Bryant Gumbel -"Lack Of Blacks Makes Olympics Look Like GOP Convention"

[MrsSpringsteen]

http://newsbusters.org/node/4057

"There were some eye-opening remarks from Bryant Gumbel on the most recent episode of HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. According to a transcript posted by a television columnist named Seth Frelich, Gumbel said the following in his closing monologue last week (emphasis mine):

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t care about them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying ... Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin."

Gumbel's remarks have been followed by many angry posts at HBO's Real Sports Bulletin Boards. The story was also picked up at Free Republic, where one poster wrote, "Remember what they did to Rush over the McNabb remark. I will contact HBO."

Well I'd hardly compare Bryant's remarks to what Rush said about McNabb-does anyone remember those exact remarks? My recollection is that they were rather blatantly racist.

However, so now these Olympics are "racist" in some way? Is he implying that? And that means the world's greatest athletes aren't there?

And btw figure skating is NOT a pseudo sport woth pseudo athletes-I'd like to see him try it.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Rush Limbaugh re Donovan McNabb-he resigned from ESPN over the ensuing controversy.

"The comments referenced by Limbaugh came during Sunday's pregame show when the conservative talk show host offered the opinion that McNabb wasn't as good as the media perceived him to be.

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,'' Limbaugh said. "There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

rush limbaugh stated that donovan mcnabb was over-rated because of the media because he was black.

bryant gumble stated that the olympians participating in torino aren't really the greatest athletes in the world because there aren't any blacks there.


i don't find either statement to be blatantly racist. the leader of the philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, an african-american, said the exact same thing that limbaugh did. i do, however, find both of these statements to be incredibly stupid.

 

[verte76]

They're the best winter-sports athletes in the world. It's true that not many of them are black. They are mostly from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

 

[trevster2k]

Stupid comments by Gumbel who obviously doesn't like the Winter Olympics ,period. He is hosting a sports show yet has no respect for the athletes at the Winter Games, ridiculous. I have never watched this show nor ever plan to in the future.

 

[nbcrusader]

I guess when you reduce equality to a numbers game, you end up with comments like this.

 

[U2democrat]

Does the man ever think? Honestly.

 

[Irvine511]

i think we can say that the Winter Games tend to be biased towards countries with snow and mountains -- not many of those in, say, Africa or Southeast Asia or Australia.

let's face it -- the origin of the Winter Olympics can be found in the ultra-elite Euro classes of the early 20th century who would holiday in St. Moritz. some people bemoan the inclusion of snowboarding as a way to get Americans and Canadians more gold medals, but for chrissakes, isn't the Luge designed to give the Germans medals? who but the Finns and Norwegians has anything to do with the ski jump?

he's right in that there has always, always been a racialized element built into these games. this is a small, select group of sports that simply aren't terribly popular -- they are nothing compared to football/soccer, track, swimming, baseball, rugby, etc.

however, that doesn't mean they shouldn't exist, and that doesn't meant that there shouldn't be a Winter Olympics. as someone who couldn't care less about American Football, hockey and basketball, i find the variety of sports to be a welcome relief from the oppressive monotony of American professional sports, and especially the stupid machismo that's built into the marketing.

it's also ludicrous to call ice skaters pseudo-athletes. judges might be best described with explitives, but figure skaters are some of the most talented athletes out there -- you try jumping up in the air, twilrilng four times, and landing on something the width of a butcher knife and tell me it's not athletic.

 

[Utoo]

Did he really say this? Crikey! It reads like an angry Onion fake editorial!

It's obvious that there don't tend to be nearly as many blacks as whites in winter sports. Isn't that pretty much the standard joke about the NHL? But to say that the world's best athletes aren't there simply because there are so few blacks...? That's almost essentially saying that blacks are the world's best athletes..no? Like, if you were to add in some black atheletes to the winter games, then suddenly the world's best athletes will have arrived.

 

[Utoo]

it's also ludicrous to call ice skaters pseudo-athletes. judges might be best described with explitives, but figure skaters are some of the most talented athletes out there -- you try jumping up in the air, twilrilng four times, and landing on something the width of a butcher knife and tell me it's not athletic.

Exactly. Let's throw some ice skates on Mr. Gumbel & see how well he fares.... Who needs a kiss-and-cry, now, bizzatch??

 

[deep]

when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing

Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ...

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too. Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin."

it is always fun to latch on to a tid bit that can put a slant to support a bias


in context
I don't find the statement too alarming

And for the record, the GOP puts their Negroes up front
for their minstrel show.

 

[Shaliz]

Of course with events like skeleton races where you're hurtling head first down a winding track of ice on a tiny sled at speeds topping 120 km hour, maybe the lack of black athletes just indicates they're a little smarter.

 

[Utoo]

Of course with events like skeleton races where you're hurtling head first down a winding track of ice on a tiny sled at speeds topping 120 km hour, maybe the lack of black athletes just indicates they're a little smarter.

