Larry Bird joins the idiot club

[Hoop Fan]

why do these guys not learn from the mistakes of others? Bird could have easily just said the NBA needs and is best served by a good mix of all races, white, black, Asian, Latin, Slovic whatever. Thats it. Instead he trips all over himself and looks like an idiot. Way to go Larry. At least it sounds like Carmelo and Lebron had the sense not to get pulled into the ditch with him.

[moodymadness]

was what larry bird had to say really that off base? i don't think so. i respect his ability to speak the truth about a sensitive subject. he said the best athletes in the world are african american...and how can you disagree with that. he also spoke the truth when he said that the vast majority of the ticket paying public was white and it wouldn't be bad for business if there were more white players in the nba. the bottom line is that we all feel a closer connection to athletes that we can relate to. why do you think mark madsen has been such a fan favorite in LA and minnesota? surely it isn't his two points and three rebounds per game and i would argue that his race has played a factor. larry bird didn't bring up the subject, he just answered a question and told the truth.

[WildHorse]

was what larry bird had to say really that off base? i don't think so. i respect his ability to speak the truth about a sensitive subject. he said the best athletes in the world are african american...and how can you disagree with that....

It depends on what sport you're looking at. There are swimmers and distance runners and hockey players who are sensational athletes, and many of them are not African-American. Some are, like the strong contingent of marathoners from Kenya, etc. But the fact is that there are great athletes of many ethnic descents.

he also spoke the truth when he said that the vast majority of the ticket paying public was white and it wouldn't be bad for business if there were more white players in the nba. the bottom line is that we all feel a closer connection to athletes that we can relate to. why do you think mark madsen has been such a fan favorite in LA and minnesota? surely it isn't his two points and three rebounds per game and i would argue that his race has played a factor....

I don't know -- before he went insane, Dennis Rodman was wildly popular in Detroit, and at the time, he had normal-colored hair, not door knockers pierced through various parts of his anatomy and no tattoos. He was a fan favorite in Detroit because he rebounded and played defense every night as if his next meal depended on it. (He did that after he visited Mars, too, but it was harder to notice because of the extra attention he got for being a complete lunatic.) I would contend that the reasons Madsen is so popular are:
1. He is the designated cheerleader, always first off the bench to high-five someone for hitting a layup or to wave the towel at the beginning of a timeout.
2. He rebounds and dives for loose balls as if there's gold inside each one. He is the epitome of the guy who gives it up for the team.
3. He knows better than to shoot the ball. Getting Garnett or Sprewell or Cassell a jumper from midcourt is better than having him clang 4-foot jumpers off the rim, and he understands that. He knows scoring is not why he's employed.
4. I really think that goofy dance he did after the Lakers won it all a couple years ago endeared him to the fans. He clearly was relishing the moment, and he also showed that just because he's an athlete doesn't mean he's coordinated. moodymadness mentions that there's an element of popularity for athletes who we can relate to. I contend that the reason we can relate to Madsen is not because he's white, but because he's a big dork who can't dance, and like it or not, we all have our moments of uncoordinated goofiness. He became the Everyman with that hideous dance.

[Eddie P]

We think Larry Bird gave his honest opinion on the subject. It may not be politically correct, but it is his opinion. I don't think he joined the "idiot club" for stating his honest opinion. And the NBA does seem to have a slightly larger number of african amercana than caucasian players, the last time I checked. I think the best player in the league is african american...along with the following ten. Race is such a sensitive issue that you will get lambasted no matter what you say. I respect Larry Bird's right to voice his opiniom, regardless of whether I agree with it or not.

[OldPony]

Bird is able to give an opinion. So am I. His opinion was stupid. People really don't care about the color of the athlete on their favorite teams. They do care that they win and that they act like responsible members of the community. See San Antonio with Duncan and Robinson. See Emmet Smith and compare him to the idiot Michael Irvin. It isn't skin color but class and winning that all fans other than some ignorant rednecks care about. If the rednecks stay home, the games would be more enjoyable anyway.

[moodymadness]

i agree that winning is the botton line for the vast majority of fans but i still think it is only natural for a fan to migrate towards players that they can relate to or identify with. this explains the popularity of a steve nash in canada or a eduardo najera in mexico. and like larry bird said, right now there are no white american superstars in the nba. if there were it would be a benefit to the league. just like it was a benefit to the league when a chinese superstar, yao ming, arrived. i just don't think there is anything politically incorrect about a former white nba superstar discussing the role of white players in the league. and there is no one on the planet more qualified to discuss the subject than larry bird.

[Hoop Fan]

well Eddie, you have oversimplified the comments Bird made. I am not a fan of political correctness for PCs sake at all, but I'll call a spade a spade and Birds comments were inappropriate and stupid. His comments were bad on a number of levels, one of which Old Pony already pointed out. Most people dont care what color guys are on their favorite team. Its all about personality, not color. Plenty of people who respect Steve Nash do not respect or relate to Shawn Bradley. Besides that, Bird has been an executive with the Indiana Pacers and therefore a representative of the league beyond his past playing experience. There are some serious implications to someone with personnel discretion at a league team suggesting that having more white players helps marketing. Nevermind that he said the majority of fans were white. Really? Is that a fact? I wonder how you define fans, whether it be the people who can afford to pay the $125 face value of the tickets at courtside or something else. Stupid comment. And the most arrogant and ridiculous comments he made were the ones about being insulted when a white guy guarded him. Gimme a break, does he think hes the only white guy to ever make a contribution on a basketball court? There were many before him and many since, and that fact has nothing to do with the fact that many of the best players in the world are black.

