Race Test Revisited

By: Sef Gold

When I originally posted the article, “Big Ben Provides Big Race Test of Race In America”, I meant no offense to Mr. Roethlisberger. The article was intended to provide criticism of the sports media’s handling of the situation. Inevitably, I ended up provoking a passionate response from Mr. Jason Majercik. Because of a fault either in the program or of my own (probably the latter), his comment would not successfully post, yet like Voltaire, I strongly believe in everyone having his or her own right to express an opinion even if we are in disagreement. That being said, here is Mr. Majercik’s quote as he wrote it, followed by my response:

“How far we have to go” on the issue of race, Sef, with all due respect, give me a break! 
The reason Ben’s race does not factor into this conversation “at first glance” is because, quite honestly, interjecting race into this argument at all would require not a glance but the piercing, fixed stare of a psychopath. 
“An equally harsh amount of scrutiny as Kobe Bryant?” As you may or may not remember, in the Bryant case sexual intercourse between the alleged perpetrator and alleged victim was never in doubt, as Kobe admitted to as much from the word go; the issue there was whether or not it was consensual? With Roethlisberger, rape has never even been suggested by any party. So right away we can be 100% certain that Ben will not be charged with “anything similar” to Bryant’s charges. 
While I am not excusing sexual misconduct of any sort, there is a world of difference between accusations of what could amount to the groping a 20-year-old girl, while she was illegally intoxicated, and those accusing one of violently raping a 19-year-old girl. In the Bryant case, it was the alleged victim who received the lion’s share of the scrutiny, to the point where her name was illegally leaked to the press, thereby forcing a mistrial. Bryant would later settle the civil suit out of court, effectively buying his way out of potential consequences. Ben on the other hand, has yet to even be charged, and even if charges are brought eventually, will not face a life sentence if he is convicted of them. Stealing cable is against the law but do we give the same level of scrutiny to individuals [who are] accused of that crime as we do those accused of a jewelry store heist? 
And as far as the Obama reference goes, I can’t figure out if you are insinuating that Roethlisberger is ridiculously unqualified to be an NFL quarterback or if you’re suggesting that Kobe Bryant might be perfectly suited for the Presidency? CHANGE indeed………..

I would like to first of all thank Mr. Majercik for his response. Seeing as we are both writers on this Web site, I enjoyed his response and look forward to reading his future articles. Furthermore, I see that Jason is an avid Steelers fan and in no way am I rooting against Pittsburgh, yet I implore Mr. Majercik in the future to carefully read an article before responding. That being said let me examine Jason’s argument.

When, Mr. Majercik said, “rape has never been suggested by any party,” I agree; yet if he closely read my article, I never once wrote the word ‘rape.’ Georgia law uses the term ‘sexual misconduct,’ which was the only term I used in my article.

On to the next point of Jason pointing out that Roethlisberger has yet to be charged, again I agree, yet if he comprehends the idea of a speculative statement, I twice noted that my opinions were only based on, “if Roethlisberger gets formally charged.” Because it looks like Big Ben will not face any legal charges, my test of equality will not happen.

Finally, the Obama reference was to make the point that we have not reached social equality. True, all citizens of the United States have the same legal rights, yet the fact is that social racism still exists, whether or not it is kept behind closed doors. When President Obama was elected, it was a historic step toward social equality, yet since every citizen is still not treated equally, our society has work to do.

My only intent of the article was to put pressure on the sports media to make sure each superstar athlete is treated equally. If Professional Superstar A and Professional Superstar B are charged with similar crimes, they should receive the same scrutiny from the media regardless of race, creed, culture or gender. This means the same number amount of time devoted to research, television and radio specials and scrutiny. For all we know, the media could have passed the test and been equally harsh, yet I simply wanted to raise the question and start the discussion.

E-mail Sef: sef@afcnorthtalk.com