Not that it will take any bread off his dinner table, but being a local philly guy, I’ve always been a fan of Bernard Hopkins. No, he is not spectacular in the Floyd Mayweather sense. However, he is always in top condition, always fights his fight (not the other guys) and is very disciplined.
However, leading up to this last fight, he uttered the words “no white boy will ever beat me”. Imagine if a white man uttered words to the opposite effect? You’d have Sharpton and the Rainbow coalition picketing the fight, demanding his purse, an apology, his first born, etc.
Racism is racism. I don’t care about history and any sense of entitlement to feel a certain way and I don’t want to hear about how dare the white man plead racism. Racism is racism. And as long as it is practiced by any race, it will fuel its return in other races. Black man hate whitey? You can be sure to convert some otherwise neutral whiteys. Whitey hate the black man? Continues to fuel their hatred of us. Anyway, you get the point.
It shouldn’t be tolerated anymore. We should be beyond that. I know we are not. And I don’t mean to start a thread on race. This is a thread about one man and his stupid statement and how it shouldn’t be tolerated.
Maybe if he called us stringy headed crackers we could petition Golden Boy for his termination like they did with Imus.
Bottom line - it shouldn’t be tolerated.
And I was offended.
And the white boy whooped his ass too. Split decision my ass.
Yeah, I know he was trying to be provocative and stimulate interest in the match, but it was over the line…if a white dude had said, “no black boy will ever beat me,” it would have been a national event, but a black boxer says it about a white dude and it barely gets recognition outside of boxing circles. On some level we have to move past these cosmetic visions of race or we will continue to have strained relations and divisions amongst the people.
I love B-Hop, agree he shouldn’t have said it, but hell he is in the business of self-promotion and it has obviously worked. Did you see the part where they interviewed Freddy Roach (Hopkins trainer/white male), Roach said that Bernard isnt a racist or he wouldnt have him as a trainer. I do agree that if a white guy said it all hell would break loose.
Well, I’m by NO way racist or prejudice in any sense, but it definitely seems like sometimes there’s a double-standard in color affiliations in mainstream media America. Not that I particularly want one or care, but I don’t see a W.E.T., NAAWP, or White History Month. Okay, some of these examples are a bit extreme, but I don’t think they’re outlandish.
A bit off topic, but for anyone watching ESPN last week, did you catch their questioning of the numbers of blacks in the MLB? Now, why is that? I don’t see questions about the number of Hispanics in the NFL or questions about Asian-Americans in the NBA.
[quote]dk44 wrote:
Did you see the part where they interviewed Freddy Roach (Hopkins trainer/white male), Roach said that Bernard isnt a racist or he wouldnt have him as a trainer. I do agree that if a white guy said it all hell would break loose.[/quote]
I wasn’t overly offended by Hopkins comment, but I do agree that such commentary not only reinforces racism in white people in whom it already exists, but can also foster racist feelings in those who may not have previously had them.
Anyway, the point about ‘not being racist because he has a white trainer’ is a little ridiculous. Muhammad Ali had at least 1 white person working in his corner throughout his career, and he most certainly had racist feelings back in his prime.
People can be racist and still maintain relationships with those same people they’re intolerant of.
[quote]SSC wrote:
A bit off topic, but for anyone watching ESPN last week, did you catch their questioning of the numbers of blacks in the MLB? Now, why is that? I don’t see questions about the number of Hispanics in the NFL or questions about Asian-Americans in the NBA.[/quote]
I saw it. I don’t know how they define “black.” There’s black skin and then there’s African American. However, as far as minorities, I’ve always considered the MLB to be hispanic-dominated. A lot of those hispanics come from the Dominican Republic. Many of those Dominicans have black skin (think Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, half of Alex Rodriguez, etc).
To me though, it doesn’t matter. Nowadays, rarely, if ever, are people barred from sports based on race. In America, it’s equal opportunity for the most part (at least, that’s how it seems to me). We should strive for parity and equality, but that doesn’t mean we have to make a big deal out of every little thing. We focus too much on statistics when we should be focusing on other things, such as collective mentality and etc.
[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
dk44 wrote:
Did you see the part where they interviewed Freddy Roach (Hopkins trainer/white male), Roach said that Bernard isnt a racist or he wouldnt have him as a trainer. I do agree that if a white guy said it all hell would break loose.
I wasn’t overly offended by Hopkins comment, but I do agree that such commentary not only reinforces racism in white people in whom it already exists, but can also foster racist feelings in those who may not have previously had them.
Anyway, the point about ‘not being racist because he has a white trainer’ is a little ridiculous. Muhammad Ali had at least 1 white person working in his corner throughout his career, and he most certainly had racist feelings back in his prime.
People can be racist and still maintain relationships with those same people they’re intolerant of. [/quote]
I see what you are saying but:
If you hate a race deep in your heart, and have millions and millions of dollars, why would you hire a white trainer? I agree that many racists do have relationships with those they hate, but isnt it normally because they have too? Hopkins doesnt have to.
From what I understand (may be wrong) Ali wasnt racist, we all know how blacks were treated during the Civil Rights era and Ali was pretty much one of the main role models towards the end of the era. So I don’t think he hated whites as much as he hated the circumstances of blacks and the fact that he was supposed to fight in Vietnam for no reason according to him.
Edit: I will give you the fact that hanging with Farrakhan isn’t the best move if you don’t want labeled a racist.