[Hoop Fan]

i agree that winning is the botton line for the vast majority of fans but i still think it is only natural for a fan to migrate towards players that they can relate to or identify with. this explains the popularity of a steve nash in canada or a eduardo najera in mexico. and like larry bird said, right now there are no white american superstars in the nba. if there were it would be a benefit to the league. just like it was a benefit to the league when a chinese superstar, yao ming, arrived. i just don't think there is anything politically incorrect about a former white nba superstar discussing the role of white players in the league. and there is no one on the planet more qualified to discuss the subject than larry bird.

Moody, I dont want to argue with you, but MOST people like guys like Madsen and Najera or Raja Bell because they hustle, not because of their color. Its one thing to suggest national pride, that Canadians identify with Canadians or Mexicans with Mexicans. Its quite another to make it racial. Bird did not refer to nationality at all, he referred to color. Thats why his statements were poor. I wish Bird would have shut down that that little twerp Jim Gray and said ya know Jim, basketball players are basketball players, at the Indiana Pacers we dont much care what they look like or where they come from.

[moodymadness]

Hoop, I am just relating my opinion from my personal experiences as a fan. And from my experience, as a white man, my favorite players were those that were similar to me. My point is that i think fans hope to find links with athletes so they can identify with them and root for them...so maybe when that athlete succeeds, it is like they are too. a lot of the time that link could be a particular college or hometown but i think most of the time the link is nationality or color. personally, my favorite player in the nba is steve nash. i relate to him because we are similar in height and weight but also because he is white, dresses like i dress, talks like i talk, etc. on the other hand, iverson and i are similar in height and weight also...but i dont relate to him at all. i don't think that is racist or politically incorrect, i just think that is human nature. that was larry bird's point and i don't think that is wrong. as far as bird saying he didn't like to be guarded by another white person...egotistical but true. are we at the point in society today when it is politically incorrect for a white person to make a comment about another white person?

[OldPony]

I wish we were at that point but there are people who will continue to see color first. I identify with many of the black players just as much or more than I do a Canadian. The role models provided by guys like Jordan, Moncrief, Dr J etc are just as valid for whites as blacks. Iverson isn't in that class. Bird is a stupid man. Give me a Mutumbo or a Robinson for a role model or leader of my team anyday.

[ponyboy]

OP > Bird is a stupid man

This is too harsh. While I mostly agree with HoopFan and Old Pony overall, I do have to admit that I cheer a little more for the white guy all other things being equal. It's not because he's white, it's because he's the underdog. Same way we all cheered for Jackie Robinson. I think this is the point Bird had way back in his noggin. It's undeniable fact -- despite the recent and surprising rise of the European baller -- that the black athlete has dominated the game for some time now. The same thing that makes me such a loyal SMU fan makes me want to see Nowitski do well against Kevin Garnett. I'd be willing to bet that there's quite a few African Americans out there who'd agree with me.

[moodymadness]

don't get me wrong...i don't just root for white players, but larry bird was right from a social and business perspective. if 90% of the ticket paying public is white (did anybody scan the crowd of the pistons/lakers game last night?), it would be good for business if more white stars existed. dont you think that if 90% of the ticket paying public was Indian that it would be good for business if there were some Indian stars for those people to cheer for? it is just common sense and human nature at play. larry bird's comments were sensitive and we may not like what it says about us...but that doesn't make his comments any less true.

[ponyboy]

Since you put it that way, I guess one thing that bugs me about Bird's comments then would be that when he says "we need more white players," he implies action. That there's something we can do to accomplish the goal of getting more white players out there. The only thing that comes to mind for me is permanently crippling every other black player. Nothing too serious, just take out one kneecap for 50% of African American players. That would go a long way towards filling the need.

If that's what Bird meant, that he implied that something needs to be done, I agree it's a stupid comment.

[Mexmustang]

There is no correct way to address this issue--maybe a couple more years of progress and people will not react as they do--a "knee jerk" no matter what is said, correct or not, polite or not.

Speaking of improper comments, I think the real question should be why are there so many successful "foreign" basketball players that have European backrounds and such a lack of American born "Anglo" players? There seems to be quite a few so-called "white"players but there not from the US. It seems that American players like Berry, Bird, etc. have just disappeared. Unlike a sport like boxing, which some people suggest draws its athletes from very tough, economically deprived backrounds, basketball appeals across all backrounds.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

I think it's ironic though that the one person who championed his statement was one Earvin "Magic Johnson" with the following statement...

"We need some more LBs -- Larry Birds. ... Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. When you say 'Larry Bird,' black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him the respect."