In his column about the death of Gene Upshaw, Jason Whitlock can’t seem to get beyond the issue of race. Yes, Gene Upshaw was black, and that’s an important part of his story, but from Whitlock’s point of view it’s the only thing that matters.
Leaders who happen to be black spend most of their days in this country dodging arrows … until they’re dead or rendered harmless.
It’s why most Americans are uncomfortable with Jim Brown and love Muhammad Ali, the two transcendent athletes from the 1960s who represented black empowerment. Ali, felled by Parkinson’s Disease, lit the 1996 Olympic torch and is a beloved figure now that he mumbles and shakes.
Brown is the same unbending, uncompromised free-thinker who makes people uncomfortable because he wears a funny hat and believes gangbangers and parolees can be productive U.S. citizens.
Muhammad Ali was a beloved figure long before he got sick, primarily because he was one of the greatest and most charismatic athletes of the 20th century. Jim Brown never had that charisma, and this “unbending, uncompromised free-thinker” also got convicted of destroying his wife’s car with a shovel. He was never a warm and fuzzy character, so naturally that affected his popularity. Yet despite that Brown was widely praised for his efforts to help gang-bangers.
Whitlock, however, is just getting warmed up.
Now that Upshaw is dead you’ll be hearing and reading a lot about his leadership-through-accommodation method. It actually worked. It grew the league to the point where all the old NFL players are insanely jealous and feel as if the current players owe them money.
Yep, the whole “reparations” movement powered by Mike Ditka and all the other angry old men is a direct byproduct of the success of the NFL, which Upshaw played a huge role in.
Of course, when he was alive Upshaw was trashed for his inability to convince the current players (mostly black) to hand over a portion of their earnings to the retired players (mostly white) who built the game. There is no precedent for retired workers having their post-career benefits significantly improved … other than retired NFL players.
Somehow, Whitlock sees the entire issue of benefits for broken down older players through the lense of race. Never mind that a federal judge reprimanded the NFL for their disgraceful treatment of Mike Webster. Never mind that many ex-players in their 40’s can’t walk or work. Whitlock is quick to point out the brutal nature of the NFL when defending Upshaw for not getting guaranteed contracts, but somehow can’t see that the issues facing ex-NFL players are unique, even when compared to other sports, precisely because the sport is so brutal. Few people realized just how destructive an NFL career could be later in life. To suggest that Upshaw owed nothing to these players, and to reduce it to a black vs. white issue, is ridiculous.
Also, this wasn’t just about benefits for older players. The issues also involved the lack of disability benefits for players who played under Upshaw’s watch.
Upshaw did some great things, and he deserves praise for helping to grow the NFL. Like anyone else, however, he made choices about what was important, and by doing so he also decided which issues were less important. It’s entirely reasonable for players who disagreed with him to criticize him and challenge him. By focusing so much on Upshaw’s race, Whitlock implies that any criticism if Upshaw is somehow inappropriate.
The best way to honor Upshaw’s accomplishments is to address his success and the controversies surrounding his decisions on their merits. Let him be judged by his actions. Contrary to Whitlock’s claim, even before he died, Upshaw received tons of praise for his role in the modern NFL. Sure, he was also criticized, but that comes with the territory. Upshaw had a high-profile job that earned him millions.
Unfortunately, Whitlock only heard the criticism.
