Add white American NBA players and black Major League Baseball players to the U.S. Endangered Species list.
In fact, both are nearing extinction based on roster spots on the league’s respective All-Star teams.
The American League All-Star team had two African-American representatives: outfielders Garret Anderson of the Los Angles Angels and Gary Sheffield of the New York Yankees.
On the National League side of the diamond, the black All-Stars were shortstop Jimmy Rollins of Philadelphia (who was an alternate who played for the injured Cesar Izturis), first baseman Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs and pitcher Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins.
Throw in the facts that the defending National League Champion Houston Astros ended the season with no black players and their opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals might have just one black player, second baseman Junior Spivey, on its roster and it’s obvious that African Americans have become a rarity in sport they once dominated.
The U.S. team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic which begins next month includes Lee, Willis, Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia, Cincinnati’s outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., and Toronto outfielder Vernon Wells.
San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds was in, then out of the WBC citing the possibility of injury.
As bad as that situation might be, consider the plight of the white American NBA player.
For a second consecutive year, there were no white Americans on either the East or West All-Star team. And this is nothing new. This was the fifth time in the last eight games that nary a white American player was in the game. None were selected by the fans or by the NBA.
In four of the last 10 games there has been only one white American, and only once (1997) in the last decade have there been more than one.
It’s no wonder that NBA scouts are drooling over Duke’s J.J. Reddick and Gonzaga’s Larry Bird look-alike Adam Morrison. They are tremendous talents and – by the way – they are white and born in the good-ole USA.
While the color of athletes doesn’t play a role in who wins and who doesn’t in professional sports, the fact is that the NBA would welcome more white Americans on its teams’ rosters and the league. The same is true for black Americans and Major League Baseball. Fans come in all colors, and the more they see of themselves on the diamond or court, the more will buy tickets.
