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I agree as well but I've been catching flack for hitting the deletion button lately. Fortunately things are somewhat civil here. I'll give it another day or so of discussion and then we'll wrap it up.
Every once in a while you still see that. Last year Jack Del Rio of Jacksonville wore a suit and tie. When Mike Nolan of San Francisco was the head coach he done it a time or two.
I grew up playing and watching football in the '90s and the African-American players that dominated then were people like Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Warren Moon and Emmitt Smith. As a young African-American, these guys were role models for me and a lot of other young males in my community. They were very good sportsman, very professional, presented themselves well, and were just classy guys both on and off the field. I don't feel the African-American athletes in the sport now have that same level of class. They seem to be much more "street" with more flamboyant and aggressive personalities, they're not as "well kept" (tattoos and braids and dreadlocks) and many of them dress and act like rappers. Other than their athletic accomplishments, I wouldn't want my son looking up to most of these guys as personalities off of the football field.
Am I just seeing things from a skewed view, remembering the '90s with an imaginary nostalgia, or being falsely critical of today's players? Or am I on to something here?
I see professional sports people as a reflection of society. There are some decent and not so decent people..most people seem to focus and concentrate on the smaller 'bad' element.. Whether a player has dreads, tatts or what not shouldn't really matter. Who cares? They're sports people. Not role models
No, because you called me a racist. If all the white guys who played professional baseball started dressing and acting like Hells Angels bikers I'd have the exact same complaint.
Here's my take on why black athletes have become more ghetto: In the '80s there was a stark cultural separation between athletes, rappers, and street hoodlums. In the '90s the culture of rappers and street hoodlums merged, with emergence of gangster rap, which became so popular that all of the '80s rappers who were more positive and about "fun" rap and funk, were ousted. From that point on, to even be a successful rapper you had to be a thug (or at least appear to be) and rap became synonymous with thuggery.
In the 2000s the culture of black athletes and rapper/gangsters merged. The athletes wanted to be like the rapper/gangsters and started adopting their style of dress and lifestyle. Floyd Mayweather began hanging out with rapper 50 Cent, dressing like a rapper, acting flamboyant and literally burning $100 bills in night clubs. Adam Jones started hanging out with the rapper Nelly, and he was with Nelly at a strip club when he assaulted a stripper, got into a brawl with bouncers and his entourage shot some of the bouncers.
While a lot of black athletes haven't engaged in this type of illegal activity, they still emulate the rapper/gangster with their hairstyles, clothing, tattoos, slang, and even demeanor. Please go research black athletes from the '90s and before (Mike Tyson excluded, lol), ESPECIALLY NFL and NBA athletes, and notice the stark difference.
I think it's a generational thing (and not just the NFL, NBA big time as well).
In the "old days", quote un quote, say mid 70's to 90's, you had a different generation of black athletes makes the pros.
-They were college educated. And because college wasn't as watered down, had higher standards (and a lot of athletes went to GOOD schools, on the east coast or south), you saw a lot of "High quality" athletes...role models.
This being Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Clyde Drexler, Magic, Ewing, Malone, etc. They had a certain standard. Some athletes in the 90's were kind of "out there" like Rodman, but he was the exception, not the norm.
-Now, the money $$$ has blown up, endorsements, a lot of cross over marketing and appeal. I.e. pose next to 50 cent and join his company. I think a lot of new consumers have been made for this "thug lifestyle". A generation of MTV, music videos.
Look at the clothing brands. Like Jay Z, Sean Combs, FUBU, etc. Where were these brands in the 80's?
-If you had the same collegiate standards today as 20 or 25 years ago, a lot of guys wouldn't be in the league.
Also, I think theres been a change in the culture. Look at wrestling. Use to be pretty "wholesome" in the 80's. Then it got kind of dark after 97 or 98.
And the money and contracts have gotten crazy $$$$. How many guys were burning $100 bills in the 70's? It's mirrored the general rise of the wealthy.
Another issue, and why athletes and rappers/gangster lifestyle has merged.
-The era of silly money.
In the "old days" when Dr J or Magic signed with a team, I think between taxes, their agents cut, managers fee, etc they didn't have a whole lot of money left over. Maybe $800 k or $2 or $3 million. How big were the houses for 80's athletes?
Not very big compared to today.
Now we're in an era of "silly money". I think as sports as evolved, players have gotten better agents, they're holding out for more money (i.e. the lockouts lately). And the endorsements. As they've seen owners become billionaires, they want a bigger piece of the cut.
As the consumer market has gotten more and more cluttered in the last 10 or 20 years, companies will pay almost anything for the right athlete/endorser. I.e. Shaq got crazy money when he was 23.
I think a lot of athletes have gotten bored in the last 10-15 years. The money has gotten so silly...i.e. Shaq turning to rap which is more "fun" than basketball. I think a lot of childhood dreams for athletes now are clubbing/lifestyle related....shooting free throws for $20 million is kind of boring. Esp if you're on a weak team.
-I think this era of silly money has made people more competitive. More so than when you're just making $8 k or $2 million. When you're making $30, 40, 50 mil (with endorsements), showboating goes way up. You don't even need half of it, so burn $100 bills, and buy a bigger car than Shaq. You've got the money in rap/hip hop vs the money in the NFL/NBA. It's created a rivalry that wasn't there 25 years ago.
It's created a new club. And a bunch of guys are fighting to get to the top. Just being the top NFL guy isn't enough anymore. Thus all these guys outdoing each other, spending $$$$, etc.
It isn't necessarily about college standards, but about kids not staying in college as long as they used to.
Another thing that people don't think about is the increase in media coverage since that time. ESPN wasn't the way it is now 15-20 years ago. You have extensive coverage from internet sources and other sports media too. So, it is easier to get dirt on athletes now. People forget about how drug use hit some athletes in the big 3 sports leagues, including the NFL going back to the late 70's-early 80's. So, you have always had those athletes that were in trouble or doing things that were illegal.
Every once in a while you still see that. Last year Jack Del Rio of Jacksonville wore a suit and tie. When Mike Nolan of San Francisco was the head coach he done it a time or two.
I remember when both of them did that... very nostalgic. I liked it. More football coaches should do it more often. I always thought Lombardi, Stram, and Landry were the class of coaches as they dressed the part.
I like to see the head coach setting himself apart from the players and staff.
Just curious, maybe I missed it or live under a rock or something. What was Ray Lewis involved with? I've always seen him as a good team player and citizen.
He was arrested as a result of a murder investigation in Atlanta. he also has six illegitimate kids ( at last count.)! Yeah, he's a real role model.
Last edited by hornet67; 01-18-2012 at 01:59 PM..
Reason: spelling
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