Love him, (or) hate him, Jason Whitlock of The Kansas City Star and FoxSports.com creates dialogue with his columns. I find Jason on the wrong-side of the fence on subjects such as Don Imus, The Jena Six, and Hip-Hop’s ruining of the black community, but his opinions cause others to exchange ideas, something that can’t be said for the majority of sportswriters.

I caught up with Whitlock earlier in the week for a brief interview. He discusses his Pulitzer quest, his Reverend Wright, and gives some advice to Pacman Jones after the jump. Read the full story

Jason Whitlock interview. Courtesy of The Big Lead

These guys are 50 Centin’ their way into the game. I imagine this is how Lawrence Taylor feels…. Courtesy of Your Blog Blows

Roger Clemens was a waste of money. Courtesy of Larry Brown Sports

South Florida qb Matt Grothe hates Facebook. Courtesy of Sports By Brooks

Damn..Ron Zook got guns and he might be taking ‘em to the Rose Bowl. Courtesy of Deadspin

Some kickers that could have benifited from the lamest strategy of all time. Courtesy of 100% Injury Rate

C.C. Sabathia is trying to be like Doc Gooden. In a good way. Courtesy of One More Dying Quail

Karl Dorrell doesn’t care about black quarterbacks. Courtesy of Bruins Nation

Let’s slow down on all of the LaRussa to the Yankees talk. Courtesy of Signal To Noise

Golf Girl TV. Courtesy of Golf Girl’s Diary

Tags: Jason Whitlock Interview, New York Yankees, Black Quarterbacks, Sports, Facebook, Roger Clemens

**NSFW**

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLUtzbV5-5E[/youtube]

Props to Arrowhead Addict for getting the video from Tony’s Kansas City, and passing it on to me… Oh the shame… The art form that Jason Whitlock despises to get on t.v. has dropped a jewel for him… I think it’s fair to say that SBL won’t be hittin the strip clubs with Whitlock anytime soon.. It’s also fair to say that these cats ain’t helpin the “Whitlock is wrong about Hip Hop Movement”…

More Whitlock:
Jason Whitlock and C. Vivian Stringer Go Head To Head
Jason Whitlock, Hip Hop Producer
King Of The Blacks

Tags: Jason Whitlock, Diss Song, You Tube, Hip Hop, Kansas City, SBL

I was checking out the Black Blog Awards website when I noticed the damnedest thing… Under the heading for Best Sports/Recreation Blog there are 3 names and yes, you guessed it… I’m not one of them.

The three finalist are The Starting Five, The Sideline Show Sportstalk Radio, and Sportz-N-Album Cutz. The Starting Five gets my vote because not only have I never heard of the other two sites, it is the most solid BOO sports blog that you’ll find. The Five get good interviews, go in-depth with their topics, and they have a solid group of commenters that go left, right, and often straight to the heart of a story. The site has biases but they don’t hide them, and even though it seems like they’re always about race, they’re actually reppin’ for equality.

With that said, NO, I don’t feel snubbed by the committee. Nope. Not at all. I mean, if I did feel that they overlooked some of post I did about Jason Whitlock or Kobe Bryant, I wouldn’t say anything about it. Why would I? It would read like I was whining. And I wouldn’t do that. I don’t care enough. If I cared I would dedicate at least a paragraph to the humorous videos and NBA player/lesbian bar story that I wrote about. Plus, who the hell am I to feel dissed? If I was aggy about my little blog getting left off the list what about the likes of Nation Of Islam Sportsblog, Leave The Man Alone, Ms. Gossip, Jones On The NBA, Pyle Of A List, and a number of other sites that put in major work? So again, NO, I don’t feel snubbed.

But please believe.. I don’t get a nod next year, I’m going out like this…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4tguaz6hWc[/youtube]

On Monday Spike Lee moderated a Black Athlete Forum at his alma mater, the historical Morehouse college in Atlanta. Jim Brown, Alonzo Mourning, Etan Thomas, and Alge Crumpler were among the panelist for the event. The night was supposed to be dedicated to introducing Ron Thomas as the head of the new sports journalism department at Morehouse, and to discussing the lack of black sportswriters.

