Sports

Antonio Brown and the Dehumanizing of Black Athletes’ Bodies

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

The recent public meltdown of former Tampa Bucs wide receiver Antonio Brown during a game in New York has many questioning whether the NFL and other professional sports leagues show enough care and concern for athletes.

Meanwhile, others have expressed disappointment, if not anger, when pointing out that athletes of color, in particular, continue to be mistreated and deemed less than human.

During a January 2, 2022 game against the New York Jets, Brown removed his shirt, shoulder pads and gloves and tossed them into the stands at MetLife Stadium. He then ran through the end zone, raised his arms toward the crowd and gave high-fives to stadium personnel as he exited.

Tampa Bay Coach Bruce Arians immediately declared that Brown was “no longer a Buc.” Brown said an ankle injury prevented him from performing.

The team formally released Brown later and the National Football League Players Association announced it would investigate findings that the Bucs injected Brown with a “powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the players association has warned against using.”

“As a clinician, my initial reaction was one of curiosity,” stated Dr. Tammy Lewis Wilborn, a board-certified licensed professional counselor who’s

Bowie State's Damon Wilson Named Division II National Coach of the Year

Ed Hill WI Contributing Writer

the American Football Coaches Association named head football coach Damon Wilson as the The Bowie State football proAFCA National Coach of the Year gram had one of its best seasons for the NCAA Division II. The ever and it has been rewarded as BOWIE STATE Page 36

5 Antonio Brown (Courtesy photo) known as America’s No. 1 mental health and wellness expert.

“Unfortunately, when we’re talking about Black pain, it’s often minimized, scrutinized, and when it’s on display, penalized,” Dr. Wilborn asserted.

“One of the things concerning is that if Brown’s refusal to continue to play was his awareness of his pain and his need to advocate for himself, and the team didn’t respect and honor his concerns. I think that reflects a larger issue of how Black folks and how Black pain tends to be minimized,” Dr. Wilborn said.

“If Antonio Brown refused to play because he was hurting and didn’t want to cause further hurt, then good for him for recognizing his own worth and not buying into the dollar signs that are often dangled to help keep Black people in pain and suffering,” she said.

The treatment of Black athletes has remained a heated debate.

A 1995 white paper from Stanford University asked, “Does the stereotype of Black athletes as superphysical beings encourage racial violence in America?”

The Rev. Floyd Thompkins, who served as associate dean of Stanford’s Memorial Church, and ran programs for African-American adolescent boys, said he worried that the “glorification” of professional Black athletes as “people who are stronger, faster and bigger than everybody else” gives everyone more permission to be fearful of, or more violent against, Black males in general.

“It seems innocuous but it’s profoundly dangerous not to challenge the stereotype of the superhuman Black athlete,” Rev. Thompkins said. “It could give permission for police to be more violent or to again lynch [Blacks] because there is a Michael Jordan and an L.T. (Lawrence Taylor).”

In a 1988 interview, the then-popular CBS Sports commentator Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder remarked that Black athletes are better than whites because “they have been bred to be that way.”

“Because of his high thighs and big thighs that go up into his back,” Snyder said. “And they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs.”

He then took it further.

“I’m telling you that the Black is the better athlete and he practices to be the better athlete and he’s bred to be the better athlete because this goes all the way to the Civil War when, during the slave trading, the owner, the slave owner, would breed his big woman so that he would have a big Black kid, see. That’s where it all started,” an unchecked Snyder concluded.

While the comments caused a firestorm of controversy and led to Snyder’s termination, many responded that the proverbial genie was out of the bottle – that Snyder said what others remains too afraid to utter.

In the case of Brown, the Bucs former star, his latest episode has many wondering how badly several teams may have used him.

In 2018, as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team benched Brown because of a fierce disagreement he had with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

A year later, Brown. found guilty of driving recklessly, would be traded by the Steelers to the Oakland Raiders.

Oakland released Brown after he objected to a team-issued helmet and demanded separate gear. After signing with the New England Patriots, the NFL suspended him for eight games for violating its personal conduct policy.

The All-Pro helped the Bucs with the 2020 Super Bowl but the league suspended him earlier this season for allegedly providing the team with a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.

“It’s speculative to say what happened to Antonio Brown but there are concerns over whether it’s mental or physical,” said Faye McCray, a Howard University graduate and editor in chief of Psych Central, Healthline Media’s site devoted to mental health and wellness.

“What comes with this is the judgment. We think pro athletes make a lot of money so they can handle all of this but it’s more to it than that,” McCray insisted.

