The Jones, Bonds, Vick, and Simpson Beat Down

Beat em' when they're down and beat em' again for good measure before they can get up. The beat down supposedly is not the American way of dealing with those that are down. The ground rules radically changed the moment Marion Jones, Michael Vick, Barry Bonds and O.J. Simpson were dumped in a court docket. With them, the beat down has been on with a vengeance.

Let's look at them. Marion Jones. She gave her medals back voluntarily, came clean about her steroid use, did a profuse mea culpa, will probably do some jail time, doesn't have a nickel to her name, and is permanently disgraced. But that's not enough. The International Association of Athletics Federation ( IAAF) screams for more gore. They will wipe her records from the books, demand that she repay $700,000 in prize money, and that the other women that ran on the gold medal winning relay teams with Jones give their medals back. There is not a scrap of evidence that they cheated.

This is the same IAAF that waxed fat off of Jones, raking in millions in promotional fees, soaring attendance at meets where she ran, and endorsement deals. This is the same IAAF that didn't lift a finger to go after some other big time (white) cheaters in track (the Greek Olympic silver medalist runner-up to Jones for example).

Barry Bonds. The hate Bonds mania rose to a shrill pitch long before his indictment for lying to a grand jury. The fans, sportswriters, and media talking heads feasted off Bond's homerun exploits, the MLB wheels that watched in giddy delight as the fans dashed to the ballparks to see Bonds and admitted cheaters whack the ball out of there. In the process they jingled the turnstiles and resuscitated America's sinking favorite pastime. The MLB wheels did nothing when steroid use wasn't banned or illegal. The same bunch now has suddenly turned into pious saints on Bonds. The key players who say they'll testify against Bonds are a disgruntled trainer, an ex-mistress, and the best man at his wedding and tainted business partner.

Michael Vick. Dog fighting is cruel and reprehensible. But it's also legal in many countries, cheered on and reveled in by bettors, promoters and fans in this country, and winked and nodded at by law enforcement and prosecutors. Vick, as Jones, copped to his guilt, did mea culpa on top of mea culpa, and groveled to PETA. It didn't make a whit of difference. The state sniffed blood and a little notoriety and piled charges on him on top of those of the feds. Though he single-handedly rung his team's cash registers, and revived a dismal performing, attendance deflated Atlanta team, the Falcon's management demands every cent of his pay back. The ultimate insult is that the feds demand that he pay nearly a million dollars to them for keeping the confiscated dogs.

The Juice. O.J. has a good case that the sports stuff that he went after was his. The cast of characters lined up to testify against him are a motley collection of con men, shysters, hanger's ons, druggies and convicted felons. Yet, the press and prosecutors are in ecstasy reminding one and all that Simpson could get life in prison when, not if, he's convicted.

Jones, Bonds, Vick and Simpson were one time black sports icons. But there's a price, a steep price, to be paid for resting on that high perch. One misstep and they become the instant poster boys (and girls) for all that's allegedly wrong with sport and society.

There are two reasons for that. When Jones burned up the cinders, Bonds tore up the bleachers with his shots, Vick darted up and down the field, and Simpson successfully juked his way from Hall of Fame glory into the broadcast booth, they became the gatekeepers for the storehouse of fantasies and delusions of a sports crazed public as well as advertisers, sportswriters, and TV executives that are in desperate need of vicarious escape, titillation, excitement, and profits. The maligned four were the ultimate sports heroes that fulfilled that need.

They were expected to move in the rarified air above the fray of human problems while raising society's expectation of what's good and wholesome. They were rewarded handsomely for fulfilling that fantasy even though they are terribly flawed persons as are most sports icons.

The other reason for the beat down is they're black, rich and famous. The hurt the black super stars caused when they betrayed the collective self delusion of sport as pure and pristine is layered over and under with jealousy and resentment. That's evident in the constant fan and sportswriter carping about how spoiled, pampered and over paid black athletes supposedly are. The first hint of any bad behavior by them ignites a torrent of self-righteous columns and commentary that reinforce the stereotype of the crime prone, ignorant, untutored, bonehead black athlete.

