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.

HG: Buzz Bissinger set the blogosphere on fire with his comments during Bob Costas’ Town Hall Meeting. He has since backed away from some of the things he said on HBO, but why is the old guard so angry with/afraid of blogs, and why can’t newspapers and blogs co-exist without beef in the future?

JW: The old guard is losing jobs and being second-guessed and questioned in a manner we’ve never experienced. Losing jobs and being held accountable are going to tweak our insecurity. But it will pass and we will co-exist. We have no choice.

HG: With newspapers dwindling in size, and quality jobs harder to find, what route would you tell an aspiring journalist to take?

JW: Develop a niche. The Internet is all about finding specifically what you want. Don’t be a generalist. You look foolish trying to know everything. Be the best at something specific. And learn how to report. Information is still the driving force.

HG: I was critical of you for your takes and timing with the Don Imus situation. It seemed to me you were pushing Jason Whitlock’s agenda and using the opportunity to “make a name for yourself” with people that didn’t know your work. You’re on the record as saying you wanted to win a Pulitzer for your Imus commentary but did you jump into the Imus flap thinking media circuit and bright lights?

JW: Hell, no. I didn’t write anything in the Imus column that I haven’t been writing for years. You can find that sentiment in columns I wrote in the Ann Arbor News in the early 1990s. People don’t get my honesty. They mistake it for overwhelming arrogance. That’s fine. I can deal with that. I initially ignored the Imus controversy. A friend called me during Vivian Stringer’s press conference/recruiting rally. It offended me and provoked me to write. It was totally organic. It wasn’t until much later in the year that I looked back at what I wrote about Imus, the Jena Six, Michael Vick, Barry Bonds and a few other things that I reached the conclusion that I had a body of columns worthy of Pulitzer consideration in my opinion. So I had no problem saying it. That’s what I believed. I’ve been writing columns regularly since 1992. I’ve believed that twice in 16 years. I’m not out chasing the Pulitzer. I want(ed) to win one because Mike Royko won one. He’s my idol. But the dream is pretty much over. I doubt I’ll ever write another column as pervasive and influential as the Imus column. It’s tough to write a newspaper column that lands you on Oprah. I’ve satisfied my journalism awards dream winning the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Award for commentary. That was quite an honor. Royko won one, so that’s my link to Mike Royko. Plus, David Simon took a lot of the shine off Pulitzers for me.

HG: You’re often critical of Hip-Hop’s influence on black culture, but do you consider any other factors (socioeconomic, lack of funding for education, the government aided crack epidemic) before you decide what ails the black community?

JW: I just wrote a 5,000-word piece for Playboy that addresses a gigantic problem within our community. Now Playboy is trying to sabotage the message with a ridiculously, sensational headline. But if you read the piece, your question will be answered. The piece comes out this Friday.

YBB Note: I haven’t had a chance to read the Playboy piece and didn’t know about it until Jason mentioned it in his answer, but the fine folks at Playboy pissed off Whitlock by changing the title of his story. The piece was originally titled “All America’s Crisis” and was advertised as such by Playboy.

Here’s a small part of Whitlock’s take on Playboy’s editorial decision:

Chris Napolitano, editorial director of Playboy magazine, is committed to stirring a racial controversy in the next issue of Hugh Hefner’s favorite publication.

Napolitano, No. 2 behind Hef at the magazine, intends to use a 5,000-word column I wrote challenging the wisdom of America’s drug war, world-leading incarceration rate and brutal prison system as an excuse to fan racial flames and distract readers from the real issues raised in the piece.

So on May 9, this headline will greet Playboy readers on the cover: “Jason Whitlock, The Black KKK.” On the inside of the magazine over my column, the headline will read: “The Black KKK.” A subheadline will state: “Hip Hop is killing Black America, and it’s time to do something about it.”

I’ll have to save my full opinion until after I read the story, but at least it seems that JW is starting to acknowledge factors other than Hip-Hop. End YBB Note

HG: Considering your stance on Hip-Hop and the state of the black community, are Tech N9ne and the 57th Street Rogue Dog Villains potentially your Reverend Wright?

JW: You damn skippy they’re Reverend Wright, and I’ll never disown Tech N9ne, Big Krizz Kalico and Cutt Kalhoun and the RDVs. You can add Dr. Dre and Tupac to the list, too. I’ve never denied being a fan of rap music. I know why it touches people and where the gangsta element comes from. Look, I’m overweight and I would tell people McDonald’s is freaking horrible and should be outlawed. But that don’t mean you’ll never see me creeping through a Mickey D’s drive-thru at 2 a.m. and grabbing a Filet-O-Fish. Just because I acknowledge my hypocrisy doesn’t mean my criticisms are inaccurate. We all fall short of the glory from time to time.

