People are stupid.
Oh no, this isn’t a revelation, for I know stupid has been around since the dawn of time, however, every so often, stupidity lands at the forefront of a conversation. The latest conversation, putting together a list of “The 50 Greatest Black Athletes Of All-Time”, caught my attention. This list was posted by The Undefeated, a platform within ESPN, designed to bring the intersection of sports and race under the spotlight.
This list was constructed with 4 main criteria in mind:
- Overall ranking as an athlete
- Dominance in their sport
- Inspirational Story
- Social Impact
The concept of this list is tremendous. If it had been voted on by sports writers, or people in the industry, it would have been a fascinating study of Black Athletes who excelled in sports while overcoming unprecedented adversity and/or becoming role models. Unfortunately, this list was derived from a public survey. While I understand the purpose of surveying random people in society, it resulted in a list that hardly resembles rational, coherent thought.
“At no point in your rambling, incoherent thought were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you NO points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”
To see the list in its entirety, click here.
As you can see from the list, public perception in 2017 is misguided. Some athletes are ranked way too high, some way too low. Arthur Ashe being ranked just #38 on this list is a travesty. Arthur Ashe was the 1st African-American to win an NCAA Tennis Championship, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon. Ashe was also an activist, who fought social injustice all over the world.
However, there is 1 MAJOR omission from this list that is unacceptable. Can you guess who I’m talking about??
Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods not being included in this list is like ripping out Wayne Gretzky’s page from the NHL record books.
Tiger Woods revolutionized a sport. He singlehandedly made golf popular. Hell, he even redefined a color. When Tiger Woods played golf, red wasn’t red. Red was Sunday, Tiger Red. The man should have his own crayon in Crayola’s box. Now, I’m sure the public Einstein’s who were surveyed, chose not to separate Tiger’s transgressions as a husband from his sports accomplishments. Again — unacceptable.
Like, love, or hate Tiger Woods, you can’t deny his dominance, as well as his impact on the game of golf. To take an old-fashioned, white, elitist game such as golf and transform it into a mainstream, multi-cultural sport was groundbreaking. He changed what a golfer should and could look like.
All those who omitted Tiger Woods from this list, may now hide their heads in shame.
Who do you think are The Greatest Black Athletes of All-time?? Post your thoughts in the comment section below.
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