Jones, Bonds, Vick and Simpson have had their day in court, the court of public opinion that is. They were tried, convicted and sentenced long before they had or will have their trials. Their sentences are cruel, but given whom they are, not unusual. It's called the beat down.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation between African-Americans and Hispanics (Middle Passage Press)
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Comments

[Manzone123]

Chamberslee --

Your moves to dodge questions, to fake one way and go another with your responses, to fake a run and then do a pass remind me of the greatest running back of all time - OJ Simpson. If you can learn to do that in muddy, icy, and bitterly cold weather conditions, then you be considered to be the OJ of the blogosphere (OJ is to running backs what Muhammad Ali is to boxers - they toyed with their opponents using their graceful talents, and then knocked them out).

Re Barry Bonds, you say that he was found guilty of something before the grand jury indictment. What are you talking about? Guilty of what?

Re Jason Giambi - he has never been indicted for allegedly lying to a grand jury, so how can you say that he has been treated differently?

Re OJ Simpson, why would you feel the need to
explain the difference between criminal court and civil court? What does that have to do with the article or this discussion?

Ultimately, I guess my real questions to you are these --

Why do you treat fiction as if it were fact, and fact as if it were fiction?

Do you feel inadequate to answer the questions of others without re-stating the questions in a twisted manner that better fits an answer that you want to provide?

[Nommo]

"Just don't use this fact to excuse people who do bad things."
YD

This is the sort of twisted logic that whites continue to throw around--a half ass admitting that they do in fact commit crimes, but that should not take away from the reactionary/knee jerk response to a Black persons crimes/indiscretions.
Anyone notice how quickly the Belicheat and Donaghy situations disappeared? Notice how quiet the Andy Reid drama got?

Apparently, YD, you did not see the signs outside the courthouse or read some of the posts that appeared here that called for all manner of heinous punishments upon Michael Vick.

As for this outrage expressed by "most whites", I've never seen it. What I remember from most whites is silence. When 4 little girls were murdered in the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing, I don't remember any outrage from whites. That crime went unpunished for 4 decades.
You will have to prove your contention. You give whites way too much credit.

[SamThornton]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I take the premise of Earl's article to be that there is differential treatment of blacks and whites in sports based on the color of their skin. Jones, Bonds, Vick, and Simpson are offered as examples.

The argument would have benefited by naming white athletes who committed the same or similar acts and received more lenient treatment, or by pointing to some broader measure that made the point.

There's little doubt that blacks and whites receive differential treatment in the criminal justice system, based solely on the analysis of judicial outcomes for similar crimes.

Based on this article, I confess I'm not persuaded that a similar evidence-based argument can be made that the same holds true in the world of sports, even though it's not a big stretch to imagine that it might be true.

Back to the drawing board, Earl. Serve us up some real-world examples, or at least a study or two documenting the claim.

[Angelfirenze]

I agree with the general public about Simpson, Vick, and Bonds, but I think Marion Jones is the only one who's actually shown real remorse for what she did wrong, immediately renouncing her participation in defrauding her medals, followed by retiring permanently from the sport in which she cheated.

Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, and O.J. Simpson have shown none of that regret, let alone admitting they were in the wrong in the first place. The only one I see being given an unfair trial in anyone's eyes is Jones and her teammates. The rest can roast.

[Manzone123]

Mr. Hutchinson, you give the white man way too much credit.

According to you, it is the white man that giveth opportunities to these four black individuals, and it is the white man that taketh these opportunities away. Let's review the actual facts, not the distortions of your article.

Fact: Marion Jones is a self-admitted liar and a cheater. As for the other women that received awards, how unfortunate they received awards under false pretenses for which they had no control. And even more unfortunate are the other women that missed out on contests/awards because Marion Jones cheated.

Fact: Only one person is responsible for these actions, and that person isn't white.

Fact: Barry Bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury, he has not been convicted yet you
speak as if he had.

Fact: If Bonds is convicted, the only person responsible is Barry Bonds, and Barry isn't white.