HG: One thing we agree on is that The Wire is one of the greatest television shows of all-time. If they were to make a Wire movie, what angles or storylines would you like to see covered?

JW: More of Kima’s love life. There was a lot of time wasted on McNulty’s catting around when we could’ve seen what Kima was up to.

HG: Finally, if you could give Pacman Jones advice, what would it be? What about Roger Clemens? Jason Whitlock haters?

JW: Pacman: Listen to Jim Brown and embrace the Amer-I-Can program.

Clemens: Move to Montana and disappear.

Whitlock haters: There are no Whitlock haters. There are only people who don’t know me.

Jason Whitlock, interview, sports, blogs

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

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ZQXaXmCW4]

Jason Whitlock has obviously been hanging out at the Huxtable house.. He has eaten the pudding pop… Mr. Whitlock appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show on MSNBC. He’s there to talk about Don Imus making the comment that “his offensive language was the product of African-American culture not the creation of white America” (quote Tucker), and his own article in the Kansas City Star. Here are my favorite parts of the interview:

Tucker: What do you mean the bigots win again?

Jason: I mean the people that don’t wanna see black people advance, have won. And it’s because we keep deluding ourselves and getting caught up in distractions that have nothing at all to do with what is setting back, holding black people back and it’s our own self-hatred.

The people that don’t wanna see black people advance have won? I would have to say it’s at least a tie. Imus got fired. I could be wrong but I’m thinking the PTDWSBPA didn’t want Don Imus to lose his job. The claim that black people’s “own self-hatred is holding them back” is buzzword journalism.. J’s doing an effective job of making sure his comments get played over and over… Does Jason really mean to say that all of black America’s problems would be cured if black on black crime stopped? That’s what the 400 years of oppression has been about? Black on black crime!?! C’mon let’s be serious. I’m not the smartest man in the world so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt, use your own brainInternet and take a look at some of these issues. If every black person in America got together right now and said there will be no more “self-hatred” are doors to the boardrooms going to magically open? Will more black coaches be hired in college football? Will Pac and Biggie come back? I’m gonna say no, no, and no. Violence in the black community needs to stop, but so does violence in every community. The murder rates for different races, regions, cities, and states are meaninglessly compared when the focus should be on stopping violence period. There shouldn’t be drive-bys or school shootings.

Jason: Don Imus is irrelevant to what’s going on with black people. Don Imus is no threat to us. Don Imus will not shoot one of us in the street, he will not impregnate our daughter or our sister and abandon that kid and that woman.

So Imus isn’t a gang-banger or a deadbeat dad.. That doesn’t preclude him from being a racist. Shooting someone or knocking up their sister(or daughter) aren’t the only ways to degrade a human life. Somebody broadcasting racism to the masses via radio and television is relevant and can be very threatening.  There are gang violence and teenage pregnancy problems in the “community” and institutional racism problems in the society. The existence of gangs and unwed teenage mothers doesn’t give people that make racist comments a pass.

Jason: Don Imus is a bad shock jock who cracked a bad joke.

As far as “shock jocks” go, Don Imus is (was?) one of the best. He’s often referred to as the “Howard Stern before Howard Stern”, and, more recently, that “racist muthafucka on tv”. While his shows haven’t always drawn the biggest numbers he’s always had people talking about him.

When I think of a bad joke I think about Jay Leno’s monologue, a joke actually written by Carlos Mencia.. something like that. ”Nappy headed hoes”. What’s the punchline? I never considered “The Comment”  being an attempt at humor. “Just kidding” can’t be the the go to password for everybody from Michael Ray Richardson to Mel Gibson.

Jason: Two ministers who have needed forgiveness in their own life don’t have the moral integrity to give this man the forgiveness that he has asked for in a sincere fashion.

I don’t know when Jackson and Sharpton are going to forgive Imus, but if they’re truly men of faith and religion, they have to forgive him. Forgiving him doesn’t mean wanting him to be on the air, but they should dismiss the negative feelings they have about him. When the two Revs get done letting bygones be bygones with Imus they need to go make amends in Durham… More on that later. +1 Whitlock.

Jason: I,I,I,I,I,I,I’m,I’m.

That’s all folks..

Tucker: Back to something you said a second ago… The two ministers you referred to who desperately need forgiveness in their own lives..I assume you’re talking about the Reverends Sharpton and Jackson.. Why are they? What is their role exactly in this? That’s always kinda confused me, I like Al Sharpton personally, but where did he and Jesse Jackson come in on this? Are they connected to this story really?

Jason: Yes. They’ve driven this story. Don Imus tried to apologize.. Jesse Jackson, Sharpton got involved.. Don Imus went on Sharpton’s show which in in retrospect, terrible mistake, he played right into Sharpton’s wheelhouse. But these guys have driven this issue.

