The week is going to hopefully end on a positive note for the sports world. Mainly because the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday. If there are three days when everyone likes horse racing, the run for the roses at Churchill Downs is one of them. This week got off to a bad start in sports when everyone heard Clippers owner Donald Sterling saying racists things in a private conversation with his girlfriend, or mistress, or lady friend, that got leaked to TMZ during the weekend. On Tuesday, Adam Silver banned the bigoted, slumlord for life from the NBA and is committed to forcing Sterling to sell the team, ridding the Association of Sterling in every aspect. It was not a great moment for professional sports in America. Especially in a sports where a three-fourths of your players are minorities and a good percentage of coaches are as well. The Boston Bruins had a situation on their hands following Game 1 of their second round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
P.K. Subban, a lethal defender, who is considered a bad guy outside of Montreal, got the game winning goal in double overtime with his well known slap shot from the right point, beating Rask and giving the Canadiens an early 1-0 series lead. As the shot went in, I knew that the response from some Bruins fans would be driven toward Subban's race. If you don't know, Subban is one of the few black players in the NHL. Some responses from those in the crowd at TD Garden and on social media were so bad, team President and former Bruins captain Cam Neely publicly apologized for the fanbase's words. -Some more racists posts attacking Subban Side Note: P.K.'s brother, Malcolm, is a goaltender who is currently on the Bruins AHL club in Providence. So, we saw racists remarks from a man who owns a basketball team, and it caught the attention of everyone in the country. Thursday night in Boston, we saw it again, this time, done by hockey fans directing hate at one of the few black players in professional hockey. There is a movement to remove racism in sports and in society. The problem is, racism is a bad case of fleas that humanity has that it just can't shake, no matter how hard it tries. We hear the response from people this week, all in a universal voice denouncing Donald Sterling, calling him a racist, which he blatantly is. Some of those same people in Boston and those on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter threw around the n-word and other disgusting slurs to vent their anger toward Subban. Just another case of hypocrisy and double standards that continue to plaque the war to end racism, much like the war on drugs that many are still fighting over four decades later. Everyone wants to be progressive and rid everyone and everything of racism. NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, banning well-known bigot Donald Sterling and Cam Neely publicly apologizing for the behavior and words of Bruins fans send a message that their two leagues do not tolerate racism toward players of a different skin color. Problem is, it's still around. A week in which many in America condemned Sterling's remarks ended with racists remarks toward a black hockey player in Boston. In the effort to end racism, we still have a long way to go.
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