Kobe Bryant, perennial NBA all-star, made news for something far less athletic recently. When asked about fellow pro players’ Twitter activism after Trayvon Martin’s death, posing in hoodies as a protest against racial profiling, Bryant offered the following, even though significant time has passed since Martin’s death:
“I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American. That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and as a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American, we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well, if we’ve progressed as a society, then you don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right? So I won’t assert myself.”
Unsurprisingly, many immediately lambasted Bryant, especially African-American commentators — proclaiming Bryant’s “disingenuous appeal for colorblindness” to suggesting the star was “promoting Rush Limbaugh’s opening monologue” to one former CNN contributor who questioned whether or not Kobe Bryant actually had “a brain.”
Let’s look at what Bryant actually said…
While acknowledging his own ethnicity, he said he cannot nor will not make a judgment solely based on ethnicity. My sense is that Bryant called for each of us to embrace objectivity. He called for us to be color blind. And he called for none of us — none of us — even if we share his ethnicity — to base our opposition or support based on the color of our skin.
Bryant’s critics continued. They called him a “cornball,” “clueless,” and a “jerk.”
His critics called his names because they disagreed with his opinion.
Thank God for Stephen A. Smith, the loquacious, outspoken ESPN host, who while he, too, shares Kobe’s ethnicity, sees the bigger picture…
“Kobe Bryant basically has the attitude that justice should be equal, no matter what, in regards to race or gender. And that was his position. All he was trying to say was that, ‘Excuse me. Let’s listen to the facts first. Let’s make sure we know everything before we jump out and judge accordingly. You can’t sit there and take somebody’s side just because they’re an African American. You can’t turn around and assume that people from other races are ever going to be fair to you if you’re not willing to exercise fairness yourself. Lay back listen to the facts and then accord justice where it should be served.’ I don’t have a problem with that. Me personally, I definitely think he was right on point with that.
… Even though the system sometimes is unjust — it sometimes is unfair — it doesn’t accord us the license to be unfair as well. We have to make sure that if we’re shining a light on issues we’re just as fair-minded as we’re asking other people to be toward us. If we’re not willing to do that, then we don’t have a strong argument.”
No argument, friends, from any of us, is strong or wise if absent of objectivity. We need to learn to discuss and disagree with respect, fair-mindedness, and without instant criticism and judgment.
Respectfully,
AR