Forget Black Coaches, Fix Yourselves

One of the big stories that came from the NFL last year was that 2 black coaches squared off in the superbowl. Tony Dungy, a devout christian and tragedy stricken family man, and Lovie Smith, a quiet, focused man who cannot bring himself to curse. Obviously They are two great role models for young black children, whether they aspire to be involved in the league or not. The problem is, nobody is paying attention. Why would you want to be Lovie Smith when you could be Michael Vick, or Terrell Owens? More and more there are young talents entering the league without a complete education, or sometimes with barely any. When you see Owens with giant diamonds in his ears, or Joey Porter with more gold around his neck than Cortez stole from the Aztecs, its not hard to see what they were influenced by as kids. They grow up being told by rappers that money is all that matters, bypassing morality and companionship from "bitches". The worse off you were when you grew up, the more you can flaunt your shitty upbringing and look tough when you get the chance. So now in full circle, This generations youths will want to be like the players they see grandstanding after miniscule accomplishments. The kick returner who rips off his chinstraps after a return to the 40 yard line, pounding his chest and barking at the other team's sideline...while his team is down 20 points. Or how about Vick? A sickening example of the Rick James quote about giving certain people money.
A Good portion of them claim that the team is what matter most, while they happily take huge contracts from basement teams to leave behind the franchise they just won a super bowl with. Sound familiar Antwon Randle El? No longer do kids pretend to be Jerry Rice or Terrell Davis when they line up for flag football games. Now they want to be Deion Sanders, and strut around the field like a combination of 50 Cent and Shannon Sharpe. By the time those kids make it to the NFL, there may be NFL sections in music stores for players to flame each other on their Gangsta CD's, and the Glock will be an official sponsor of the Cincinnati Bengals. Forget about teaching kids values by trumpeting the greatness of black coaches. How about using a vehicle they care about to get the message across. Maybe if players like Terrell Owens could stop whining everytime they or a teammate drops the ball, or Chad Johnson hands the ball to the ref after a great touchdown play, kids and future players would be a little bit less fucked up on their priorities.