Dammit. I grew up a big BH fan. He always struck me as a guy who wasn’t overly talented but worked his ass off. I’d go so far as to say he was one of my role models. That really bums me out to hear it out of that guy. Just reminds me that I have to follow my own advice: A guy’s gotta be his own hero.
B-Hop is B-Hop. Saying it is provocative and inappropriate but fighters say a lot of crap in the lead up to the fight. The fact is, great as he may be, Hopkins is a boring motherfucker. His low output and clinching combined with flirting with getting DQ’ed in every fight of note he’s done has landed him in a position of being universally recognized as a great in the sport, if not the greatest middleweight ever, but nobody wants to see him fight.
You want proof of, two posts above there is a guy who considers B-Hop a role model and isn’t really aware of the lead in to this fight. Zag is a draw across the ocean and generally brings a real thrilling fight, but this was his first time over here so HBO had little hopes of this fight generating interest outside of the hardcore community.
They were in B-Hops ear from day one to be the kind of guy Mayweather was in 24/7 in the lead in to this fight, but quite frankly it just isn’t in him and all his actions and particularly this comment come off making him look bad. I’ll give Hopkins a pass and let him go into the sunset with my respect. I guess my point is that the people who run the sport are scum bags and I truly don’t believe that Bernard means that, and throughout his career has been respectful and upstanding man. This one time, facing the end of his career and steady income, I think they got into this head and made him say some stupid shit that shouldn’t fly.
And Kelly Pavlik rules. He’s all we have in Youngstown
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
B-Hop is B-Hop. Saying it is provocative and inappropriate but fighters say a lot of crap in the lead up to the fight. The fact is, great as he may be, Hopkins is a boring motherfucker. His low output and clinching combined with flirting with getting DQ’ed in every fight of note he’s done has landed him in a position of being universally recognized as a great in the sport, if not the greatest middleweight ever, but nobody wants to see him fight.
You want proof of, two posts above there is a guy who considers B-Hop a role model and isn’t really aware of the lead in to this fight. Zag is a draw across the ocean and generally brings a real thrilling fight, but this was his first time over here so HBO had little hopes of this fight generating interest outside of the hardcore community.
They were in B-Hops ear from day one to be the kind of guy Mayweather was in 24/7 in the lead in to this fight, but quite frankly it just isn’t in him and all his actions and particularly this comment come off making him look bad. I’ll give Hopkins a pass and let him go into the sunset with my respect. I guess my point is that the people who run the sport are scum bags and I truly don’t believe that Bernard means that, and throughout his career has been respectful and upstanding man. This one time, facing the end of his career and steady income, I think they got into this head and made him say some stupid shit that shouldn’t fly.
And Kelly Pavlik rules. He’s all we have in Youngstown :)[/quote]
Surprised that’s coming from you Donut. Especially the Pavlik comment.
But hey, as Brendan Behan said, “The only bad publicity is your obituary.”
It’s the same reason that he threw the Puerto Rican flag on the ground (twice) and nearly started riots.
It sounds like something a kid from the Philly projects would say if you got under his skin. I doubt he means it, and I do believe that Roach was right- that trainer/fighter relationship is too close to deal with someone that you hate on the artificial basis of skin color.
if i was freddy roach i would be offended. i have been around racist blacks and they are just as gay as racist whites… he is a role model whether he wants or used to be or not and thats why he should act like it. theres also gonna be some black guys walking around saying that since bhop said it
[quote]SSC wrote:
…
A bit off topic, but for anyone watching ESPN last week, did you catch their questioning of the numbers of blacks in the MLB? Now, why is that? I don’t see questions about the number of Hispanics in the NFL or questions about Asian-Americans in the NBA.[/quote]
I saw that too, and thought it was odd.
According the last census, blacks make up roughly 13% of the U.S. population. In the article, blacks make up roughly 8% of MLB players.
Is 8% vs. 13% such a significant difference that it demands specific attention from the MLB?
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Surprised that’s coming from you Donut. Especially the Pavlik comment.
[/quote]
I don’t dislike B-Hop, and Pavlik is without a doubt my favorite fighter and the only professional out there right now that I have had the pleasure of meeting. I just think objectively that Calzaghe is a better boxer than both of them, which is why I was harsh in assessing the two in the other thread in regards to matching with Joe.
Imus was just promoting his show and being provacative when he said what he said. I don’t give an eff if BHOP was trash talking (he was), it was unacceptable. I don’t believe he is overtly racist (no more than any other inner city philadelphia black) but trash talk or not, don’t you think for one second he doesn’t believe what he said. Just as a particular white man may not be overtly racist, but harbors feelings of superiority in his realm. Bhop should be rebuked for his comments as Imus was for his.
In a day and age when the very real possibility exists of a black president, I think blacks and any other minority get their “free racists pass” pulled.
I for one am not affected by color until someone like him reminds me of it. And then yes, it stirs in me a hatred for those that hate me. It’s only natural. In the Bhop case, its not hatred, but hatred of the double standard that exists and I think that emotion is stirred up lately in alot of whites.
I thought what Imus said was stupid, not racist. I was not invested in that situation emotionally until they started calling for his job and his head. Well, racists comedy is uttered by almost every black comedian with no reprisal and daily on black radio. Wrong is wrong.
Bhop was wrong. With the age of Obama, it’s time the double standard end.
