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Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
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I like the positive news on sports because there has been too much tragedy on school shootings like the most recent one in Colorado (again) near Columbine. News on teen sports and health, fitness, speed, etc. are needed for positive attributes of teen talent headed into college. That is my opinion.
With that said, I was curious as to how those bigots on "Stormfront" see it. They definitely are using him as a symbol of white supremacy - the white sprinter who can overwhelm a mostly black field of runners. He is the "great white hope" of the sprinting world in the eyes of those members of Stormfront. (As for me, I am Native American).
But realistically, most of the time the reverse racism has been prevalent - racist stereotypes that whites are too slow to be sprinters. I did not agree with it because I know there have been counterexamples in the past. I still remember when SI did an article on a white sprinter in Denver - an indoor champion of the late 1990s. He said no one believed him. I also think Christian McAffrey should have won the Heisman a few years ago. The East Coast bias is real. I was a fan of his father, Ed, when I lived in Denver back in the late 90s. I remember Tim Dwight's amazing kickoff return against the defensive cornerbacks from high altitude on the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
In the SEC, the "dual-threat" quarterback is slang for "we don't want a slow white guy running the offense". That's what it really insinuates. Brian Bosworth made that very clear in his book that it is in the mindset of college sports that require sprint speed. Again, the stereotype is that whites are too slow to be sprinters.
So, it's a dilemma. If Matt doesn't succeed at the Olympic level, it will just perpetuate reverse racism - whites are too slow to be world-class sprinters. But if he does succeed, then those whites on Stormfront will be cheering about the affirmation of their desire for white supremacy in the sprinter normally dominated by West Africans. This is getting really bad behind the scenes.
Ironically, Matt is at a Catholic school. I had thought the KKK on Stormfront discriminated against white Catholics as well. Go figure. As for Matt himself, he doesn't strike me as racist at all. He just loves to run. I wish him the best in college.
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