The holiday season is supposed to be about joy, gladness and good tidings. But what do you get professional athletes or superstar music moguls that potentially have everything? For American Airlines and a Bay Area news anchor, the answer is internalized racism.
Flying While Black
On Christmas Eve, Memphis Hustle (G League) players Marquis Teague and Trahson Burrell boarded an American Airlines flight (operated by Envoy Air) headed from Dallas to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. According to a report by The Undefeated, a first-class passenger, in the giving spirit, handed the coach-bound basketball players two blankets (given complimentary to first-class passengers) in a random act of kindness.
Before the players, both African-American, had a chance to feel the warm fuzzies about the friendly gesture, a black male flight attendant accused the players of stealing the blankets. After an argument over the disparaging and untrue allegations, the flight attendant refused to fly unless Teague and Burrell were booted off the plane.
American Airline officials obliged the ridiculous demand and removed the players from the flight. Teague, Burrell and a Hustle assistant coach were all placed on a later flight, causing them to miss their team’s holiday dinner.
After being called out for their foolishness, American Airlines issued a half-hearted apology.
“We apologize for what occurred on this flight,” American Airlines spokesman Joshua Freed told The Undefeated. “We take pride in bringing people together, and we know that on this flight we let some of our customers down. Our team at American, along with Envoy Air, is reviewing what happened and will be reaching out to [the two players and the assistant coach].”
Yup, nothing says “bringing people together” like kicking people off an airplane for “stealing” a free blanket. If the flight attendant refused to do his job with the players on board, airline officials should’ve sent him home early with a nice, shiny pink slip for Christmas.
Apparently, the angry flight attendant must be focused on Making American Great Again. Black people with first-class blankets simply cannot be tolerated, not even on Christmas Eve.
Anchor shades Diddy
Last week, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced he would sell the team following the season. A report by Sports Illustrated alleges that Richardson and the Panthers have made “multiple confidential payouts for workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment and use of a racial slur.”
After the announcement of the impending sale, Sean “Diddy” Combs publicly announced that he would seek to purchase the Panthers via Instagram.
“Attention to the Carolina PANTHERS!! ATTENTION NFL! This is a chance to make history!!! There are NO AFRICAN AMERICAN MAJORITY OWNERS IN THE NFL!!!! I WOULD LIKE TO BUY THE CAROLINA PANTHERS!!! Let’s GOOOOOOO!!!!! Spread the word. Tell the world! No joke.”
The next day, Bay Area sports anchor Henry Wofford went on The World According to Darya and made the following remarks about the possibility of Diddy becoming the NFL’s first black owner:
“The guy looks high right there in this video,” Wofford said. “He looks like he smoked a blunt and drank a 40. Come on, I’m not taking him seriously.”
After a swift and thorough dragging on social media, Wofford, who is also black, quickly backtracked and apologized for perpetuating racial stereotypes with his ignorant comments.
“Although it was said in an attempt to be funny, I realize insinuating a person may be drunk or on drugs is nothing to joke about,” Wofford said in a statement. “For that I sincerely apologize to Mr. Combs, his fans and everyone who was offended. Dozens of Diddy’s twitter followers have accused me of playing on racial stereotypes. That was not my goal. But I understand my comments had that impact and for that I sincerely apologize.”
It remains to be seen whether Combs, who has an estimated net worth of $820 million can put together the funding to buy an NFL franchise. However, between the NFL’s Kaepernick situation, Richardson’s racial slur(s) and Wofford’s utter disbelief that a black man could seriously hope of owning an NFL franchise, it’s clear that the NFL needs a black owner.
Currently, the NFL only fields two owners of color. Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-American owns the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kim Pegula, an Asian-American, serves as co-chair of the Buffalo Bills with her husband Terry Pegula, who is Caucasian.
A big part of the disconnect is the high price tag of NFL franchises. The Panthers were recently valued at $2.3B. However, the Richardson family owns 48% of the team, which would translate to roughly $1.1B for a potential owner.
According to Wikipedia, there are only three black Americans with that kind of coin; Oprah Winfrey ($3.1B), Robert Smith ($2.5B) and Michael Jordan ($1.14B), whose money is tied up with the Charlotte Hornets.
That doesn’t mean that a group of wealthy, black investors can’t come up with the money to buy the team. With all of its current troubles, NFL owners are likely dying to prove how not racist they are. Therefore it’s the perfect time to get some more color in those NFL executive suites.
Nearly 70 percent of NFL players are black. It’s long overdue to get at least one seat at the table. Whether it’s Diddy, Oprah or some other unnamed wealthy, black businessperson, it’s time!
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
