Magic Johnson

The Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday, eliminating their championship title hopes.  Despite losing, the Clippers and their players should feel proud for how hard they played, and what they had to deal with.  Especially considering what their owner, Donald Sterling has been doing the past few weeks.  Yesterday, he said he wouldn't pay the fine Commissioner Adam Silver told him he had to pay, and a few days ago, he gave his first interview since audio of him making derogatory/racist remarks was leaked.  It was what I expected, considering the reputation Sterling has.  He came off as a deluded, sorry, weak old man, with no remorse for his actions.  What shocked me most, though, was when he went after Magic Johnson.  In case you don't know what Sterling said, here's the clip of it...

I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest Magic Johnson fan because I love the Boston Celtics, he's a terrible color commentator, and he has too much exposure, but I respect him for everything he's done to turn his life around and help others.  Not just for those who have HIV, but the African-American community as well.  Has Magic done some bad things?  Yes!  Being actively promiscuous as he was is a negative thing that should not be praised, but everyone makes mistakes; he deserves a second chance like everyone else in our society.  The HIV Magic has is just one aspect of his life.  It's a negative thing, but he fought it just like everything else in his life.  Donald Sterling wants to attack Magic for the negative, but misses all the positives Magic has done, like being a role model, which he would know about if he did some research or used the billions of dollars he has to educate himself better.  But in the case of Donald Sterling, he's too old, and it's too late for him to change.  Luckily, Magic Johnson did, and it's made all the difference in the world for himself and others.

Donald Sterling Thoughts

With the NBA playoffs being in full swing now, the league should be thriving with ratings and positive publicity since the product has been great so far.  Even a diehard fan such as myself has been surprised with the blowouts, buzzer beaters, clutchness, and overall play of every team from seeds 1-8.  It's a great time to be following the NBA.  That is, until yesterday, when Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made many racist comments recorded on tape about minorities, how he didn't want them at games, thought of them as animals, etc.  I'm giving the lighter version of it since I can't sum it up with the phone message being so long, and listening to this guy speak is just sickening.

Usually, I wait for all the facts to come out when I judge a person, but I won't this time because Donald Sterling has a history of being a bigot.  Ask former players like Elgin Baylor and Baron Davis who used to play for him what type of person he is, and they'll tell you how they used to get scrutinized.  In the year 2014, I know that racism is alive and it still exists, but I like to think that we've made some progress from the past, when racism was running rampant.  The NBA markets itself as a global game for everyone, and I think they do a good job when you see all the different types of players in their game today.  They've come a long way since then, which is why it's a shame what Donald Sterling said came to public since it makes the league look bad.  Not to mention, his comments make it seem as though he views minorities as animals, saying you can "feed them" or "sleep with them", but not bring them to games.  What an ignoramus if that is how he truly feels!  We're all human beings!  And even though the Clippers players are all mixed in terms of race and ethnicity, I'm glad they're all outraged because it shows how strongly they feel, and shows that racism has no place in sports.  It might be a few days until we figure out what the penalty is for Donald Sterling, but hopefully the penalty is severe, or as another Donald says, "YOU'RE FIRED"!

One last thing I want to interject (which is my own opinion) is everyone disses baseball for there being a lack of African-American players, but you never see stuff like what happened with Donald Sterling happen in baseball.  I'm not denying it doesn't happen; I mean, look at Marge Schott or how often the race card was played whenever Barry Bonds was questioned.  It exists, but I feel like the culture in baseball doesn't promote as much discrimination currently.  Look at the NBA and NFL, the race card is played all the time, they say the N-word like it's nothing, and there's gang affiliations.  I'm not saying having those things makes sports worse because I still love those sports, but I think when a sport has all those things, we shouldn't be surprised of anything anymore.  Racism shouldn't have a place in sports, but Donald Sterling isn't the only one who feels the way he does.  And sadly, it still exists in the world, which I don't think will ever change. 

Hair Fascination

As I sit here playing with my hair, a few thoughts run through my mind.  I need a haircut, I have way too much time on my hands, and hair is just so damn fascinating!  Did I lose you there?  Let me explain.  Hair has always been fascinating to me, just because it's hair.  Women obsess about it and consider it sacrilege to touch or even ask about it, while most guys I know don't care two licks about it.  But to me, hair is cool.  As mine grows out, I can't help but wonder how I must look to another person with my spiky hair.  What about all the gray hairs I have?  People always joke about how cool it'd be to have silver hair like in video games, but no one ever said anything about gray, which means I'm too stressed or something is up with me genetically.  And what about when my hair eventually stops growing.  It's a fate that won't happen to everyone, but I know it will happen to me one day because all the men in my family have some form of hair loss.  So, while I complain about waking up and having to wash and make my hair look neat, I should enjoy the time I get to spend playing with it because one day, it'll be gone. 

Still, there's just so much I don't get about it.  It's a part of us, but it's something we often take for granted.

The Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

The Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon begun yesterday and is ongoing into today, which for those of you who don't know, is the telethon to help strike out cancer.  Usually, when I listen or watch it, it's hard not pay attention to how hard everyone is trying for the event, whether it's the people taking donations, to the people fighting for their lives.  Their stories are inspirational, but even if I didn't pay attention to the event, I'd still donate because everyone is affected by cancer.  And in a perfect world, we'd all like to get rid of it.  Something like a few dollars may not seem like much, but believe me, it is.  It's one of the reasons why I donate, and why if I ever make it as a writer or am just fortunate enough to have some money, I'll donate to the Jimmy Fund and other charities because it's the right thing to do, and helping others is always a good feeling.  Here's hoping to the Jimmy Fund's success along with all the other charities doing something for a good cause.  The road may be tough for them, but I know they'll reach their goal.