is also a manifesto to those born after the Civil Rights movement.

While he fondly explores the past in his book, Rhoden is a harsh critic of many of today's black athletes, especially those in the NBA.

He chastises Michael Jordan for his apolitical approach and believes that if high-profile, well-compensated players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade were to collectively pool their vast resources and influence, then they could effect sweeping improvements in impoverished African-American communities.

"A change towards empowerment and a change towards community, that was my intention," Rhoden says. "What I wanted to do was change the nature of the dialogue surrounding the dialogue of black power.

"This is not a book about exploitations, but about empowerment. Sometimes you want to plant a seed. Part of our role as journalists is to give people a strong position to agree with or disagree with a point of reference."

This is where the author and I take slightly opposing views.

I ask him about Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, the first black majority owner of a major professional sports franchise and we talk about Brian Davis, a former NBA player, who is poised to become the second black owner in the NBA if his bid to buy controlling shares of the Memphis Grizzlies is accepted.

"Ownership is definitely a key, but enlightened ownership," Rhoden says. "I'm not interested in replacing white oppression with black oppression. Hopefully as we become owners that will take on a different meaning, a new meaning beyond just I'm a black capitalist.

"I'm excited about all of this evolution. Ownership is the next level, I just don't think it's the promise land."

We talk about the controversial title of his book, which was drawn from comments made by former major-league baseball player Curt Flood and former NBA player Larry Johnson.

Flood, the father of free agency, said in 1969: "The reserve system was the same system used in the South where the plantation owner owned all the houses that you live in and you worked for him and you shopped in his store and you never got over the hump. They're the ranchers and we're the cattle."

Johnson took it to another level 30 years later when he referred to his New York Knicks teammates as "rebellious slaves." The comment created a media maelstrom. People wondered how could someone making $11 million per year refer to he and his teammates as slaves.

To this, Rhoden says: "Has the relationship between black athletes and their owners changed from the plantation until now? And the answer in some ways is no. The numbers have increased. The salaries have increased, but the power has not increased and the exercise of power has not increased."

Finally I ask, why does the responsibility of social consciousness always fall on black athletes?

We're asking James, Bryant and Wade to fight the battles of racial equality and oppression while white counterparts such as Kirk Hinrich, Wally Szczerbiak and Luke Ridnour seemingly receive a free pass.

Now we're at a crossroads, Rhoden and I. It's nearly midnight in Seattle and 3 a.m. in New York. We could talk about this subject for hours, but we decide to table the discussion for another day.

Before hanging up, he says: "The worst thing that happened to the Civil Rights movement is that people got jobs, good well-paying jobs. We got those jobs and we forgot that somebody is still paying your salary and still dictating how much we get paid."


Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com