The panel wound up talking about a variety of topics… Everything from the media’s negative portrayal of black athletes to the athletes themselves needing to make better decisions and being accountable for their decisions. The discussions were reportedly eloquent and stirring, and the audience, made up of students and invited guests, were given a chance to chime in as well.

Things were easin on down the intended road until C. Vivian Stringer intersected with Jason Whitlock. Stringer, the head coach of the Rutgers women’s basketball team, gave Whitlock, the K.C. Star sportswriter that dissed her during the Imus flap, a piece of her mind. Even though I’m not a fan of the new Whitlock, I feel sorry for any brotha that has to face a black woman scorned, especially if there’s 300+ people in the room. Jason’s lucky she didn’t have a framed picture of the two of them together that she could smash in the street in front of his apartment at 530 in the morning, waking up the neighborhood and embarassing the hell out of him.. But I digress..

Stringer took exception with an article JW wrote in which he said:

Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer led a massive pity party/recruiting rally.

and:

Stringer just wanted her 15 minutes to make the case that she’s every bit as important as Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma. By the time Stringer’s rambling, rapping and rhyming 30-minute speech was over, you’d forgotten that Tennessee won the national championship and just assumed a racist plot had been hatched to deny the Scarlet Knights credit for winning it all.

Presented with an opportunity to address Whitlock, Stringer went off..

“I made a statement that it wasn’t black or white. The truth of the matter is that we have been fooled for such a long time. We have such promise and we all are important. We need to step on each other’s heads to get the little piece of the American dream. It became green. It was power. You [Whitlock] understand that. That’s the reason why you chose these few minutes to get your one moment of [fame]. Because other than that, who knows Jason Whitlock?”

C. Vivian wasn’t finished:

“I’m amazed. I just want to understand your mindset. I want to understand people like you. I’ll be doggoned if I sit back and let that man speak of them as he did. The truth of the matter is [Jackson and Sharpton] were the only people who spoke up. I didn’t care if they fired Imus or not. But I know this — I was going to defend those young ladies.”

I applaud C. Vivian Stringer for speaking her mind to Jason Whitlock, but I wish it had been under different circumstances. The reason for the panel, students, and guest getting together was to discuss what could be done to increase the African-American presence in press boxes and locker rooms covering sporting events. I know it’s unlikey that Ms. Stringer would bump into Mr. Whitlock at any other time so she had to speak her piece while she had the chance. With that said, I hope the students weren’t the only ones that learned something that evening.

Sparks Fly at Morehouse Panel on Black Athletes. Courtesy of Diverse Education

Black Athlete Forum hit plenty of powerful notes. Courtesy of ESPN.com

C. Vivian Stringer and Jason Whitlock exchange words.(Transcript) Courtesy of ESPN.com

Time For Jackson And Sharpton To Step Down. Courtesy of Jason Whitlock, AOL Sports

Jason Whitlock: The Clown Prince of Bizarro World. Courtesy of The Edge Of Sports

Jason Whitlock crowned King Of The Blacks by Tucker Carlson. Courtesy of YBB

Jason Whitlock+Hip Hop Producing= Doctor J. Courtesy of YBB

Listen to the Kansas City Chief’s new game day song, It’s On Now, produced by Jason Whitlock. Courtesy of YBB

DIGG IT  *  DEL.ICIO.US  *  REDDIT  *  BALL HYPE

 

**HG’s note: I wasn’t planning to talk about Whitlock unless he did something or said something new. I found the song I had written about earlier so I had to drop this.**

When I found out that Jason Whitlock was working with “gangsta rappers” I labled him a hypocrite. He helped produce a Kansas City Chiefs theme song that’s performed by the type of people Jason says are ruining the black community. I talked about that here.

Now you can listen to the song. The lyrics aren’t overly gangsta, but if I was writing a Whitlockesque Hip Hop critique I could find fault with the language. I wasn’t expecting anything too hardcore since it’s for the Chiefs, and it’s dedicated to Derrick Thomas.

