Whenever a black celebrity makes headlines, the Rev. Al Sharpton has to comment. Here is what he said about the lack of outrage about the Gilbert Arenas/Javaris Crittenton standoff in the Washington Wizards locker room late last month.
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“If it had been a white player pointing a gun at a black player, there would have been much more of an uproar. It’s almost as if people are saying, ‘Well, we don’t expect anything better from our black athletes.'”
— Rev. Al Sharpton, via NYDailyNews.com
Duh. Anytime you add race to an issue it’s going to create more of an uproar. If it had been a white athlete pulling a gun on a black athlete, or vice versa, it would have created a bigger stir because now race is added to the mix. If Sharpton wanted to make a stronger point, he should have said that there would have been more of an uproar if two white athletes were involved. Not that I agree, but at least the point holds some water.
I think the story came and went quickly due to the timing (during the holidays) and the fact that no shots were fired. We hear stories all the time about athletes firing shots (or being shot at) outside of bars or strip clubs, but this is the first time (that I can remember, anyway) that one athlete pulled a gun on another at work.
Sharpton does have a point about how President Obama attended a Wizards game at the same time that Arenas was storing guns in his locker, but that doesn’t have anything to do with race.
