Their goal? To prompt the NBA to discipline LA Clippers owner and big-time landlord Donald Sterling for his willful engagement in housing discrimination. A Tenants Together press release said this:
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sterling “Engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminating on the basis of race, national Origin, and family status.” The DOJ stated that Sterling “refused to rent to African Americans” and that his conduct was willful.
Indeed, Sterling was forced to pay a whopping $2.725 million in the largest housing discrimination settlement to date. But even this sizable chunk of change isn't enough to compensate for the damages caused by many years of racial discrimination and unlawful activity in the housing market. Many would like to see further discipline for Sterling's actions. Many would like to see the NBA acknowledge and take action to address racism within its ranks.
Political sportswriter Dave Zirin added: "Court testimony claimed that Sterling had said he did not like to rent to Hispanics because "Hispanics smoke, drink and just hang around the building." Witnesses testified that he also said, "Black tenants smell and attract vermin."
Woah. Is this really the type of leadership that we want to see in the NBA? I sure hope not.
Housing discrimination is insidious and largely invisible to enforcement agencies. Most people of color won't start a lawsuit after experiencing housing discrimination on a personal level. It's expensive and difficult to prove. If you're renting, you probably don't have the cash to hire a lawyer or the time to research tenants' rights. Most folks will just silently wonder: Is it just me? Is it a personal fault? Is it my credit score? My references? But then there's that nagging question: Or could it be the color of my skin?
How could one possibly know the precise motives behind an isolated decision to deny housing to a family or an individual? Generally, you don't know. That's why Sterling's case required a major lawsuit to look into broad demographic information and testimonials over a period of years. When lawsuits like this actually come to fruition, you know that there's something very wrong.
I'm hoping that this case involving a high-profile NBA team owner will serve as a warning to landlords all over the country that housing discrimination won't be tolerated. I'm also hoping that the NBA will step up its game and start a dialogue about how the organization plans to address racism in sports and beyond.
In the meantime, there's a petition that you can sign over at NBA: Show You Care "to urge the NBA to condemn racist housing discrimination and discipline Donald Sterling."
Last week, I presented at the Cool Twitter Conference in Brooklyn, New York. I discussed ways in which people can use Twitter to disseminate and promote services, products, and ideas. I detailed my work with YouthNoise and how I use Twitter to engage in social conversations. My presentation was based on this idea/space I called Twitter Society. I define Twitter Society as,
"A place where cultural exchanges take place and un/written rules, etiquette, and behaviors are thusly devised and supported by the society."
The more I engage with folks on Twitter, the more I notice how this type of social space functions similarly to our 'offline' societies.
In Twitter Society, there are patterns of written language, etiquette rules, and by golly, there's even a Twitter jail! There are networking groups and clicks made up of academics, activists, celebrities and regular Jills and Joes. All of these people are engaging in some sort of dialogical relationship. Though Twitter has over 50 million users, not all of them are active. But the ones that are active sure do tweet a lot, including yours truly!
During my presentation I cited specific examples of how people engage. I mentioned one of my first ever encounters with an active tweeter; NBA player Shaquille O'Neal (@ THE_REAL_SHAQ). I joined Twitter about a year ago, but have only been active within the last 3-4 months (@taralconley). When I first joined, I began following Shaq because I heard his tweets were interesting (read: engaging). I noticed right away that Shaq tweeted a lot. One of the ways he would engage with fans was to send his followers on scavenger hunts. I remember one time he tweeted about being at the local mall in Miami and said the first person to find him at this particular mall would win a free pair of his sneakers.
Fans and followers have noted how cool Shaq is for actually responding and talking "directly" to them. They feel a sense of intimacy with their favorite NBA star. Arguably, before Twitter came along this type of "direct" intimacy with celebrities - namely professional athletes, was non-existent. Sure, athletes have Facebook pages and blogs, but it's Twitter that provides a sense of immediate gratification and direct engagement fans and followers seem to embrace.
"Howard is one of a growing number of athletes using social media to help build his image, and on his blog he chronicles some of the other things he’s done recently."
From a PR perspective, it seems as though pro athletes are adopting social media outreach for branding and image control purposes. While this may be true, I'm also incline to believe that celebrities and professional athletes are drawn to social media the same way you or I are drawn to these social spaces. They too desire to be a part of communities made up of diverse people and ideas. Call it narcissism, call it altruism, or call it our psychological need to be loved and belong to a social space. Whatever the case may be, it's apparent that these social networks speak to something human and societal, and they are changing the way professional athletes communicate with others.
As I mentioned in my presentation, "Twitter makes us more aware of our purpose in the conversation." Those active tweeters know that Twitter requires time and commitment, perhaps even more than Facebook and Myspace. Twitter also forces us to choose our tweets wisely. We've seen what happens when tweeting goes awry for public figures.
