In the shallow minds of left-stream reporters, accusations of racism are relative to skin color and political identity. Whites and Republicans are assumed to be inherently racist in their DNA. It’s a different story when a member of a minority group utters racist comments.
This was apparent when LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of UCLA basketball star Lonzo Ball, uttered remarks to the Orange County Register that can only be taken as blatantly racist. Of UCLA’s recent loss to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, he said:
"Realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow."
Sticking to their predictable script, Big Media lefties reported Ball’s outrageous remarks with nary a mention of racism. If a white person had made the same charges against African-American athletes, it would have been universally declared the worst sort of racism. But it’s politically correct to ignore racism when it comes from minorities.
ESPN reported the Ball story as matter-of-fact, no-harm, no-foul. Sports Illustrated calmly reported the story without any reference to racism. After all, white men can’t jump either.
The Los Angeles Daily News didn’t even lead the story with the racist remarks. Clay Fowler’s article opened with news that Lonzo Ball suffered a hamstring injury in the Bruins’ tournament loss to Kentucky, then moved on to the father’s caustic comments. This story focused on a series of injuries Lonzo suffered throughout the season.
Yahoo Sports also ignored the 800-pound gorilla in the room, re-directing readers with this line: “Lonzo did not mention the injury in post-game interviews, but was walking with a hitch by the end of the game.”
The Huffington Post wouldn't go anywhere near the “R” word either. But writer Ron Dicker did soften the blow of Ball’s remarks with this gem:
“If we learned anything from his latest episode, it’s that we probably haven’t heard the last of LaVar Ball.”
Hannah Withiam of The New York Post merely covered for Dad Ball’s racism by letting us know Lonzo should go first or second in the 2017 NBA draft.
A CBS Radio outlet from California was one of many media reports side-stepping the racist remarks by identifying white guys Bryce Alford, T.J. Leaf and Thomas Welsh as the slow-pokes who couldn’t stop De’Aaron Fox and the Kentucky Wildcats.
CBS Sports’ Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney followed up on the story by interviewing an unrepentant LaVar, who only dug himself a deeper hole by insisting:
I’m not saying I don’t like white people and white people can’t win or nothing like that. I’m just saying when you have more athleticism (on the floor), it’s kind of hard when you don’t have the foot speed. That’s just a realistic fact.
It’s not racial. I can’t be racial. Some people just take it the wrong way and that’s okay – because that’s how the media (is). They try to twist it around because it’s more interesting when (they) say LaVar is racist. Like I said, I stated my opinion of what I thought. The foot speed is just too slow to catch up with all the athleticism on the court.
CBS Sports writer Kyle Boone concluded from this interview that Ball’s latest comments have “caused quite a stir and debate about whether or not he’s gone too far.” Still a basketball court’s length away from identifying the remarks as racist.
Fox Sports 1’s Jason Whitlock's Twitter remarks deserve our last word on this:
"It’s America. LaVar gets to be racist and stupid. Can’t have the free without the dumb."
Or without the biased media sheeple.
