KTrainSkinsFan Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Didn't see this posted yet....Pretty interesting comments http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1818396 KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. -- Larry Bird says he wants to see more white superstars in the NBA, but the legendary former Celtic has also revealed that nothing in basketball bothered him more than being guarded by another white player. Bird made the comments during an ESPN special that will air Thursday at 7 p.m. ET featuring Bird's longtime rival, Magic Johnson, and rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. The one-hour discussion is called "Two on Two." ESPN host Jim Gray asked Bird whether the NBA lacks enough white superstars. "Well, I think so," said Bird, the Indiana Pacers' president of basketball operations. "You know, when I played, you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American." Johnson, a Lakers part owner, quickly added: "We need some more LBs -- Larry Birds. ... Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. When you say 'Larry Bird,' black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him the respect." Cleveland's James and Denver's Anthony, both 19, were also asked about race during the sitdown, which took place in the tiny gym used as Hickory High's homecourt in the movie "Hoosiers." Asked by Gray if race is an issue in the NBA, James said: "I don't think so. I think the fans look at the game, (they're) not looking at the race. (They're) looking who can play basketball. Or who's athletic. ... When you (were) a kid and you used to go outside, it didn't matter who was the best player in the league. If Bird was my favorite player, I'm out shooting threes. ... If Magic was my (favorite) player, I'm out there throwing my best passes. It's not the race issue. If you can play the game of basketball, you know fans are gonna love you." Said Anthony: "Race is not an issue. Where I'm from, people love the Yao Mings, the Dirks, the Pejas. They love them guys. I don't think race is an issue right now." Yet later in the discussion, Bird described being guarded by another white in his prime as "disrespect." "The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me," Bird said. "I still don't understand why. A white guy would come out (and) I would always ask him: 'What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did you coach do this to you?' And he'd go, 'No,' and I'd say, 'Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.' ... For some reason, that always bothered me when I was playing against a white guy. "As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me -- red, yellow, black," Bird added. "I just didn't want a white guy guarding me. Because it's disrespect to my game." Said Magic: "His game, you see, Larry Bird was the only (white) guy that was mentioned in the barbershop. ...'Cause that's where all the talking in our communitity is, the barbershop or on the playground." Bird has declined to comment further, according to a Pacers spokesman, and NBA commissioner David Stern said he would reserve comment until seeing the entire interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 someone finally had the balls to say it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 nothing wrong with what he said, he is 100% right i love the comment about how he hated when a white guy guarded him :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTrainSkinsFan Posted June 9, 2004 Author Share Posted June 9, 2004 I tend to agree with Carmello and LeBron in that people see skill and ahtletic ability..not race. When I was growing up I remember pretending I was Larry Bird (I am black). I don't think the white populous needs a white hero...but I guess I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Larry Bird is White? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 i grew up pretending i was 'nique... larry bird was second to me. and i believe the NBA wants "the white population" and needs a dynamic white player, a larry bird, not a jason williams, to get that audience back. i know so many people that don't watch basketball anymore because of the selfish, showboat type of play. the spreewell choking his coach **** only turns people off. ****ty players making $10 million per year turns people off. vin "fatass" baker making $18 million and claiming that he can still play when he is receiving treatment for alcoholism is turning people off. the constant traveling (or carrying whatever you want to call it: taking four steps to get to the hoop) is turning people off. maybe basketball has evolved and a lot of fans don't want to evolve with it? i only watch the playoffs, yao, and garnett. besides that, it's a bunch of crap. you've got games that finally mean something, and the players give 100% effort for the first time all season. and then you've got two guys who are the epitome of what every player should strive to be. unfortunately they are rarities in the game nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingJeremy Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Interesting that while Larry Bird is proclaimnig the sport as "the Black Man's game," LeBron and Carmello are saying "It's not about race" and that fans are looking at "who's athletic." This is not to say that either is right or wrong, just an interesting dichotomy. It's cleary an athelete's game, and the best atheletes in the sport right now are predominantly black. I think few would argue that... Jer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushman Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 He's putting down white America...his own people. Why is he the only one talking up race. White people want to see white players. White people want to see WINNERS. All people want to see winners. Yao, Peja, Dirk. Theses are household names to sports fans black or white, brown or yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Jason Williams is white? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfanforlife Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Bird was the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section 130 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I don't think the NBA needs more white players. What the NBA needs is to get their players to play harder. There is no question that these guys are very talented, the question is is why don't they play like they should most of the time. Take for instance Game 1 of the NBA finals, Shaq saying we just weren't prepared. This is the FINALS, how can you not be prepared! I have watched less and less of the NBA as I have gotten older. I remember growing up watching guys like MJ, Magic, Dominique, Bird. Those guys gave their all each and every night. You hardly ever see that from 90% of the NBA now. The problem is not color, the problem is guaranteed contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Jason Williams is white? yes I am pretty sure he is talking about the Grizzlies pg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 so am I. a miserable attempt admittedly to continue Buffords joke from above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by KingJeremy Interesting that while Larry Bird is proclaimnig the sport as "the Black Man's game," LeBron and Carmello are saying "It's not about race" and that fans are looking at "who's athletic." This is not to say that either is right or wrong, just an interesting dichotomy. It is showing the younger generations don't look at each other as white, black, hispanic, etc... instead the look at each as other as friends or people. Once we can get rid of all the old boy networks in corporate america then this place will be a much enjoyable one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 a miserable attempt admittedly to continue Buffords joke from above. oh.............sorry..........:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I grew up pretending I was Elvin Hayes or Wes Unseld, and I'm about as pale white as it gets. Who gives a shiite what race an athlete is (other than maybe Jimmy the Greek)? Not that Bird is saying anything we didn't know, just stuff that we've made taboo - I mean, how funny was that scene in Airplane where the white guy goes to the jungle to teach African tribes how to play b-ball.