The Great White Hope

In 1966, the world watched in awe as Texas Western coach Donald Haskins decided to make a social statement and start five black players in the NCAA Championship game, sending the basketball world on a downward spiral for years to come. Since then, the NCAA and NBA has seen white basketball players slowly crowded out of the basketball playing population. There was a point in time when the NBA was all-white. Today, only 20% of the basketball players in the NBA are good old American Caucasians.

This is a problem. Where is the space for good, fundamental white basketball players? Where is the court for them to shine? Pete Maravich is turning over in his grave at the fact that if he played today, he might not be known as the great player he’s known to be now. What is a white basketball player to do? There’s the All-American Basketball Alliance, which is an all-white basketball league that stresses fundamental play. But they don’t even have television coverage! It is a serious problem.

But lo and behold! White basketball players have hope after all! This year’s NCAA Championship Game featured 20 good white basketball players between Duke and Butler! Duke has always prided itself as a school on finding the best and the whitest (and perhaps ugliest) basketball players of all time. And now Butler has decided to walk in the same path. I’m happy for the Duke Basketball program, which has taught America the same lesson time and time again: White people CAN play basketball. Maybe this year’s championship game signals a return to a time when a white basketball player can get his own shoe deal. I’m hopeful for the future. You should be too. And maybe Pistol Pete can finally rest in peace.

Texas Ruling Changes US Textbooks

Recently, the Texas State Board of Education decided to change the curriculum of Texas textbooks. They decided that Texan students needed to learn a more enriching version of history, one not clouded with the liberal agenda, and that the students in Texas needed to learn of their conservative roots. Why do I care? Because it just so happens that Texas happens to be a leading state in the textbook industry. The number of books printed for Texas school districts is enormous, and the number makes textbook companies often cater to those students. As a result, American students get textbooks that were made specifically to cover Texas requirements. Again, who cares? Well let's just look at the changes that will be made in the textbooks that our younger siblings, cousins, nephews, and nieces might be reading in the future, and you can decide if you should care or not. (The title links you to the unbiased story, the rest of this post will be my take on this event.)
1) A Reduced Scope of Latino Influence- So Texas, one of the states on the higher end of illegal immigration, decides to try and eradicate the influence of the Hispanic population from their textbooks. They are literally trying to erase Hispanic culture from the history books.
2) A Positive Portrayal of Cold War Era Anticommunism- When I saw this, I read "Let's celebrate McCarthy as an American hero, and forget all the innocent people he had arrested and prosecuted!" That's dumb. There wasn't much positive about the witch hunt that went on in the sixties in the name of capitalism, and I would appreciate it if textbooks showed the truth.
3) A Recommendation to Recognize Country Music As a Great Cultural Movement- I have no problem with this, country music is a great cultural movement. But wait a second...Hip-hop was removed from the same list as a part of the bill. Well that is just some bull. What makes the country music surge more of a cultural movement than hip-hop? Especially when the rise of hip-hop represents the rise of African-American culture after years of subjugation? Hmm.....maybe race has something to do with it? Nah, I'm not touching that one.
Anyway, there are more effects of the ruling, so click on the link, read it, and weigh in on this post via the comments.