Spike Lee Cites America’s Racism as the Need for Politics in Sports
“The foundation of the United States…was…genocide…and slavery.”
9.29.2017
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During CNN’s town hall event Wednesday night, director Spike Lee was in prime racial-prism form as he discussed the NFL with former Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward, former Green Beret Nate Boyer, and Baptist minister Michel Faulkner.
In reaction to Faulkner’s assertion that the performance of the National Anthem is “not the time nor place” to protest, the Do the Right Thing director—donning a Malcom X hat and what looked like children’s plastic red glasses—claimed:
“Politics and sports have always been intertwined, and you can't — we live in the United States of America. Race is a part of the DNA of this country. This country, the foundation of the United States of America was the genocide of Native Americans and slavery. That's the foundation of this country that cannot be disputed and so, that's the foundation. Everything else comes from that.”
NFL star Ward presented a different perspective—one rooted in the ideals championed by Martin Luther King, Jr: “In…the football world, we don't see color...we see teammates come from all different places all over.”
Never content to let race be incidental, Lee interrupted, “What did it take for Bear Bryant to get a black player in Alabama? They played USC and he said, ‘We need to get some niggers.’”
Wow.
In addition to his par-for-the-course projections of racism, the devoted Democrat managed to take a jab at President Trump. When asked by a Gold Star father if those taking a knee in the NFL would support our veterans if North Korea attacked, Lee responded: “I'm worried just as much about Donald Trump as that crazy guy in North Korea.”
What about the crazy guy in the red glasses?
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