Racial Cohesivness &Locker Room Chemistry

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Was just thinking about NFL cliques and locker room chemistry when reading this following quote from black veteran Andre Johnson on rookie Kevin Walter.

Kevin finally gets some recognition:

Johnson agreed with Kubiak and said he knew Walter was capable of playing like he did against Jacksonville.

"He was due for a day like that," Johnson said. "I was just glad to see that happen for him. All the work he's put in, he deserves a day like that."

I've noticed a lot of black veterans who have solidified their role as a starter will be supportive of a white skill player who has just become a starter under certain circumstances.

1. The white player has been on the team for a significant amount of time with this veteran black player and the black is at no risk of being demoted. This black has come to respect the white's skills from practices and/or limited time the white has played well in games. The black veteran also may have developed a friendship with the white player in this circumstance.

2. The white is clearly talented and is moving into a vacated spot as Walter did when Eric Moulds was cut. The vacated spot could be from a black starter moving on via free agency or retiring. The black veteran would not want his fellow black starter being replaced by a white unless the black was truly "and I mean truly" atrocious in most cases. Blacks think of it as their position.

3. The white player who has just replaced the other black starter on the team came via free agency or "maybe the draft" and is truly "a household name"(I'm hoping McGuffie can fit that mold come draft day). It's been a while since a true one of these white "household names" at a skill position (Brian Leonard is close, but doesn't quite qualify). I would say Ed McCaffrey was the last one who firmly fits that description. Still, the black player may frown on this situation unless his fellow black starter sucked and his team was constantly losing. Of course their are exceptions. Maybe the black doesn't get along with the other black and thinks he's "stealing his limelight" and may greet this new situation w/ open arms.

It is seldom that a young black will be supportive of a young white even if the white is a good unselfish player, if the hasn't clearly proved himself, especially if they are competing for playing time. Usually the white would have to have already solidified his active role on the team. In this case that young black wouldn't see the white being ahead of him as illegitimate or at least wouldn't want to look like an arrogant schmuck complaining.

This is part of the reason John Standeford was cut IMO. Roy Hall was a new rookie who would, in this case, be supportive of Anthony Gonzalez b/c Hall saw how good Gonzalez was playing behind him at Ohio State. Hall fits in at Indianapolis well in this situation. This is because Hall is "an unpolished project player" with another rookie he's friends with on the team and knows he won't be playing anytime soon with the Colts receiving corps being so good. Surly there's a good chance Hall and Gonzalez are friends. It seems likely to me that Gonzalez put in a good word for Hall. If there was a problem between the two the team would have found out about it and not drafted both.

Young blacks who haven't proved much like Hall or Aaron Moorehead, may have had a problem w/ competing for playing time with Standeford looking forward to when Harrison retires. However, with Gonzalez the situation seems different.

Yes, we already know there are too many blacks like Keshawn Johnson or Michael Irvin who believe in black athletic superiority and scream "GIMME the DAMN BALL!" (it's horrible that these two are sports commentators now)

Edited to add: I think these intangibles of a football team (included w/ the favoritism towards blacks for athletic scholarships b/c of white guilt, negative stereotyping, coaches being afraid to be accused of favoring white players by drunken white fans, media and black players etc.) are a major reason that the best players don't play based on race. It shouldn't be overlooked as an element of the caste system that has to be defeated!Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[lumsdenpower]

Great post!
I agree with you!
I don't think there too many of black receiver who think white can't play receiver..They arent crazy, and black CB too must know how a white receiver can be good, I mean, every black corner in the NFL starter or backup, has been burned by a white boy at least one time in their life, at highschool or college or NFL..Reggie Bush was the reason why Mike Hass was drafted by the Saints(that doesnt have turned well but you know what I mean)..

 

[Don Wassall]

That's a lot of conjecture based on a single quote. Some weeks back, Andre Johnson was copiously quoted singing the praises of black rookie receiver Jacoby Jones. It was obvious that Johnson thought Jones should be the other starter on the Texans, not Walter.


Blacks are racially united and believe football is "theirs," including monopolies in perpetuity at every position. Any position lacking a black monopoly isthe result of somesort of"racism." Black domination is the only way to maintain a measure of "unity" and effort by many teams, which is one reason coaches that may be thinking of "whitening" their teams a bit hesitate to do so. Bobby Petrino naming Byron Leftwich the "permanent" starter in Atlanta this week is a good example of this dynamic at work. It's a vicious circle, but the Patriots and Colts have shown how to alleviate it to some degree.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[lumsdenpower]

That's a lot of conjecture based on a single quote.  Some weeks back, Andre Johnson was copiously quoted singing the praises of black rookie receiver Jacoby Jones.  It was obvious that Johnson thought Jones should be the other starter on the Texans, not Walter. 


Blacks are racially united and believe football is "theirs," including monopolies in perpetuity at every position.  Any position lacking a black monopoly is the result of some sort of "racism."  Black domination is the only way to maintain a measure of "unity" and effort by many teams, which is one reason coaches that may be thinking of "whitening" their teams a bit hesitate to do so.  Bobby Petrino naming Byron Leftwich the "permanent" starter in Atlanta this week is a good example of this dynamic at work.  It's a vicious circle, but the Patriots and Colts have shown how to alleviate it to some degree.

THey act like that but they know that white are able to play, that not their fault, that the fault to the white media or white coach or what ever..Maybe i'm mistaken?

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

an all-white, or majority white team has great locker room unity. is that up for debate? only when the blacks are a big majority do you see these problems arise...

i know the following story isn't football related, but it does discuss the better team chemistry on the Razorbacks basketball team that is already taking place... perhaps it is coincidental that new head coach, John Pelphrey, signed three white freshmen in his first recruiting class and the best player on the team is Steven Hill, a big white man, and suddenly team chemistry is better. then again, perhaps not.

All together now</font>
BY BOB HOLT
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas senior forward Charles Thomas senses better chemistry for this season's Razorbacks. It's the best they've had since he arrived on campus in the summer of 2004.

"This is the closest we've been as a team in the four years since I've been here," Thomas said Tuesday during Arkansas'basketball media day. "We hang together more.

" I think it starts with the head coach and trickles down to the players."

John Pelphrey became Arkansas' coach last April and constantly has stressed the importance of players being unselfish and supporting each other.

"I think the talent level is good enough here to win a lot of basketball games and get to the postseason," Pelphrey said while addressing a room full of media members at Walton Arena two days before the Razorbacks open preseason practice Friday night. "How many teams across the country can make those claims ? Probably quite a few."

Pelphrey, a former Kentucky player who was South Alabama's coach the previous five seasons, said the intangibles are what can make Arkansas a special team.

"Are we going to be close-knit ? Are we going to have each other's back ?" Pelphrey said of the attitude he wants his players to share. "Am I going to be willing to do less so the team can do more ?"

Pelphrey said if the Razorbacks don't embrace the core values he's repeated endlessly to them, their talent level and style won't matter.

"Maybe I'm sounding repetitive and maybe I'm making it sound too simplistic," Pelphrey said. "But I really believe if you can't do the fundamental things, if you can't all get along... it's really not going to matter what system [you run ], what style."

Players appear to be buying into the team chemistry Pelphrey and his coaching staff are trying to build.

"I think everybody is on the same page," Arkansas sophomore guard Patrick Beverley said. "As a team, we've gotten so much closer.

" We don't want to go out and end the season like we did last year, so some things have to change for the better."

Arkansas made it to the NCAA Tournament last season but was shipped to Spokane, Wash., as a No. 12 seed and lost a first-round game to Southern California 77-60 to finish 21-14.

Stan Heath was fired as coach and replaced by Pelphrey, who was hired not just to get to the NCAA Tournament but to win postseason games and fill Walton Arena on a regular basis.

"Coming in here, we knew the chemistry hadn't been very good and we needed to address that," said Rob Evans, the former Ole Miss and Arizona State coach who is Pelphrey's top assistant at Arkansas. "A lot [of the players ] didn't like each other, didn't trust each other, so we've spent quite a bit of time making sure we talked about that to try and make sure the chemistry is good to give ourselves a chance to be successful."

Evans said coaches have told players they have to communicate better than they did in the past.

"A lot of times guys don't understand each other because they don't spend time getting to know each other," Evans said. "It's a matter of spending a lot of time with these guys and trying to figure out why they didn't communicate better and getting them to do that now."

Razorbacks senior center Steven Hill said players are relating better to each other and were brought closer together by the uncertainty they faced with the coaching change last spring.

"There have been a lot of ups and downs, on and off the floor, for us," Hill said. "We've stuck together and kept our heads up and tried to make the best of it and I think that has helped our team chemistry.

" We really are enjoying each other off the floor, and I think that carries over into the basketball part of it."

Pelphrey said it's good to hear the players believe the team is more close-knit this season, but he knows it's early October.