“The idea of Black people owing people our bodies is not new and we know that it’s rooted in racism and misogyny. And when someone speaks out and is condemned, it shouldn’t be surprising. But, whether it’s prioritizing mental health or acknowledging that Black lives matter, the sports industry has been behind the ball in confronting the humanity of our athletes,” she said. WI

Howard Hosts Notre Dame in MLK, Jr. Classic

History to Be Made on Multiple Fronts

Ed Hill WI Contributing Writer

Howard University will host Notre Dame on Monday, January 17, in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Classic, so named in honor of the late civil rights activist. The game, which will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports, features a Power 5 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team in the Fighting Irish pitted against the Bison of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), an HBCU conference.

Tip off will be 2:30 EST with a pre-game presentation beginning at 2 p.m.

Originally scheduled to be played last year, the game would be canceled due to the coronavirus.

“This game came about as a result of a conversation that I had with Mike Brey,” said Kenny Blakeney, Howard head coach. “I have always had great respect for him. He is a

HOWARD Page 44

gotiating skills to get one of their own on board with changing Senate filibuster rules.

Doing so would allow the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to pass.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) continues to staunchly oppose any filibuster changes.

The conservative has displayed an unwillingness to help push through bills that would help level the playing field for many underserved Americans – including his constituents in the Mountain State.

“The next few days, when these bills come to a vote, will mark a turning point in this nation. Will we choose democracy over autocracy, light over shadow, justice over injustice?” President Biden asserted in excerpts of a speech released before his Georgia visit.

“I know where I stand. I will not yield. I will not flinch,” the President continued.

“I will defend your right to vote and our democracy against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And so, the question is where will the institution of the United States Senate stand?”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the President’s words “forceful.”

“He’s quite focused on ensuring the American people understand what’s at stake here,” Psaki insisted.

“He will forcefully advocate for protecting the most bedrock American rights: the right to vote and have your voice counted in a free, fair, and secure election that is not tainted … by partisan manipulation.”

Psaki continued:

“He’ll make clear in the former district of the late Congressman John Lewis that the only way to do that is for the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.”

Despite an expected “no” vote from Manchin, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) insisted he would bring to the chamber measures to alter or abolish the filibuster.

He said he would push for a vote on the John Lewis Voting

award counts as both for Bowie State and for the CIAA conference as Wilson becomes the first CIAA coach to win the prestigious award.

“This is the ultimate team award,” Wilson said. “I appreciate the recognition but it's impossible to win this award without great coaches, players and alum's buying in. I understand the impact of this award and its history.”

Wilson, in his 12th year as head coach of the Bulldogs football program, guided Bowie State to a 12-2 record. It was BSU's third-straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Northern Division title and a championship title while posting a 7-0 league record. It also marked the program's fourth consecutive NCAA appearance and

The clever acorn woodpecker knows that by storing acorns, the family will survive less bountiful times. The take away for everyone is that budgeting is the best way to use resources, be it food or money. Each week, Kid Scoop brings students interactive games, activities, puzzles and more in a bright & bouncy, award-winning feature kids and their family members can enjoy together. PUBLICATION DATE HERE Publication Date: 1-20-22

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or www.dorranceinfo.com/informer Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

To do so, all 50 Senate Democrats must vote in the affirmative.

All 50 GOP Senators likely will vote against each of those measures.

Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote, giving Democrats the majority.

Georgia stands among 19 states that have passed voter suppression laws since Republican Donald Trump lost the presidency to Joe Biden in 2020.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 34 voter restriction or suppression laws have passed across the country since the 2020 election, where Trump and some Republicans falsely claimed fraud.

Brennan Center officials noted that 13 more restrictive laws stand in the works, including one in Georgia that would ban the use of ballot boxes altogether.

Before President Biden visited Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s family said they didn’t want any celebrations of the slain civil rights hero’s national holiday unless meaningful voting rights legislation passed.

Meanwhile, the Asian American Advocacy Fund, Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council, Black Voters Matter Fund, GALEO Impact Fund and New Georgia Project Action Fund boycotted President Biden’s speech.

They demanded that the President remain in Washington where he might help usher through voting legislation to protect disenfranchised voters.

“We don’t need another speech. What we need is action. What we need is a plan,” demanded Cliff Albright, executive director of the Black Voters Matter Fund.

While Sen. Schumer has called on his colleagues to vote on filibuster and voting rights legislation by January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, White House officials said they’re working hard to help get legislation passed. “We understand the frustration by many advocates that this is not passed into law yet,” Psaki stated. “[President Biden] would love to have signed this into law himself. But [the speech] is an opportunity to speak about what the path forward looks like to advocate for – for this moving forward in the Senate.”

WI

5 President Biden and Vice President Harris joined the King family at the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta. (Screengrab)

BOWIE STATE from Page 34

first-ever NCAA quarterfinal appearance in program history. Other awards Wilson has received this year include: CIAA Coach of the Year; and AFCA Super Region II Coach of the Year. He has posted an impressive 89-45 overall record that features four NCAA playoff appearances, a total of seven CIAA Northern Division titles and three CIAA championships. WI THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM