Branding: Millennial Generation & Beyond

Some people believe that we've all sold our soul to the devil. There are others that will argue that we've sold out and have been soled with cement shoes. Whatever the case may be, the bottom line is people will argue at infinitum that human beings are nothing more than human billboards and lack the integrity to think and be creative beings.

Well, who am I to argue? I constantly ask myself,"Have I sold out? and Do I perpetuate the hyper-consumerism mentality that exists through the posts on the OSD website?" The quick answer....yes! Then I think about it some more and can rationalize it but I always work my way back to when is enough going to be enough?

This is a good article from the Boston Phoenix titled Bought and Sold.

Branding: Millennial Generation & Beyond

Air Bakin or Air Bigot?

You know what bothers me the most about human beings…..it’s their inability to be human.

I just heard Tim Hardaway’s comments on gays when asked about John Ameachi coming out and stating that he’s gay. Mr. Hardaway went on to say that, “"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." To say that he should be commended for his honesty and his stupidity would be a back-handed slap in the face.

To think, that a 40-year-old man could be so callus and think in these terms in this day and age truly does surprise and confirm that many athletes don’t have the slightest clue about what's going on in the world around them. Many, just like Tim, live in a bubble and think they're better than other human beings because they've made some money playing basketball or a professional sport. It's a damned shame!

If you haven’t had an opportunity to read the Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete by William C. Rhoden, then I strongly encourage you to run to your nearest bookstore and purchase it immediately. Not only is Rhoden’s writing dead-on, it addresses such issues as Michael Jordan being a powerful Black man and not standing for much or, matter-of-factly, nothing at all when it comes to the plight of Blacks in America. I have long criticized Jordan for not being political or speaking out when young Black males were killing one another for a pair of sneakers that carried the Jordan Jumpman silhouette.

Now, in 2007, Tim Hardaway has chosen to speak his mind and insert his Air Bakin sneakers right in his mouth. Hardaway always struck me as a stand-up-guy who knew who he was and played a 'big man's game' all-the-while measuring 5-foot-11. Tim, you've lost a fan for showing your ass in the name of true ignorance.

Good luck to Commissioner David Stern for having to clean up this mess right before NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. Maybe we'll see Tim serving up basketballs for the Slam Dunk Competition.....Hell NO!!

It might be the perfect time to take my pair of Air Bakin sneakers to the back yard and start a bond...........

Read Real Talk by Jason Whitlock.

Air Bakin or Air Bigot?