Dare to Ask: White guys a liability on basketball courts?

By Phillip Milano

The Florida Times-Union

Question

I started at guard in high school and got offered a scholarship. Now when I play basketball at a gym and there are mostly black players, I can't get the ball passed to me because I am white. Why is that?

John, Jacksonville, N.C.

Replies

You suck. The only time you get the ball is when you're open, because most of you guys can shoot.

Chris, 17, Matteson, Ill.

If I had a guy who could consistently drop threes and help the team, I wouldn't care if he was green.

Timand, black, Miami

White guys are a liability on the court. You have to try and showcase your skills.

Jason, 23, black, Chicago

A lot of black men come from backgrounds that have imbued them with a deep-seated hatred of white men.

C., 41, white, Wyoming

In America ... people of color have been left behind to earn everything and then receive a perk later from it. The basketball court is many times the only guaranteed controlled space for a black man, and therefore he will only respect you there if you earn it as he had to.

Sharell, 21, black, Summit Argo, Ill.

Expert says

Let's slowly (but with excellent outside range) walk through the stereotypes as described by Reuben May, a Texas A&M sociologist who studied boys high school basketball and wrote "Living through the Hoop: High School Basketball, Race, and the American Dream." They are: Black players are faster, white dudes don't elevate, blacks are more athletic and whites play a team-aspect game while blacks are all about taking it right to you.

Ingrained perceptions about those stereotypes -- especially the latter ones -- mean it can be a bummer on-court for a white guy trying to fit in with a bunch of black players, said May, currently a fellow at Harvard.

"It's a cultural thing," said May, who is black. "They can be preoccupied with showmanship and reluctant to share the ball, and so there is less fluid team play."

In their defense, they often grow up hearing a lot about one-on-one NBA "matchups," and also may feel that because they're black, they must own the court, he said.

Here's what white-guy John needs to do:

"If he gets the ball and passes it, he's suggesting he wants to just be part of a whole. But if he gets it and says 'I'm going to take this guy,' he'll be more accepted. Impose yourself on the context. He needs to be like them and not be a team player. As a guard, he was likely appreciated for managing the ball well and taking good shots. That crap doesn't fly in pickup. Can you outdo the guy guarding you?"

If he can, preconceptions about his abilities will melt.

"He'll be accepted," May said. "Now, they might still incorporate some stereotype into their talk, like 'Yeah that's my white friend, but he can play...' "

And the showy guys (black or white) who make it to college teams and the NBA? They quickly add team play to their show -- or they won't get minutes, May added.

ADD OR READ MORE COMMENTS

This is your column. You can help it grow! If you like "Dare to Ask," please call or e-mail your favorite newspaper or web site and urge them to start running it. It's syndicated by Universal Press.

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip.milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts or watch his TV spots.