Profaned Sports Records?

Michael Vick and Barry Bonds are on the hot-seat because of the selective indignation of many sports fans, who see the smashing of their hallowed sports records by these two, as a perverse kind of sports achievement.

I believe that the outrage of many in the Vick 'dog fighting' case, is hypocrisy at best, and racist at worst. I've found there are even several 'dog-fighting' magazines sold monthly and legally, on major newsstands around the country, for a sport that is supposedly illegal and immoral. And don't let me even get started on the 'sports' of bull-fighting, dog racing and cock-fighting.

Methinks, a Black quarterback who signed the richest contract ever, and quarterbacks a team in the deep south, and became the first quarterback to rush for over 1000 yds. in a season, is way too much for many of the upstanding 'turn-the-clock-back-on-racial-progress' fans in this country. So to derail his assault on the record books, they are screaming for Vick to be banished from the NFL, even before his trial to determine his guilt or innocence, and they have cancelled his rich endorsement deals and removed his best-selling sports gear from the store shelves - that will show him!

..And don't say anything to me about 'playing the race card' - the race card was invented over 400 years ago by 'you-know-who', and it is obviously still being played everyday by 'you-know-who'!

It's much the same with Barry Bonds, who will shortly be breaking the 'hallowed holy grail' record of baseball. It's less about Bond's alleged steroid use, and more about his and Hank Aaron's temerity in surpassing their idol's home run record, which is doubtful that Ruth would have held, had he regularly been subjected to the superior pitching of the Negro leagues. In fact the reason the Negro league teams were not permitted to play against those of the major leagues, was the fear that the white teams could not compete with the talented players in the Negro league, and would be shown up. So Ruth's records were at best, achieved because of inferior and less than adequate pitching challenges to his hitting prowess. Had Ruth had to face black pitchers like Satchel Paige, Leon Day or Ray Brown, there is no way he would have gotten even near the 'record'that he held for so many years.

"Simply stated, major league baseball records established during the 60 years of segregated baseball are tainted and therefore, meaningless. These records were established during a period in which many of the best players of the game were excluded from the game. The white players knew it. The white owners knew it, and the black players sure knew it. A reasonable observer must conclude that these records should be followed by an asterisk* stating African Americans were not allowed to play."

How ironic it is, that many years later, a player who would have been consigned to the Negro leagues had he been playing in the early part of the last century, is now smashing the records that he would not have been able to challenge back then.

The 'fans' of today are no better than those of yesteryear, and their hallowed records will continue to be 'profaned' and broken whether they want them to or not.