Today in the Detroit News, an article about another Catholic League team raises the specter of racism. We tried, several times, to draw attention to the issues of racism that we have observed within the Catholic League's sporting events.Our entreaties, made weeks before the event written about, seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
Terry Foster, of the Detroit News, reports:
King was on its way to a 72-50 blowout in the Class A regionals at Cass Tech when King fans chanted, "Nah! Nah! Nah! Nah! Heyyy! Good byeeee."You can read the entire article here.
The chants went back and forth until the DeLaSalle student section took it to another level — "We've got futures. We've got futures."
Later they chanted: "Flip our burgers. And you are stupid."
When I raised the issue, I was told I was crazy and that I was doing "irreparable damage" to the reputation of the Catholic League. There was, in many of the comments, a hint that race was not an issue at all and that I was blowing things out of proportion. Yet, here is a Tweet from one of the students in attendance at the game
Rick: hilarious moment when our student section chirps "flip our burgers" and "we have futures" at Detroit KingThe specter of racism is not one easy to exorcise and it will continue to plague our institutions if we do not face it courageously through dialogue and a quest for mutual understanding.#werenotafraid#blackestschoolever
3 comments:
Ryan I thought Your original column was right on to point out a problem.Two weeks ago I considered forwarding it to Terry Foster, but I thought better of it. I did foward it to many freinds. There seems to be a tinge of elitism or racism being tolerated at these suburban Catholic schools. It should be addressed. I attended the Detroit Pershing vs Detroit U of D game on friday. As fierce of a competition as that was. I think the cheers were above the belt on both sides. With so many churches and schools closing in the city, can the kids be following the lead of the Arch Dioseses. Let us all pray!
That is a tough situation. I just finished my own piece on the game, and it is complicated.
First, when I went to Austin when it existed on the East Side, people used to call us "cake eaters" which at the time was an anti-elitist dig.
And this was not at sporting events necessarily, so there was always this type on tension and repartee going on between various schools... at least 50 years, and probably many more.
Second, the chants which were ascribed to DeLaSalle really seem to me to be a response to something, and from my memory, there always was sort of a mocking contest between cheering sections at games, and such things, too, are probably ancient.
Third, because of our inability to come to grips with what is really hurting us, we create situations that are so complex they require an "impossible etiquette" to maneuver in.
Of course, it is better to be silent if one does not know the "etiquette", but being silent is usually not an option to an adrenalin charged spectator at a sporting event.
Fourth, for the first time in my internet reading life, I found the comments to be indispensable for getting an understanding, indicating the situation is probably more intricate than originally set forth in the article.
Perhaps a joint committee of the Catholic League and the Public School league to establish an approved repetoire of insults for sports?
Montag,
Thanks for your comments.
I think the major lesson that simply must be learned comes from Iris Murdoch: "I can decide what to do but I am not master of the significance of my act." I think this event, and others like it, emphasize that we need to be attentive to our situations and context and all times.
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