 

[Irvine511]

And for the record, the GOP puts their Negroes up front
for their minstrel show.

this is true. i love how they always find the 2 black people wherever Bush is giving a speech and put them directly behind the president.

at least the Winter Olympics are honest.

 

[yolland]

Dunno, I seem to recall the Jamaican bobsled team getting embarrassingly extensive attention...

 

[Irvine511]

Dunno, I seem to recall the Jamaican bobsled team getting embarrassingly extensive attention...

and poor Debbie Thomas and those Campbell's Soup ads from 1988 and how she lost to that evil East German Katarina Witt and they both skated to "Carmen" ...

 

[deep]

""Originally posted by yolland
Dunno, I seem to recall the Jamaican bobsled team getting embarrassingly extensive attention...""

really?

and this supports what point.


let's not forget
Eddie the Eagle

 

[yolland]

Overcompensatory focus on rare black participants. Isn't this what you were talking about? Anyway, I was responding to Irvine, but he was quoting you so...

 

[deep]

""Originally posted by yolland
Dunno, I seem to recall the Jamaican bobsled team getting embarrassingly extensive attention...""

really?

and this supports what point.


let's not forget
Eddie the Eagle

Overcompensatory focus on rare black participants. Isn't this what you were talking about? Anyway, I was responding to Irvine, but he was quoting you so...

interesting reveal how one views things




and the

Eddie the Eagle coverage
was overcompensatory focus on English? participants.

 

[yolland]

I have no idea who Eddie the Eagle is nor what you're getting at.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

 

[deep]

Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards

He soared like a brick into the hearts of Olympic fans across the world. Eddie Edwards, a comically inept British ski jumper didn't come close to winning any medals in the 1988 Calgary Games. In fact, he finished dead last in both the 70- and 90-meter jumps.

He did, however, win a large amount of fame and a small fortune thanks to his complete lack of skill and lovably goofy look. Sarcastically nicknamed "the Eagle," he dropped into the public consciousness and was easily the most popular athlete to compete that year.

The doughy, bespectacled former plasterer with the silly grin parlayed his 15 minutes of fame into a $65,000 deal to tell his life story to a tabloid and—no joke—a number-two song ("Mun Niemi En Eetu" or "My Name is Eddie") in Finland in 1991.

Even IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, though privately critical of Edwards for appearing to mock the Games with his fish-out-of-water performance, seemed to embrace him during his speech at the closing ceremonies.

"[At Calgary] people set new goals, created new world records, and some even flew like an eagle," he said to raucous applause.

Despite the kind words, the IOC subsequently instituted what is known as the Eddie the Eagle Rule, which requires Olympic hopefuls to finish in the top half of an international competition. This effectively eliminated Edwards from future Games.

It's not that Edwards, now a law student in England, hasn't tried an Olympic comeback, but the new IOC rule has done its job.

 

[yolland]

OK...so...the similarity would be that there was a patronizing undertone to the coverage and popular perception in both cases...is that the idea?

 

[nbcrusader]

this is true. i love how they always find the 2 black people wherever Bush is giving a speech and put them directly behind the president.

at least the Winter Olympics are honest.

Perhaps we should award points for best ability of inserting unrelated jabs at a political party - degree of difficulty 3.0!

 

[deep]

OK...so...the similarity would be that there was a patronizing undertone to the coverage and popular perception in both cases...is that the idea?

Eddie and the bobsled teams got attention for their lack of skill

and not for their skin color or nationality (I hope)

Jamaica has no snow
a team from any country with an arid climate would have most likely produced a team that was at great risk of injury and would have been the one team that came careening down the chute.


If we see them as the "black" bobsled team it is our misperception
they were not representing Blakmaca?

 

[deep]

and they were both at Calgary in 1988

 

[yolland]

...the bobsled teams got attention for their lack of skill

and not for their skin color or nationality (I hope)

Well honestly, I did get precisely that impression--that there was a patronizing undertone of Awww aren't they cute!... based on just that... ...but perhaps it was just me.

 

[Muggsy]

Of course with events like skeleton races where you're hurtling head first down a winding track of ice on a tiny sled at speeds topping 120 km hour, maybe the lack of black athletes just indicates they're a little smarter.

I have to admit that I laughed reading the article, cuz that's so ridiculous,you hear comments like that in everywhere. I work in a publishing house, drawing illustrations for childrens books and the first thing that the editor told me was : "don't forget to always, ALWAYS, draw a black kid o a black girl in the scenes", I almost laughed in his face!! I draw kids of all colors (cuz I see people of all colors here) and this guy talks to me like I was from another planet, I don't know.

 

[Irvine511]

Perhaps we should award points for best ability of inserting unrelated jabs at a political party - degree of difficulty 3.0!

erm, Gumbel brought up the GOP convention, not me.

100% appropriate.

i get perfect 6.0's for that one ... but we do have a new scoring system in place ...

 

[indra]

People actually listen to him now? Isn't Bryant Gumbal a major has-been?