THE STEELERS’ DIONTAE JOHNSON holds on as he’s being tackled by Cleveland Browns players, Jan. 8, at Acrisure Stadium. (Photos by Courier photographer Brian Cook Sr.)
by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
Traditional academia instructs many of us that: Cultural psychology is the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members. It is based on the premise that mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitutive, meaning that people are shaped by their culture and their culture is also shaped by them. One of the elements that impact our lives daily is sports. In an interview that I conducted with the late great MLB legend Frank Robinson, I asked him what was his impression of the impact that Jackie Robinson had on baseball. He replied, “Jackie not only had a lasting effect on Major League Baseball, but he also had an even bigger impact on society in general, especially the corporate world. His performance as an athlete caused a few power brokers in the corporate world to pause and ask themselves the question: if Blacks could perform at such a high level on the field, maybe that excellence could be duplicated in the boardroom?”
In professional sports, first and foremost Blacks had to gain access just to compete on the professional gridirons, baseball diamonds and basketball courts. Many decades passed before the names of “negroes” were even mentioned regarding filling management positions. Oh, by the way, I don’t believe in or have Black history moments or months. Because as far as I’m concerned, Black history continues to evolve. Why have I adopted this opinion? Well, because according to my father the late Oprah Elliot Bruce, “When you cease to evolve, you begin to dissolve.”
Dad, you ain’t never lied.
This piece is a sort of a partial eclectic review of the evolution of the cultural dynamics of the NFL in general and the Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically. Currently, numerous safeguards have been put in place for the welfare of “many” of the players that perform at the quarterback position. The reason that I didn’t say “all” of the players that perform at the quarterback position was because the “roughing the passer” penalty has never applied equitably when it came to tackling Black quarterbacks because many of them have always been culturally perceived as “Mandingo warriors,” usually erroneously indicating that they are stronger and have a much higher pain threshold than many of their White counterparts.
On Sept. 27, 2015, the following was posted on usatoday.com: Carolina Panthers quarterback (Cam) Newton was clocked by Saints defensive lineman Tyeler Davison after releasing the ball and argued that Davison should’ve been called for a late hit. In a press conference following the game, the 26-year-old said that now (retired NFL referee) Ed Hochuli told him, “Cam you’re not old enough to get that call.”
Why didn’t Hochuli just be honest and say, “Cam you’re not White enough to get that call.”
What does age have to do with protecting a player that is left vulnerable every time he drops back to pass? Recently, when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle in a Monday night game against the Bengals there were a few folks that were in favor of restarting the game, even though a near-fatality had just occurred on the field. Commentator Skip Bayless had this initial opinion of the game being delayed because of the life-threatening injury. Bayless tweeted the following. “Not exactly sure what happened to Damar Hamlin. Players on both teams are shaken. Ambulance out on the field. CPR administered. Can’t remember play being stopped for this length of time. Just said a prayer for him and his family.” He continued by writing: “I’ve seen so many horrific injuries suffered on football fields yet never have I seen a reaction like this. In every other situation, I witnessed or covered, the game always went on fairly quickly.” And finally, he finished filling up his “well of nonsense” by writing: “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game—but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan called the Bayless tweet “inhumane.” Shannon Sharpe, the on-air partner of Bayless, even took a day off in protest of the ill-advised remarks. Why would this response from a White man that comes from a generational culture that often doesn’t even perceive Black people as human beings be surprising?
I would be surprised if Bayless had an ounce of empathy for a young African American man. What did Skip Bayless think he was watching, a cockfight or maybe a dogfight? Bayless seems like the type of guy that would become livid when a boxing referee stops a boxing match so that the life of a participant won’t be endangered. How much money did the Las Vegas bookmakers and the betting public lose or stand to gain when the Bengals and Bills game was unceremoniously postponed? Was Skip Bayless on the losing end? What was the over/under of the game? When I read his quote, I immediately thought of a scene from the movie “Django” where two Black slaves were forced to fight to the death for the amusement of the slave owner, Calvin Candy.
There are many NFL fans that imagine themselves as wielding the power of Caesar, sitting high up in the Roman Coliseum on the throne issuing life or death sentences to the participants with gestures of thumbs up or thumbs down, just like the managers of Walmart or McDonald’s do as they lie in wait to terminate the common folk with the untimely gesture of a hefty thumbs down when they miss that extra day of work or are late one too many times.
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