Fact: Michael Vick confessed that he had committed crimes in our country, not in other countries.

Fact: We would all have been much better off if Vick had never have committed these crimes.

Fact: Vick is black.

Fact: According to you, it is acceptable for O.J. Simpson to retrieve his belongings and the method in which he does this is irrelevant and the law should not interfere.

Fact: O.J. Simpson remains the most gifted running back to ever take the field. No one else could have accomplished what OJ did,
especially having to run behind the o-line of the Bills, often times in terrible field conditions.

Fact: The last time I checked, O.J. is black.

As an adult, we have to know that when we make bad decisions, we reap bad results. As a society we cannot turn a blind eye towards criminal activity regardless of the color of the participants. If the black person wants to accept what the white man offers only on the black man's terms, then perhaps he should not accept the white man's awards.

Fact: I am white.

[DickTater]

Zoiks - I reread my post and the last paragraph might be construed to mean I thought Mr Hutchinson spent too much time on sports. I meant the whole country seems to be going the way of the Romans, and blithely following a team or charioteer or gladiator and fiddling while the Capitol burns.

We really need to address our team/loyalty neediness. Whether someone wants to kill the Dixie Chicks because of something Toby Keith whispered in their ears...or if you root for Kyle or Dale in NASCAR....or if you love The Pack and hate Da Bears....or you hate liberals and love Rush....or if you are a Chevy Dude and hate Fords.
we are sick this way. How do you think BillO and Limpbaugh retain a following - by relying on their audience's reasoning and long-term thinking skills?

[posthumous]

Then again, the fact that some commentors are grouping Vick with O.J. kinda makes your point...

[posthumous]

How could you possibly include O.J. with the other three? He is a vicious killer. It really undermines your point and causes me to question your judgment.

[DickTater]

I have occasionally chimed in on racism rants and I have at times tried to re-direct Mr. Hutchinson's ire.

I find that most racism arguments boil down to a financial form of discrimination, with a touch of skin-color. Sometimes skin-color is a primary/triggering factor or sometimes it is merely an add-on component of the discrimination. My point boils down to we are ALL being ground-down by Big Business interests.

However, I cannot fault his point in this article. There IS a particular viciousness with the above mentioned athletes. There is a tendency for MSM to focus on the black mishaps and gloss-over the white wrongdoings.

I would mention, just food for thought...
there are a lot of black athletes who do get caught doing something wrong and the populace deals with it just fine. (publicization of their alleged crimes/foibles may be higher, though, thanks to the media).
Brings me to a related point....the population is not deciding what gets put on the news nor does the population decide who judges about medals or competition committees.
Mr Hutchinson, beware investing the white masses with the sins of the Corporate Media.

Lastly, our attached importance on sports is a terribly Roman and decadent thing. It cannot portend anything good. It means you do not live in YOUR own present, that you have ceded enough of REALITY to The Void, and aren't very occupied running your own life, and you have time to be absorbed in a different soap opera.

[jhNY]

Fretful castigation of black athletes who are insufficiently grateful for being allowed to play a child's game for big money-- this is the ur-theme, the quintessence of most think-pieces in sports writing today and yesterday, or at least since Jackie Robinson was allowed to play. More bashful smiles and abject prostration to the expectations of these writers would go a long way to making them feel better about everything, but as that's not likely to happen, expect more calls for punishment whenever an opportunity presents itself.

After all, they've got their public to think about. And their public is seemingly always ready for another chance to decry, and then destroy, their idols.

It's probably all for the best anyway. If not for the doings of these errant athletes, what else would all these deep-thinking sports analysts have to write about? Ownership collusion? The entrenched racism of sports fans and sports coverage? Not if they like their jobs...

[BMSstudy]

If she cheated to win, it sounds appropriate to me that she is forced to repay prize money and her name and accomplishments be removed from the record books. That being said, I would expect to see the same sort of punishment used for all that have been convicted of similiar 'crimes'. I see where the Greek white sprinter was suspended for 2 years for failing to appear for a drug test, not failing a drug test.
Bonds has admitted to cheating, granted he states he did not know what the 'cream' was, so he didn't cheat on purpose. If it is racism, where is the hatred filled tirade against Sammy and Raffy?

