EthnoBlog

Winter Olympians of color: American Like Us

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Mar 1, 2010 8:59 AM

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold.

C was planning to invite Michelle to her upcoming 7th birthday party, an ice skating party at Buhr Park. M loved the video clip of Michelle eating dinner with her family—using the same bowls and chopsticks that we did. For them, Michelle was an admired “older sister” that they looked up to. None of the other first-grade girls really knew who Michelle Kwan even was, but after two weeks of hearing about Michelle Kwan every day in class and at soccer, every girl in that class stayed up late that final night of the Olympics to watch Michelle Kwan’s bittersweet final performance.

Samoans in the NFL: How Mainstream Media Hurts our Community

By Silicon Valley Debug, Jan 21, 2010 12:57 PM

Editor's note: This piece by Val LiHang Jacobo originally appeared on Silicon Valley De-Bug.

Long Beach, CA - On Sunday, Jan 17, in the height of the NFL Playoffs, 60 Minutes, a CBS evening news show, aired a segment titled "American Samoa: a football island."

Why I'm Cool with Pacquiao-Clottey

By Ninoy Brown, Jan 12, 2010 11:20 AM

Editor's note: This blog originally appeared on FOBBDeep: Fear of a Brown Blogger.

I’m as irate as the next boxing fan for the failure of a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on March 13. Had the fight taken place on that date, boxing history would have been made. Pay-per-view records would have been shattered. Not to mention that rarely do boxing fans ever get to witness the top pound for pound fighters meeting in the squared ring. Witnessing the buzz that surrounded the possible venues could easily have battled that of city bids on the Olympics.

But enough of wondering about “what ifs”. The fight could still take place, just not on March 13.

Jay-Z: The Black Walter O'Malley

By Jamilah King, Dec 3, 2009 2:59 PM

On my way to work this morning I was listening to Jay-Z's Brooklyn Go Hard (such a better precursor to that annoying ass NY anthem that's colonizing the radio right now). In it, I noticed a line I'd missed all of last year: "Now when I bring the Nets, I'm the Black Branch Rickey."

The New Jersey Nets recently broke the NBA's record for the worst start ever by going 0-18 this week.

From the Eyes of a Boxing Virgin

By Inga Buchbinder, Nov 20, 2009 10:17 AM

So, I watched the Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto fight this past Saturday. And the fact that I don’t ever, ever need to watch boxing again cannot be said enough. At first it was moderately enjoyable. All of the Phi Delta Theta brothers gathered around the big screen TV, watching a $59.99 pay-per-view program together. Sweet almost. Everyone was rooting for someone--most rooting for Pacquiao. I heard that in his last title win, he knocked his opponent out in the first minute. Although it was amazing, people were pretty disappointed.

So I sat and watched the fighters enter the ring. I watched them ripple their muscles for the TV cameras, touting their machismo around like a country’s flag.

Don't Wanna Look Like A Lesbian

By Youth Noise, Nov 19, 2009 11:32 AM

Editor's note: This YouthNoise blog by Tara Conley originally appeared here as part of the Play City campaign. Play City seeks, through sports, to energize individuals, revitalize communities and catalyze change in the world.

Did anyone happened to catch Texas A&M's newly released media guide for the 2009-2010 women's basketball team? Or Florida State's women's basketball team website? Oh how times have changed since I was a college athlete.

The Seattle Times reporter Jayda Evans recently wrote about the newly redesigned women's collegiate media guides and websites with an overt feminized message. One has to question if this is some kind of attempt to re-brand female basketball players based on widely accepted views that if you're a female college athlete who plays basketball, odds are you're a lesbian.

Watched Pacquiao Box 'Em Up

By Ninoy Brown, Nov 18, 2009 12:24 PM

Editor's note: This blog by Ninoy Brown originally appeared on FOBBDeep: Fear of a Brown Blogger, where he blogs about race and hip-hop. Raised in San Diego, he currently works as a high school counselor in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Of course y’all knew I was going to do my obligatory/celebratory Pacquiao post after picking apart Miguel Cotto.

I thought that after demolishing Hatton, it was what boxing really needed right now. So if that was the treatment to prolong boxing’s life, then this fight could potentially have been the antidote that cures and resuscitates boxing’s vegetable state. Though, restructuring the way the sport is promoted and fights are set up need to be considered as a part of the rehabilitation process.

Million Dollar Slave Revolt -- Limbaugh v.s. Black NFL

By Kevin Weston, Oct 13, 2009 11:52 AM

When the news hit that Rush Limbaugh would join a group to purchase the NFL’s St. Louis Rams a lightweight, modern day, slave rebellion was set in motion.

It’s sad and encouraging to watch.

Sad. It’s a regression from a time when you could count on a African American athlete to stand up for something.