My only issue with any of this is that Whitlock has been so adamant about his disdain for Hip Hop yet he’s working with the 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians. Something tells me their cd is a little different from a Mos Def or Common cd. It was probably their MySpace page (where Whitlock is listed as a friend) that tipped me off.

I’m all for people being succesful. I’m not mad at Jason for being all over tv garnering national attention. I’m mad that he’s trying to put down Hip Hop in order to raise up his career. He must have forgotten about this:

When Jason Whitlock, a sportswriter for the Kansas City Star and sometimes sports reporter on ESPN commissioned 5150 to produce all the music for his radio show the opportunity allowed 5150 to reach a larger more mainstream audience and aided in its being recognized as a legitimate fixture in the rap hip/hop production industry..so much so that the team at 5150 was asked to create fight songs for the Kansas City Royals baseball team and the University of Missouri’s basketball team.

Whitlock, my brotha, just tell us what it is. Are you still rolling with the Villians? Do you condone their use of the “N” word? Do you use the “N” word when you’re hangin with them? Did you tell Oprah you’re an aspiring Hip Hop producer?

Dr. J courtesy of You Been Blinded

Somebody else on Whitlock’s bumper. Courtesy of Chiefs Planet

Listen to “It’s On Now”. Courtesy of World Sentiment user KC2win

The quote in the middle of my post was taken from this dude’s MySpace.

DIGG IT  *  DEL.ICIO.US  *  REDDIT  *  BALL HYPE

Jason does not despise Hip Hop, he said so himself  “I don’t hate hip hop. I hate what it has become. I hate what it has done to the minds and values of young people.”  See.. So that leaves the door open for him to start a career as a Hip Hop producer. The website  www.chapmanrecording.com states:

“Some of the biggest names in KC rap gathered recently to record a new game day song for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Track, “It’s On Now ‘07″, was created by Seven and produced by KC Star sports writer Jason Whitlock with the assistance of Strange Music headman Travis O’Guin.”

I’m assuming since J-Dub made the following comments about Hip Hop,

Prison culture swallowed hip-hop culture, turning party music into a celebration of violence, hostility, disrespect and drug-dealing. Prison culture created the Black KKK and negated much of the progress won by the civil-rights movement.

Prison culture is winning. It has corrupted a form of music that once gave us great joy and/or offered inspiration. Prison culture — with its BET and MTV videos, popular movies, acceptance in the mainstream media and false gods — Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg — has perverted the American dream for black youth.

Hip-hop/prison culture must be destroyed and remade. In its present, N-word-reliant, violence-promoting form, nothing good can come from hip hop.

he wouldn’t have any rapper that could be considered a “hip hop hoodlum” on a track that he’s producing. Right?!? Let’s take a look..

Rich The Factor, author of such classics as Bitch, Drug Team, and Pull Dope out.

 Tech N9ne, the same Tech N9ne that Whitlock shouted out to lead off this column, has penned Civil Rights anthems My Wife, My Bitch, My Girl… Real Killer…and Trapped In A Psycho’s Body.

I couldn’t find too much more information about the other guys on the track but I think this line from Tech N9ne’s hymn, Absolute Power, says it best..

we Kansas City players
and we bout sold game,
we make it so that Tech N9ne is a household name
How many points you got? I got 50
here’s a question to the censorship committee
who’s the biggest gangs of niggas in the city,
my villains are Gritty,
Big Scoob, Txx Will, Bakarii,
rest in peace Short Nitty

Yep..These are his readers.

Don’t get me wrong..I love Hip Hop..I need Hip Hop as much as I need sports. I’m not trying to bash the rappers for their lyrics. I’m not trying to blame rappers for every problem plaguing the black community… But Doctor J is.. I wonder if the suits at Disney told Ja-Lock that he could have his old job back, but first he REALLY has to prove that he won’t step out of line again.

Jason Whitlock produces KC Chiefs song via ChapmanRecording.com

Hip Hop is ruining the world, Jason Whitlock via AOL Sports

Tech N9ne interview via Murder Dog

Rich The Factor discography via Music Match

DIGG IT  *  DEL.ICIO.US  *  REDDIT  *  BALL HYPE