Racist 10k Announcer at D1 Champs

rojo wrote:

Obviously we are at the meet and not watching the stream.

Do we know who the announcer was? What's his or her name?

Is their an archive of it?

It was not Larry Rawson, and that should be made clear to anyone that automatically threw him under the bus.

Dennis Reynolds wrote:

How are they "gaming" the system? Please explain that one. I think the kids going to school for 1 year in basketball are "gaming" the system more than any foreign runner ever could.

Also, give me a break on your wording. "poor people"? You can't be talking about all foreign fast guys because guys like O'Lionard, Willis, Levins, etc. are not poor at all and grew up in good homes. You are specifically talking about Africans. That is racist.

It is difficult for a person from a developed country to fake documentation relating to DoB. Documentation standards in the developing world are much weaker. Levins or Ahmed would have been very hard pressed to fake their birthday.

There is a pecuniary interest for anybody to get a scholarship, or even gain admission. So everybody has an incentive to cheat. It is much more difficult to verify the background of a student from the developing world. So it is easier to cheat if you are from there.

How is this racist? Everybody wants a ride. If you are a good runner, can pass some form of the SAT, and can show you are, "under age", you can get one. For those from poorer backgrounds (no matter where you live) the incentive is that much greater.

In the 80s, UTEP gave a supposed 25' LJer from Nigeria a full ride. When he showed up, his first jump was 17'. He had scammed them. This has been going on for as long as foreign athletes have been getting scholarships.

Which announcer is the one who sounds like the dad from That 70's Show?

Watching these messageboards discuss racism is like watching a dog explain why it's impolite to shit in the street.

Gee Wizards. What a stupid thing to say dog, log whatever.

I hope it wasn't Dwight considering he is a pretty good athletics announcer/analyst, a category in very short supply. Was recently on a plane with that guy and he talked to Lashinda Demus the entire 2 hour trip.

I don't know him but he seems nice enough and very polite backstage at athletics events, however this comment could put him in the Al Campanis subdivision or the Howard Cossell league with his "little monkey" quote about an American football player.

And yes the Africans (South Americans as well) ALWAYS adjust their age when they come to America. They call it "the adjustment". I have some non athlete friends from Nigeria who told me they did it before coming to America. They said it's standard practice.

The adjustment is to give them a chance in school. They ALL shaved three years off their ages (or at least their parents did) upon entering USA schools back in junior high when they immigrated.

Seems to have worked because they are the richest guys I know in NYC. They own all kinds of property. And all good Republicans.

It's not a big deal unless you think about world and junior records. And now American high school distance records. They are all quite distorted beyond any real meaning. Every year at least one junior athlete is found with a bogus passport. It happened at World Junior twice last year. It's not high on the list of criminal priorities.

And ps. I hated running in college as a 19 year old soph against world class athletes who were 28. Nyambui was way older than his reported 21.

UTEP coach Ted Banks told me I would sit on the bench until I was able to break 4 minutes consistently so there was no use in attempting to come to UTEP to run..So take your 4:11 high school mile elsewhere.... Did UTEP have any American runners during their glory years? No.. (to be fair Villanova/Jumbo Elliot told me pretty much the same thing..Vill had a smattering of Irish stars back then)

I learned that NCAA coaches are there to win titles not develop USA distance runners.. So dump on you guys who believe in the ideal of country first.

Ho Hum wrote:

They don't "take" scholarships from anyone. The NCAA is not an American-only league, so as long as guys are fulfilling the requirements I don't see how you can complain about fairness. Don't like it? Run faster, that's all you have to do.

If someone lies about their age and gets a medal i.e. wifred Kirochi in the world juniors in 1988 for example or doesn't actually meet NCAA age requirements, it takes away from a legitimate junior or other person in a situation where age does matter.

"run faster' doesn't cut it. cheating is cheating.

I would like to make two points. First, while I realize the subject of this thread is the remarks of an announcer and not recruiting African athletes, I can not let this gentleman's use of the term "true collegians," referring to American born athletes, pass without vigorous protest. African collegiate runners might or might not be older than their American counterparts, but to suggest they are not "true collegians" is entirely unacceptable and unsubstantiated. Do you mean to suggest they don't come to an American university to study ? Do you have some basis for asserting such a view? I think that many African student athletes prize an opportunity to study at an American university as much or more than your average American college student, because it's such a rare opportunity for an African. I would urge you to either clarify your meaning or apologize on this thread.

Second, while I have only read as far as page two of this thread, I'd like to congratulate the posters for not stooping to use the phrase "politically correct," a phrase I wish would disappear from common usage. "Politically correct" is what was once called "being polite." It's an expression used by white males when they exhaust their ability to employ reason. They expect to settle any discussion or argument by resorting to "Oh, that's just PC."

Before we lock the pillory let us get it correct.

Who was the speaker, Larry the lawyer or Dwight the real estate dude

jeffsdaf wrote:

Because comparing black people to animals belongs to a long long history of racism and slavery. And recommending that you cut the legs off African runners (this comment was tongue in cheek of course) is just reprehensible.