Translation “Tucker: Let’s go back for a sec so we can rip on Jesse Jackson”. Tucker, my dude…Which question do you want Whitlock to answer? “Why are they?, What is their role exactly in this?, Where did he and Jesse Jackson come in on this?, or Are they connected to this story really?”.. I see where you’re going with that though.. Multiple questions.. That’s progressive. Just utter a bunch of questions and let the guest answer whatever they feel like. I like it. Here lemme try.. Where are your bow ties? Why are they? What is their role exactly in this? Are they connected to this story really?

Whitlock went with choice D from the question quiz, ”Are they connected to this story really?”. He blames Jackson and Sharpton for driving the story. Jesse and Al don’t own Fox news, CNN, MSNBC, or any sports talk radio station in any city, and they didn’t force the Internet to go nuts.  I won’t argue with anyone that says The Pherm (Jackson and Sharpton) are racial headline chasers. I like to call them racial crapshooters. Sometimes they hit their number, sometimes they crap out. 

 And of course Whitlock thought Imus going on Sharpton’s show to confront the issue was a terrible mistake.. Remember how he handled his beef with Scoop Jackson? From Scoop’s column in October ’06:

I really don’t know what’s eating Mr. Whitlock, because for all his issues with me and my style, he has never done the honorable thing, which is to call me so we can discuss it man-to-man. Even when we were sitting together at a table in a Dallas hotel lobby during the NBA Finals in June watching a World Cup game with Dan Le Batard, dude never said anything. Nothing. Even when invited by the producers of “Quite Frankly” to discuss the issue — his issue with me — in July, he refused.

I thought Imus did the right thing by going on the show. He had everything to lose and something to gain. He ended up losing his show anyway, but at least he wasn’t afraid to go on Sharpton’s show. Sharpton has always declined to go on Imus’ show. Don also gets credit for meeting with the Rutgers women and apologizing even though it’s highly unlikely, imo, that Imus is sorry for saying what he said. He’s sorry that what he said cost him his job and forced him to have to go talk to Sharpton and to some angry “nappy headed hoes”.

Jason: I would say to CBS, don’t negotiate with terrorist. Because that’s what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are. They go around the country lighting fires and dividing people and then start picking everyone’s pocket. You never see them go back and apologize for the messes they make. Jesse Jackson, today, right now, should be down at Duke…Apologizing to those soccer players rather than trying to turn these basketball players at Rutgers into the ultimate victims. He owes the people down at Duke an apology for going and stirring in that mess and dividing people and dividing this nation. They’re terrorist, they go around this country starting fires, and they need to be stopped.

Whitlock just called Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton terrorists.. Unbelievable.. Unbelievably funny, unbelievably stupid, just unbelievable.. I’ve looked at that part at least 20 times. The clip went from mildly intersting to unintentionally hysterical at this point. I would of been cool if Jason had called them ____terrorists.. Something like racial subplot terrorists or boycott terrorists, but straight up Osama Bin Laden? Damn man. When can I get my Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton deck of cards?

I’m a good googler. I can find anything. The one thing I can’t find is why Jesse Jackson should go to Duke and apologize to the soccer players. I used every trick I know and I can’t find one reason. Maybe Whitlock can explain that one, or maybe while he’s in the middle of being Mr. High and Mighty he had a brain fart, or, my personal favorite, he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. 

“Jesse Jackson, today, right now, should be down at Duke…Apologizing..” Absolutely. That’s part of the racial dice code. You crap out, you admit your mistakes and apologize where necessary. The code is universal and applies to all circumstances from the Duke lacrosse team to NBA players.  Jesse sided with the wrong side in the Duke Lax scandal and he needs to man up and admit it.

I can’t get with the ”dividing the nation” part of Jason’s statement. If Jesse Jackson can divide the nation we’ve been doomed. Who was divided over Jesse Jackson? Farrakahn has more pull than Jesse and NOBODY listens to Farrakahn.

 Anybody over the age of 25 should have a good read on Jackson. On one hand,  a lot of what Jesse does seems self serving, but on the other hand we need an old guard dog patrolling the yard. Sure, he’s not as sharp as he was years ago, and he barks at anything that moves, but he’s got your back even when he occasionally pisses in the house. Who else is gonna be willing to go out on a limb and support a lying stripper?

Tucker: By the way, Jesse Jackson pledged about a year ago that he was gonna pay the college tuition of the accuser, Crystal Gail Mangum in that case, I wonder if he still is. Finally I wonder if Jackson’s so bad then why does he have so much power? And why do people listen to him? and why do they do his bidding? I’m not sure I understand that.