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scskin Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 The reason Carmelo and Lebron won't say what Bird will is because they have been conditioned to say what is most expedient for their pockets. You won't find too many active players that would say what Bird said for fear of economic and social retribution. First Bill Cosby and now Larry Bird. Maybe Chris Rock had a point when he talked about the difference between being rich and being wealthy. Then again, maybe the NFL front brass is desirous to have a successful Black QB. Regardless, I like to have the color of my team be successful, but Bird is speaking Economics, and although winning brings money, the realization of more money( with superstar White players ) could be a boon for the NBA. Bird played for the Celtics, he gets it. The league would be best served to leave his comment alone. Bird will see his wish come true when the NBA goes global, but forget all that, Does anyone know when the gas prices are going down? Sports makes good smokescreens for the important things that are going down in this world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by KTrainSkinsFan I tend to agree with Carmello and LeBron in that people see skill and ahtletic ability..not race. When I was growing up I remember pretending I was Larry Bird (I am black). I don't think the white populous needs a white hero...but I guess I could be wrong. I disagree somewhat. I work with quite a few african americans and they go out of their way to cheer for african americans. For example, two of my coworkers are "Redskin fans", however, they follow Vick, McNabb and Aaron Brooks much closer than they do the Skin AND, when the Eagles play the Skins, they favor McNabb. Now before anyone gets upset, I know that this is not representative of everyone, however, I just wanted to point out that in my personal experiences, I have seen this behavior. But I will say that in my life, I favored Dominique over Bird when I was younger, I didn't see the race issue. However, as I've gotten older, I notice it more because of how I see others going in the opposite direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 any fan that calls himself a redskins fan, but cheers for mcnabb because he is black-- pathetic! i want people to succeed based on their talents, but i don't ever cheer against my team when they are facing white athletes.... i cheer for vick no matter whom he plays, not because i am black, but because he is an incredible player who can change the course of a game in one play-- and i played against him in HS... i cheer for all the players i played with or against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mufumonk Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by KTrainSkinsFan I tend to agree with Carmello and LeBron in that people see skill and ahtletic ability..not race. When I was growing up I remember pretending I was Larry Bird (I am black). I don't think the white populous needs a white hero...but I guess I could be wrong. No, we need a hero regardless of race. The NBA is a mess right now. We have the Kobe Bryant's of the NBA to thank for that. I can barely tolerate to watch an NBA game the last few years because of the state that it's in. Save for a few teams (Detroit, San Antonio, Indiana) there is zero teamwork involved, and even less defense. We need more Tim Duncans and Ben Wallaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTrainSkinsFan Posted June 9, 2004 Author Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by codeorama I disagree somewhat. I work with quite a few african americans and they go out of their way to cheer for african americans. For example, two of my coworkers are "Redskin fans", however, they follow Vick, McNabb and Aaron Brooks much closer than they do the Skin AND, when the Eagles play the Skins, they favor McNabb. Now before anyone gets upset, I know that this is not representative of everyone, however, I just wanted to point out that in my personal experiences, I have seen this behavior. But I will say that in my life, I favored Dominique over Bird when I was younger, I didn't see the race issue. However, as I've gotten older, I notice it more because of how I see others going in the opposite direction. I guess some of what Larry Bird said is right....I could see white people cheering for a white superstar, just as I cheer (or at least have good wishes for) Tiger Woods. There is someting to be said for the case where someone excels in a sport where he/she is a racial minority. I think it's sad but valid. P.S. I would never rout for McNabb...eagles suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTrainSkinsFan Posted June 9, 2004 Author Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by Mufumonk No, we need a hero regardless of race. The NBA is a mess right now. We have the Kobe Bryant's of the NBA to thank for that. I can barely tolerate to watch an NBA game the last few years because of the state that it's in. Save for a few teams (Detroit, San Antonio, Indiana) there is zero teamwork involved, and even less defense. We need more Tim Duncans and Ben Wallaces. I think a league filled with Tim Duncans and Ben Wallaces would be pretty boring. I don't get it. Kobe Bryant is a great player with rare athletic ability...why wouldn't you want to see that? Would you have not wanted to see Jordan in his prime? Dr. J? George Gervin? Elgin Baylor? I think these types of players add flavor to the game, and if they can walk the walk, I don't have a problem with them talking the talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I only root for Innuit athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mufumonk Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Originally posted by KTrainSkinsFan I think a league filled with Tim Duncans and Ben Wallaces would be pretty boring. I don't get it. Kobe Bryant is a great player with rare athletic ability...why wouldn't you want to see that? Would you have not wanted to see Jordan in his prime? Dr. J? George Gervin? Elgin Baylor? I think these types of players add flavor to the game, and if they can walk the walk, I don't have a problem with them talking the talk. I love how easy Duncan makes the game look. And I love Wallace's intensity. Sure Kobe is an incredible athlete, but I hate his "me first" attitude. I loved Jordan because he was the complete player. He did whatever it took to win, and more importantly, he respected great coaching. For all of the comparisons, Kobe is lacking in too many of the intangibles that Jordan possessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panel Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Why do so many people have to clump people together based on race. A white guy watching Dirk play on TV is no more related to him than kobe. When Kobe plays, he isn't playing for the pride of blacks, he is playing for fans of Los Angeles. If you want to explain racial differences in sports, take a sociology class. Carmelo and Lebron are right on, there is no problem, and there never will be a problem, and long as guys are playing based on there skill. How rediculous is it to say that you have to be a color to be the best athelete? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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