So while Twitter and other social networks allow people to connect instantly and directly, all of us are still responsible for our social behaviors and actions in these spaces. We've gotten accustomed to rethinking a position before uttering it to a family member or friend, but because we live in such a terribly fast and invasive age with the advent of the World Wide Web, we're now forced to rethink our (re)thoughts. And maybe, in the end, that's a good thing.
Johnson, Howard, and O'Neal are among many high profile athletes whose tweets will be scrutinized in Twitter Society. These athletes aren't only being watched by fans in the stands, but also by followers lurking behinds Twitter avatars. As a 'snew ' (social + new) media consultant, I'm hopeful these athletes can use online platforms of social media to further engage with fans and serve their communities off the playing field.
Most of the time when we hear "professional athlete" we immediately think of fame, fortune, and endorsements-- but there's another side to life as a professional athlete. The word 'professional' doesn't mean 'superstar' or 'celebrity'. It just means that they make some amount of money at what they do, be it big bucks or minimum wage.
One man who is redefining the public concept of what a professional athlete does is former NBA player Tim James. James enjoyed a three year NBA career before feeling as though his days in the league were 'winding down'. Though he never became a household name, James is in the news today because he decided to join the Air Force this year, before the next Basketball season.
James didn't see a huge amount of game time during his time in the NBA, so his role was often, as the New York Times wrote in an article today, "confined mostly to practices, where he pushed himself and his teammates". Mr. James looked back on his career with the Times, saying “It has helped me not complain when things don’t go my way, when things kind of hit the fan a little bit."
Clearly being a pro athlete isn't all interviews and sponsorships. For every Lebron James snagging the spotlight, there is at least one Tim James, working behind the scenes without most of the glamour.
It's easy to forget that America is currently at war, but I like to think that with competent leadership under a new administration and a well-trained army full of soldiers like Tim James, the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq can stabilize enough to warrant a major troop evacuation of the regions.
In other words, I hope that Obama and the army can work together like a well-practiced basketball squad and end these wars by 2010 like Obama plans to without major political or military backlash. The cost of human life is obvious, but the economic burden on our country is serious as well. If we want to end the deficits, we could start by ending the wars.
What up YouthNoise! This is my first blog on this site, so I really don't know what to write about...Anyways, since play city and the beat gasoline project are about getting active and sports, I'll write about the NBA draft.
As a SF/BayArea native, I love the Warriors. Unfortunately, they suck. Trading Jamal Crawford was an awful, although necessary, decision. Who did we get!? Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. For Crawford!? It's ridiculous. I guess the trade frees up salary cap space and stuff. About the draft, my favorite player in the draft is Ricky Rubio. He was straight dickin on the US during the Olympics, when he was only 17. As a 17-year old, I gotta give props for him playing against the best athletes in the world at that age. The Warriors don't have much of a shot at getting him, but Ty Lawson is dope as well. Draft is at 730 eastern, it should be interesting.
This week brought lots of inspiring, infuriating, and downright interesting
stories in the sports/social justice/political world. I compiled a
list of a few stories that I thought ya'll would like. So, without
further adu, check the certified links.
No surprise here: Girls in cities like Los Angeles and New York "are the left-behinds of the youth sports movement"
especially since a large majority of these young inner city girl are
depended on by their families to "tend to their siblings or clean
house." And since there isn't enough money and resources to go around
for girls' sports programs, these young female athletes wind up getting
"very little" support. Thankfully, there are cool organizations like
Cooperative, Healthy, Active, Motivated, Postive Students (CHAMPS) that work to provide after school resources for aspiring athletes. (NY Times, CHAMPS).
Apparently, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks that those rioting and protesting against his Presidential "win" is like losing a "soccer match."
He says, "Some people are sentimental and become excited. As I said, I
compared it to a soccer match. Their team has not won in the match."
Eh, not really, Ahmadinejad. You ever think that these folks are angry
because they believe they're losing their freedoms? A classic example of
bad taste: using sports rhetoric to dismiss a country in, what appears
to be, utter turmoil. (CNN).
In
NBA news, excited crowds will gather outside of Amway Arena tonight for
Game 6 of the LA Lakers and Orlando Magic. Nope, these folks aren't
unlucky ticket holders, they're human rights activists.
Protesters plan to call out the multi-million dollar entity known as
the NBA (and its Commissioner David Stern) for its "links with a global
corporation that violates workers' rights and subjects them to
sweatshop conditions." Here's wondering what Sir Charles thinks. (Peter Dreier/Huffington Post).
On
a lighter note, and in tribute of this week's upcoming Skatepark
Dedication in Los Angeles, check out this awesome video entitled
"Motivational Longboarding."
And just because track and field is, like, the most awesomest sports ever, here's a cool pic for your viewing pleasure. Apparently, the sky is the limit. (Getty/Jezebel)
Awesome feature photo provided by Vramack's Flickr page.
Yesterday a California renters' rights organization, Tenants Together, launched a new campaign called NBA: Show You Care.