Vick and OJ? Do we really need to discuss why they are so hated?

So, I assume your point is that these 4 specific people did bad things (varying levels of bad,) but the reason they are being vilified more than their white counterparts is racism.

1. Lets get some better understanding of the IAAF's recent (the past 10 or so years,) rulings on people convicted / or issued guilty pleas of the same crimes as Jones plus the failed tests and ensure that she is being singled out.
2. Bonds. Potentially some of the outrage is really about people so angry about him being a top 10/5 whatever of alltime BEFORE cheating. Being a Met fan since 1974, and a teeanager in the 80's, I have reason enough to hate Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke.
3. Vick. I saw a new mag show comparing the feed the child versus feed the animal change jars at check out registers. Almost universally, the animal jar was filled faster and more often then the human child one. So, being convicted of animal abuse to the Nth degree seems about right for the level of hatred toward him.
4. OJ. Is there anyone else who more people 'know' got away with murder than him? Then the "I will spend my remaining time on earth lookin for their killer" kind of rubbed some people the wrong way.

[dadumdee]

Anyone sipping on a coffee this morning is morally guilty of the same crime as Bonds and Jones. Coffee is as performancing enhancing to your shitty, mind numbing job as testostorone is to sports. Why do we discuss performance enhancing drugs like they are solely responsible for the atheletes successes? Just like you could have type out the same quarterly earnings report without your morning joe, I'm sure Bonds and Jones would have been quite accomplished given their natural gifts. I really feel bad for Bonds. At the time, what he took wasnt classified as steroids or banned, and he made the mistake of being late. McGuire and Sosa had bulked up and cycled off already, just in time for Barry to be the fall guy.
The Vick thing is the perfect storm of America's moral, athletic, humanitarian, and racial hypocrisies. A country that says yes to torture, starting wars, death as a sanctioned penalty and jailing without trial (people, by the way) says no to dog fighting (because its inhumane). I hope pittbulls are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame, because as soon as this is settled, White people will hate them again. In fact, the detractors have said such things as 'they are a useless breed' or 'they were only breed for dogfighting', but I digress.
If you are White and think that the civil rights movement eliminated racism, look no further than OJ to find out the raw truth. Do we talk about Robert Durst or Robert Blake with the same passion? At all? The first time our pay-to-play legal system actually unfairly helps a Black person, and White America will not s.t.f.u. about it.
Personally, I think we should bring back the Negro leagues. In fact, Black people should have majority ownerships in the enterprises that they fuel, like sports and urban music. Justice is not being sought in these cases, vengence is. Imagine getting fired, paying restitution fees, and facing jail time for the coffee you had this morning.

[chamberslee]

It is so ture; there is nothing to add.

[darosenthal]

Bonds, Vick, Jones, Simpson...all black, all supremely talented, all convicted (in the public consciousness if not in court). These are the things they have in common.

Bonds and Jones? Steroid abusers.

Vick? Animal Abuser. Simpson? Probable murderer, probable thief.

The first pair shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as the second pair.

A mostly non-black audience, media, and sports-management culture is bound to view black athletes with a jaundiced eye. Racism (I think) is pernicious in this regard. But "blackness" should not be a stain or a shield.

Also: mea culpa is pretty empty when it's the last possible option.

[wry]

Bonds and Jones cheated. Vick killed puppies. Simpson killed people.

I agree with all this. I'd rank them Simpson, Vick, Bonds and Jones in terms of "badness" - with a big gap between Vick and Bonds.
That being said, I can't help feeling an undercurrent of racism when they are discussed. Some white redneck country western singer shot a tame animal in a pen ( Gentry I think or somebody ) and it was swept under a rug. Michael Vick is an animal, but he isn't an animal because he's Black. And Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, regardless of using steroids. The press is nasty to him because he's arrogant and Black.
Judith Giuliani killed puppies too...with a staple gun. But she's not Black.