CANTON, OHIO — Every year I make sure to watch the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for two reasons. I want to hear the stories behind what made these people so great, and most importantly, I want to see who’s going to wake up the consciousness of America with something valuable to say.
Well playas…the homie Champ Bailey took advantage of his opportunity in front of millions of sports fans to stand up for black men all over this country. He said, “When people look at me they don’t look at me as a Pro Football Hall of Famer or a husband or a father. They view me first as a black man. So on behalf of all of the black men that I have mentioned tonight and many more out there who’s had the most of the same experiences that I’ve had in my lifetime. We say this to all of our white friends. When we tell you about our fears please listen. When we tell you that we’re afraid for our kids please listen. When we tell you that there are many challenges we face because of the color of our skin, please listen. And please…do not get caught up in how the message is delivered.”
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! There were millions of white folks watching that speech shaking their heads in disgust because Champ Bailey is rich and famous. So many people think that because he’s rich and famous that he somehow is excluded from being a black man in America.
Champ is still getting pulled over by the police and harassed because he’s an easy pull over. He’s driving a luxury vehicle in the wrong neighborhood. His kids are even more of the target because they are young driving expensive cars in the wrong neighborhood. Did I mention that they’re black too.
Being black in America is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job. There are no opportunities for a break. I always laugh when I hear white fans say, “We don’t need to see players protesting police brutality, racial and social injustice during the game or during the national anthem. They should do that on their own time. We just want to watch the game.”
Well folks…we just want to be treated fairly the rest of the week, especially on our own time. On our own time we’re being slaughtered by the police on routine traffic stops. Philando Castile was on his own time driving with his fiancé and his daughter when a policeman in Falcon Heights, Minnesota shot him five times killing him as he was reaching for the very ID the cop told him to produce. The man was shot five times after telling the officer that he was reaching for his wallet.
Tamir Rice, a 12-year old boy in Cleveland, was playing with a BB gun when a white cop rolled up on him and shot him to death without asking a single question or giving a single command telling the kid to put the gun down. Michael Brown was killed by a police officer and his body left in the middle of the street for hours without a sheet to cover it. I could name thousands of incidents but you get my point.
And please don’t give me the “What about black on black crime” argument. The fools out here killing folks over drugs and money aren’t trained professionals that were sworn in to “protect and serve” the community. You sound ignorant trying to throw that on the table.
So I’m glad that Champ Bailey spoke on it Saturday night during his HOF induction speech because folks always want to act like the experiences black folks say that they encounter aren’t real. Racism in America is alive and well in 2019 and the more our rich and famous speak on it the more the elephant gets exposed. Stop me when I start lyin’!