What's reprehensible are PC hypocrites like jeffsdaf. Climbing all over each other to denounce anything they deem racist - even when race wasn't mentioned. They're the first to fire off I hate whitey language and epithets. And they are never smart enough to step back and ask who taught them to behave this way, to ask why they hate themselves and their own...lol. Gutless cowards.

jeffsdaf wrote:

Because comparing black people to animals belongs to a long long history of racism and slavery. And recommending that you cut the legs off African runners (this comment was tongue in cheek of course) is just reprehensible.

I think it's important we overreact to this, and get up on our high horses about basically nothing. Should help a lot.

You can call it being PC, but you can also call it being polite and sensitive to what negatively affects other people. There are no words or phrases in the English language that mean so much to me that I have use knowing I am hurting someone. Every now and then I use an expletive, but even as a very grown man, I don't curse around my mother for no other reason than the fact that she does not like hearing it. - The fact that my Mom does not like hearing me curse is all I need to know.

I think the announcer was this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GaJPgI3jh4

if you're mama doesn't like to listen to you curse, how do you think we feel about reading your posts dripping in PC cowardice & self-loathing? Grow a pair. Maybe get your mama to slap you around or something, I dunno

My name is Lance wrote:

if you're mama doesn't like to listen to you curse, how do you think we feel about reading your posts dripping in PC cowardice & self-loathing? Grow a pair. Maybe get your mama to slap you around or something, I dunno

If YOU'RE mama? Held back a grade or two, were you?

First, it is a pretty easy connection to make that the poster was referring to "true collegian" as meaning someone 18-22 years old, maybe 23 if they redshirted.

That is CLASSIC collegian. Normal collegian.

Second, I don't know where you got your definition of "politically correct."

The original use in California meant not acting racist, sexist, xenophobic, or supporting policy of interfering in other countries affairs for US corporate profit.

You might think of it as the values of the Green Party, before there was such a party -- which means it came from progressive independents.

It was around in the early 80's. And it was never used to mean someone was "just being polite." It was used to mean and encourage people to vote with a kind of "do no harm," Ghandi-esque approach to local and international affairs.

I don't know in what alternate universe you got that definition, but I can see that it was co-opted:

Rush Numbnuts, et al., inspired by Ronald Reagan's smearing a Democratic candidate by calling him a "card carrying Liberal" took up the baton of the first major shot across the bough in creating the very divisive, nasty, name calling, name smearing idiotic political climate we have today.

Saying "he's just being 'politically correct,'" became a way to smear someone as a "liberal." The term "politically correct" also meant to vote progressive (or Green, before that term came about.)

,

[quote]funnier than u2 wrote:

Are you so stupid that you can't tell the difference between a 27 year old foreign athlete competing as a senior and a 23 year old American born athlete?

That is the issue.

canspo wrote:

What he said was "You know my answer to the age old question about how old are these guys really when the run these incredible junior times, and everything else, is the same answer I've always given when we don't know how old a dog is that we've gotten from a, a rescue, just cut off the leg and count the rings. It's just that easy."

It occurs at the 3:34 of the broadcast.

The broader discussion about NCAA eligibility is interesting, but the above comment is what the thread is about. It is worrying how quickly he moves from talking about "these guys" to talking about the dog pound, but I don't think it was racist.

Maybe this thread would be better titled "Stupid, Insensitive 10k Announcer at D1 Champs".

On the broader NCAA eligibility question, even if the athlete is older, he would still be eligible if he hasn't participated in outside competitions beforehand. Even if he is 27 entering his freshman year of competition, he is still completely eligible if just starting out. You may say it's unfair, but it's not breaking the rules. The clock starts ticking when they start competing.

As far as setting world junior records, overage athletes are a problem, but it has nothing to do with this NCAA competition.

mileage man wrote:

As a spectator, I disagree with the 'ruin it for the spectators' part. Maybe they ruin it for you, but I think the more talented the field, the better.

"they discourage making us better" ...so better competition is bad?

You also say that giving scholarships to people from other countries takes away scholarships from "real" scholar athletes (lol) from the US, who would have benefited from them. Sure - but those from other countries who receive these scholarships benefit also, arguably much more even. Do you care different amounts about human beings, depending on where they were born?

Yes, yes I do care different amounts about people depending upon where they were born. Everyone does. You would be upset if your neighbor (assuming he/she was nice), who had lived next to you for 30 years, died of cancer, but you wouldn't care at all if a random person on the other side of the planet did.

Okay, so that's an extreme example, but my point is that it is perfectly logical to care more about opportunities for American student athletes than you do about foreigners getting scholarships to American universities, provided that you are American. It is perfectly understandable to believe that because the universities are in the United States, they are supposed to serve primarily American students, and offer American students more opportunities.

Now, I personally have no problem with foreign athletes in the NCAA system, but if you don't at least understand the oftentimes legitimate complaints people have about than you are just plain dumb.

In the 80s, UTEP gave a supposed 25' LJer from Nigeria a full ride. When he showed up, his first jump was 17'. He had scammed them. This has been going on for as long as foreign athletes have been getting scholarships.

in the 90's this happened at Ole Miss. They got a Nigerian named Takure Bone who claimed to have won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth games. He got to Ole Miss and couldnt run as fast as the girls. It was a total scam. Kenyans do this too. At Ole MIss?