Ok, once and for all.. Attention all non-blacks. JESSE JACKSON IS NOT THE KING OF THE BLACKS. Black people do not sit around waiting to here the latest proclamation from Reverend Jesse. We don’t have a leader that we all follow. We don’t have secret meetings..Cough.. If there was a KOTB he wouldn’t be that powerful anyways. His rule would be over 12.1% of our country’s population, roughly 35 million people. That would make the KOTB the third most powerful king in the land behind #1 George Bush (KOTW),  74.7% of the population (215 million people) and #2 Jennifer Lopez (KOTL), 14.5% of the population (42 million people).

Question quiz..Who’s doing Jesse’s bidding? Is he Jesse Jackson or Blacula? Who has the native Americans doing their bidding?

Not only did Jesse Jackson say his organization would pay the tuition of the accuser, he said they would pay even if she was lying. At the time he wanted to help her get away from the lacrosse team dial-a-h stripper lifestyle. Now she’s gonna be lucky to get a few bucks for beauty school.

Jason: A significant segment of black America is tired of Jesse Jackson. We look at his track record of his accomplishments and there’s nothing there. There’s nothing there. Other than Jesse and Al lining their pockets, they’ve done nothing. If you compare Jesse and Al to Martin and Malcolm and what those guys accomplished…it’s an embarrasment.

Whitlock..I get that you ain’t feelin Jesse but “we look at his track record of his accomplishments and there’s nothing there” is just a blatant lie. Jesse Jackson has stripes. He’s marched for Civil Rights, negotiated the release of hostages and I know you were right there chanting Run Jesse Run back in the day. Don’t let your quest for stardom get in the way of the facts.

Comparing Jesse and Al to Martin and Malcom is like comparing 1st and 10 to PTI.  There’s no reason to do it because the latter is so superior to the former. If we’re judging folks on the M and M scale there’s very few people that will make the weight. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were two of the most important figures of the 20th century while Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are trying to keep the torch burning, and stay relevant in the 21st. I don’t always agree with their positions or methods, much like I don’t agree with Whitlock of late. I do agree with somebody, anybody, everybody, taking some sort of action instead of sitting on the sidelines criticizing the work of others. Organizing sit-ins and marches is doing more than writing columns dissing the people organizing the sit-ins and marches.

Jason: We need to vote ‘em out and bring in new leadership. It’s not 1965, the problems aren’t the same as they were in 1965. It’s 2007. Black people have a new set of problems and we need some new leadership and people with new solutions. These guys are trying to drag us back into the 1940s and 50s.

Tucker: I nominate you Jason Whitlock. Actually. And I appreciate your coming.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this just in… Jason Whitlock has been nominated as the new King Of The Blacks by Tucker Carlson. I take back anything negative I might have said or typed about Tucker Carlson. He might be the funniest man alive. ” I nominate you, Jason Whitlock“? Who the fuck is Tucker Carlson to nominate anybody for KOTB? Doesn’t Tucker Carlson know anything? You must belong to the group before you can nominate somebody as the KOT_. I can nominate Oprah, Tucker can nominate Bill O’Reilly, and Jessica Alba can nominate a little bit of everybody. Carlson is over-stepping the bounds of cross nominating and that ain’t right.

 Efforts to curb violence, improve the educational system, and create jobs in the community need to be stepped up. If there was ever a meeting of black leaders to discuss those problems, Jackson and Sharpton would be invited. Jason would be invited too, and I think that’s a good thing. Opinions from the old and new school should be respected. Views from the left and right should be considered. The more people involved and the more information shared the better. That way a plan can be devised that has everybody on the same page.

A FEW MORE THINGS

*Whitlock also wrote about The Pherm needing to step down. A lot of it is the same stuff he said with TC, but I found this blurb interesting:

“We need to take a cue from White America and re-elect our leadership every four years. White folks realize that power corrupts. That’s why they placed term limits on the presidency. They know if you leave a man in power too long he quits looking out for the interest of his constituency and starts looking out for his own best interest.”

If I’m not mistaken, the leadership elected every 4 years is for all of America, not just white America… Uncle Jason, uncle Jason, tell us more about the mystical white man that knows power corrupts and places term limits on the presidency.. Can he fly?

*Whitlock himself appears to be a major hypocrite. In the 7th paragraph from the bottom of this column Jason says this of the NBA all-star game:

David Stern seriously needs to consider moving the event out of the country for the next couple of years in hopes that young, hip-hop hoodlums would find another event to terrorize. Taking the game to Canada won’t do it. The game needs to be moved overseas, someplace where the Bloods and Crips and hookers and hoes can’t get to it without a passport and plane ticket.

Bloods and Crips and hookers and hoes… So what you’re saying is there’s a difference when………

*Jason recieved mail  from Dave Zirin back in February

*Jason was ETHERED  a few days ago by The Starting Five

*Bill Cosby… The older, richer, slimmer, darker, funnier, sadder version of Jason Whitlock.

*Michael Eric Dyson respectfully disagrees with Cosby and Whitlock.

*I copped the video from www.larrybrownsports.com

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