Basket Case
March 30, 2007 | Aussie Dave | Comments 12
Former NBA backetballer Micheal “Sugar” Ray Richardson has shown his not-so-sweet side – dribbling from the mouth, committing a few foul language plays, and throwing up a few anti-Semitic alley oops for good measure.
“I’ve got big-time lawyers,” Richardson said, according to the Times Union. “I’ve got big-time Jew lawyers.”
And you’re going to need them. You’re going to need them.
When told by the reporters that the comment could be offensive to people because it plays to the stereotype that Jews are crafty and shrewd, he responded with, “Are you kidding me? They are. They’ve got the best security system in the world. Have you ever been to an airport in Tel Aviv?
An airport in Tel Aviv? Like there’s more than one?
They’re real crafty. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they’ve got to be crafty.”
At 6-foot-5, I’m guessing he has big feet. Which means he must have a helluva huge mouth.
And he continued, “They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean?” he said. “Which I think is great. I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with it.
That’s a double negative, so what he’s really saying is that he thinks there is something wrong with it. He’s also saying he can’t talk real good.
If you look in most professional sports, they’re run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they’re run by Jewish. It’s not a knock, but they are some crafty people.”
No, that is a knock.
And anti-Semitism is so back in style.
Update: Some commenters do not think he was being anti-Semitic. Feel free to weigh in.
Filed Under: General
About the Author: An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.
I don’t see how is an anti-semite.
He seems to look up to the Jews and while he does assign a few qualities to them, they are not, in his view, negative qualities AND he gives a reason for why the Jews have them.
He does not say that Jews are crafty and hence hated, he says that Jews are hated and have thus become crafty. There is no anti-semitism there.
Crafty: Skillful in underhand or evil schemes; cunning; deceitful; sly.
The combination of this term + referring to the “Jew” lawyers (not “Jewish) + our “power” + saying we are hated indicates to me that his comments are not coming from a place of admiration.
I think you are being way too generous.
I think it’s just some very un-PC wording… or a poor choice of expression. I mean, it’s like saying that Blacks are all good at sports and People of Color got good rhythm… not recommended choice of words for a public figure to use but not untrue.
I think it just makes him sound unsophisticated not necessarily anti-Semitic.
Could be…
Hey, do not make of every word a big case! He is really more impressed by the way of the jews, then that he wants to insult you. May be his words were not well chosen.
But if you wanna make a big thing out of his words, then look on the way your brother in the countrys around you react when they feel a little bit insulted. Burn his NBA shirt on the street!
I see his comments as pretty benign. Subscribing to stereotypes is something we all do to differing degrees. Obviously he does, in a big and mildly disrespectful way. But, shouldn’t we expect disrespectful language from the blacks?
The wording might not be good, but I don’t see any real antisemitism. In some ways he was trying to be complimentary.
Stan
Poorly phrased, sure, but anti-semitic? Nope.
He thinks Jews have good survival skills learned thru persecution, and is glad to have them on his side.
He thinks it’s “great” that Jews have lots of clout.
He points out and admires the success of Jews in the business world.
You don’t like the word “crafty?” I’ll admit it doesn’t have the best connotations, but (IMO) he’s using it to mean “possesed of impressive strategic and tactical skills.”
You think the man used a dictionary? Here’s a post I read today about the NBA: http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2007/03/rosen_assessment.html The word crafty is used in an overwhelmingly positive way: “Roy, on the other hand, plays a much more crafty defense. Not a quick jumper, he relies on position, anticipation, and clever hands.” I don’t think he was being antisemetic – let’s pick some clear cases if we’re gonna get upset.
I’m pretty sure Tel Aviv has 2 airports – Ben Gurion andSde Dov.
What a well informed young man he is.
Why do you stumble in the small words. There are over 6 billion people in this world and no one can make him/herself thoroughly understood. Read between the lines…
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Home Office Furniture
Yes, or maybe the fine print. Many subliminal things go unseen these days. It requires years of training only to be able to spot them.