Montrezl Harrell said some pretty harsh words to about Luka Doncic during game 3 of the 1st round series between the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. Was it a slur? Sure it was. In my opinion it didn’t equate to the N-word, but it was still derogatory. Lets have some context though. Bill Russell won 11 championships as a member of the Boston Celtics in the 50s and 60s. Despite being the team's best player and their overall success, he was still berated by his team's own fans regularly. It was nothing to hear him being called the N-word. That was exponentially worst than Harrell's actions. Harrell has since apologized. The vitriol or lack thereof, that Harrell has received is no where near what Doncic would have had if the roles where reversed. So is there a double standard in this case? Yes. Harrell was out of line and we know his competitive juices were flowing but to demean the man's race out there and to call him the B- word after you've made a good play against him is pretty distasteful. We must also acknowledge that those choice words can't come anywhere near 400 years of being oppressed in this country. I mean seeing people standing around watching a man strangle to death from a tree is the epitome treating someone inhumanely. It doesn't excuse Harrell's behavior, but a few words can't offend someone nearly as much of the sight of Emmitt Till's corpse in his casket. So excuse me if public opinion isn't as harsh in this instance. I would gladly make that trade. As for Luka, the man can ball. Since Larry Bird's retirement, there have been several good Anglo-Saxon players in the NBA but non would I call iconic. John Stockton was great as was Steve Nash. Former Maverick Dirk Nowitski is a certified 1st ballot HOFer. He was great too, but Larry was an icon. I feel confident in saying Luka will be an iconic player in the NBA as well. Hakeem Olawjawon is the NBA's best foreign born player to this point. In my opinion this guy has a chance to challenge him. He is a rarity in the sport and maybe it's hard for players in a majority black sport to envision a dominant caucasian player since its such a rarity. We must be objective and acknowledge greatness when we see it, even if comes from an unfamiliar source. Imagine what Tiger Woods had to go thru initially on the PGA tour. Who can forget Fuzzy Zoeller's comment about collard greens and chicken after Tiger's 1st Masters win? Or 2 sisters from Compton, California dominating tennis. It was abnormal, now it isn't. The 4 best quarterbacks in football currently, are now all black men. A position once dominated by whites. So we must not be so stuck in what we perceive someone or something has to look like to hold a particular title or position. Luka proves White Men Can Jump. Albeit that's not his greatest asset on the court. He is not a great white basketball player. He's a great basketball player. In the same way Simone Biles has broken barriers in gymnastics, and the biggest barrier broken by Barrack Obama by becoming president every person that's exceptional in a certain field doesn't
have to look a certain way. We have to acknowledge greatness when we see it, even if it doesn't fit the traditional mold of what we envision. Luka has that "It" factor. Embrace it.
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