Like clockwork Floyd Mayweather injected race into a situation with about as much insight as he exhibits in (24/7) family counseling. Somehow via Twitter (his rightful forum) we are led to believe that Floyd is a spokesperson for the downtrodden black athletes of the NBA. Whining about the obvious attention Jeremy Lin is receiving for his success brings to mind Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck crying about the media’s “infatuation” with another barrier breaker, Barack Obama. When you are advocating from a position of majority (in this case NBA ballers) you present yourself as someone who is comfortable with the status quo; someone OK with exclusionary tactics used to judge someone for anything but performance. This from a man who went on Ustream and suggested Manny Pacquiao (a Congressman) “make me some fried rice.” Naively Floyd has complained in the past about the lack of Nationalistic support from African-Americans as if there’s a country called “Africa America…” What he’s missing is the fact that Jeremy Lin is blowing up partly because he is American born. That little Ustream trip into Floyd’s mind was overtly racist but this latest tweet took on a juvenile whiny tone; a tone that if Jeremy Lin spoke of himself in third person would quickly dismiss as “Hatin.” I am not prepared to say for sure that Floyd drew that comparison to start a racial firestorm, but I am prepared to make the case that what we’ve heard from him in regards to Lin reeks of “Media Envy.” ESPN is a business, which is why these imaginary NBA players represented by Floyd are now trying to situate themselves in desirable markets. ESPN has invested in leagues and stories that sell in conjunction with those leagues, relationships boxing to this date doesn’t enjoy. Floyd Mayweather is rarely featured as a lead topic, even when he finds his ass about to get locked up. “Legitimate” sports are viewed by mainstream fans as more above board and worthy of following, whereas Boxing is considered (to the uniformed) a joke with Mayweather’s three year “will they fight” saga being confirmation of that perception. Joe Sports Fan isn’t following the Mayweather propaganda websites nor is he interested in Floyd’s quest to “clean up the sport,” if you don’t have what he wants (the Best Fighting the Best) he won’t bother – he’s got football. When Floyd finally called out Manny Pacquiao in a Tweet and made it clear he wanted to “get it on” the mainstream fan (logistics be damned) got behind him. But when Floyd made that call to Pacquiao and spoke to the number 2 draw in Boxing as if he really could order fried rice, the average Joe tuned out again and quick. In true “P.R. disaster 101” the Mayweather camp proudly reported how he told Pacquiao what he was not getting and who was in charge; it may impress the wannabe ballers who support Floyd, but it won’t keep him on ESPN as a serious topic… again. Even Basketball players like Kobe Bryant ask guys like Max Kellerman “what’s going on with that? Why don’t they just do it?” It’s what they understand; they live by a schedule. Jeremy Lin can’t duck ANYBODY and I find it hard to believe an actual NBA player after 3 or 4 games would complain to Floyd about Lin’s coverage. The NBA is a meritocracy, Boxing is a murky political beast and if a brotha thinks Lin can’t ball he can bring his case to the court. Floyd was simply envious of the coverage and thought he’d make a “plea” for a population of guys playing a historically condensed schedule; guys with no time to practice, magically have time to vent their frustrations through telepathy to a boxer. The brothas who do what Lin is doing “every night” are LeBron James, Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan – that is how historic Lin’s statistics are for an NBA player in his first 8 games; the black players who excel (nightly) are marketed like no other sport. What Mayweather really has a problem with is something he (despite his purses) isn’t very good at: creating mania. Don’t believe me? In the run-up to Floyd’s bout vs. Victor Ortiz I heard Leonard Ellerbe brag about how much money they make during an interview, when the interviewer asked how they got to that point Ellerbe (in 2011) cited the Dancing With the Stars/WWE appearances from three years ago. The interviewer, on staff with HBO and part of hyping the event didn’t have the balls to follow up on Ellerbe’s vague assertion. Mania has to provide that the personality transcends certain market segments based on his personal back-story, people intuitively want to see themselves represented and if the person transcends the initial connection it’s all for the better. Why do you get the best debates about Basketball in black barbershops? Because we are highly represented in the sport. Jeremy Lin appeals to Asian-Americans who grow up in households where sports are discouraged. He also appeals to Ivy Leaguers (a lot of them based in NY and the Northeast) and general basketball fans. He’s in the biggest market, New York, where Joe Namath enters the Hall of Fame on the strength of one Super bowl performance. Mayweather could NOT fight Miguel Cotto (a Puerto Rican) in NY because he’s politically indebted to the Las Vegas legal system, so excuse New Yorkers for being excited about their best point guard since “Clyde” Frazier. Lin also appeals to underdogs (Rocky, 8 Mile, Revenge of the Nerds you get the picture) and people who generally have to face stereotypes everyday. Floyd seems like a nice guy but the Villain role isn’t transcending outside of his box; in fact, his “Money” persona plays right into the negative stereotypes many people have about black athletes. Do you think ESPN wants to waste airtime hyping that up? You really believe LeBron James is a brainwashed, politically correct zombie? That his one frustration is that he can’t be a jack ass once a week like Floyd? – Uh huh, yeah, right. I can see the Mayweather ticker now… Mayweather burns money, Mayweather calls dad the “F Word” kicks him out of his gym, Mayweather wants Manny to be his own boss because he’s his own boss. This is not bringing new people under the tent; it’s an old act and to sports fans outside of Boxing – boring! The NBA can forge new deals with Asian companies based on Jeremy Lin’s success, hundreds of millions of Chinese are watching an NBA product in bars at 8:00 a.m.! Floyd operates in a model where 1.5 million viewers are considered “Money.” Ever wonder why 50 Cent is conspicuously absent when Floyd steps in racial doo doo? Because Curtis Jackson was discovered by Eminem, a groundbreaking rapper who broke down stereotypes and probably had to hear “the only reason why he’s selling records is because he’s white” when he broke through. Curtis Jackson is also a global Hip Hop mogul who knows moguls aren’t created on the patronage of one segment of the population. He’ll call Pacquiao a punk but nothing more. 50 Cent has more in common with Lin than Mayweather, like Lin he came from the back of the pack when Floyd was a boxing blue blood marked for greatness as a child. So yes, Floyd Mayweather is jealous of Jeremy Lin and he injected black NBA players to mask the fact he was “hatin.” He didn’t know that Carmelo Anthony (without consulting Floyd) told the Knicks coach to give the kid a shot, that’s because “Melo” is a great basketball player and leader. Like most narcissists he just used Twitter to inject himself into the discussion and race was the only thing that would get ESPN talking about him, because it certainly isn’t boxing. In my opinion instead of taking shots at Lin, Floyd should take his own advice and get his marketing game up; try to find a way to appeal to more people than young black males and fans of Hip Hop. We aren’t monolithic as a people; diversity and range of influence really do count. Being on the cover of XL talking about having money and power ain’t enough to create mania, it’s just another brotha with money talking s$#t. 50 Cent is trying to feed people in Africa; hopefully Floyd can tag along (if he isn’t restricted legally) but until then he’ll have to continue scratching his head wondering why Jeremy Lin is a sensation. Tupac prophetically talked about this image of young black men projecting themselves as super heroes and the suits in the music industry bankrolling a brand of music that depicts us as brutal, power hungry, lacking empathy and money obsessed. A decade and a half later we have taken to naming ourselves after monetary symbols, and you wonder why people are drawn to a young man who forsakes sure money (as a Harvard Grad) to take on something everyone (mostly guys like Floyd) told him he couldn’t do. “We don’t need no more Rappers and Basketball Players, we need thinkers.” — Tupac Shakur