"I think there has been some progress made there, and these guys are starting to put some of the blocks in the wall in regards to what we believe is important to building a team," Pelphrey said. "But we haven't been tested yet.

"We'll see what happens when some adversity sets in during the season. When that happens, do we stay together or do we fragment and go our separate ways?"

 

[Don Wassall]

That's a lot of conjecture based on a single quote. Some weeks back, Andre Johnson was copiously quoted singing the praises of black rookie receiver Jacoby Jones. It was obvious that Johnson thought Jones should be the other starter on the Texans, not Walter.



Blacks are racially united and believe football is "theirs," including monopolies in perpetuity at every position. Any position lacking a black monopoly isthe result of somesort of"racism." Black domination is the only way to maintain a measure of "unity" and effort by many teams, which is one reason coaches that may be thinking of "whitening" their teams a bit hesitate to do so. Bobby Petrino naming Byron Leftwich the "permanent" starter in Atlanta this week is a good example of this dynamic at work. It's a vicious circle, but the Patriots and Colts have shown how to alleviate it to some degree.

THey act like that but they know that white are able to play, that not their fault, that the fault to the white media or white coach or what ever..Maybe i'm mistaken?

Black playersbelieve they are far better athletes (and football players) than whites, as do blacks and whites in general. They don't mind giving credit to whites now and then as long they maintain their overwhelming dominance. After all, what was Andre Johnson going to say to a reporter -- "That white boy Kevin Walter still sucks big time." Same holds true for black coaches and announcers, which accounts for them sometimes being more complimentary toward white players than white coaches and announcers, who feel more compelled to always follow Caste System protocol. But ifblacks feel their dominance in football being threatened numerically, that's a different situation altogether.

 

[lumsdenpower]

maybe you are right..

Cris Carter was great when he said that if Matt Jones was black, he would have been a lock for the top 10 draft!

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

That's a lot of conjecture based on a single quote. Some weeks back, Andre Johnson was copiously quoted singing the praises of black rookie receiver Jacoby Jones. It was obvious that Johnson thought Jones should be the other starter on the Texans, not Walter.


Blacks are racially united and believe football is "theirs," including monopolies in perpetuity at every position. Any position lacking a black monopoly is the result of some sort of "racism." Black domination is the only way to maintain a measure of "unity" and effort by many teams, which is one reason coaches that may be thinking of "whitening" their teams a bit hesitate to do so. Bobby Petrino naming Byron Leftwich the "permanent" starter in Atlanta this week is a good example of this dynamic at work. It's a vicious circle, but the Patriots and Colts have shown how to alleviate it to some degree.

True, I don't know much about the situation, I was elaborating on the comments to look at the larger NFL picture. But, from what I know, Andre Johnson doesn't seem like a problematic individual to me. He doesn't have the history of your hot dogg selfish player. I saw him interviewed during the CyFair-CySprings game (BTW McGuffie didn't have his usual unstoppable game).

Andre Johnson seems pretty articulate and I think he probably fell into doubting Walter b/c he hadn't done much in actual NFL games until recently. It appears though it was b/c Walter was never was given the opportunity.

Johnson certainly wouldn't feel threatened on the depth chart by Walter. They have both been on the team long enough to grow accustomed to each other. I don't think all the black players are as inherently racist as the Keshawns and Ray Lewis's who appear to have major disdain for white players. Everyone knows Andre is the number one in Houston. I think Johnson is a believer in Walter now starting alongside him "for now" at least. We all know what a short leash white players are on.

Edited to add: I edited the original post to make my views on the Hall/Gonzalez situation more clear.Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[Guest]

Of course blacks keep score on who starts and plays. But some are teamplayers when they observe the skills of a white player. Most just hope they don't have to compete with them. And when the white player is given perference over a black player, that is when they scream racism. I believe most of the blacks on the Pats and Colts are teamplayers and believe in the team concept. Look at Moss, even he has gotten with the program. I believe as long as the Pats/Colts succeed, you will see the changing of color of teams. It will get lighter and more professional. Other owners will see the bottom line and WTF up! Slowly the caste system against whites will crumble.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Of course blacks keep score on who starts and plays. But some are teamplayers when they observe the skills of a white player. Most just hope they don't have to compete with them. And when the white player is given perference over a black player, that is when they scream racism. I believe most of the blacks on the Pats and Colts are teamplayers and believe in the team concept. Look at Moss, even he has gotten with the program. I believe as long as the Pats/Colts succeed, you will see the changing of color of teams. It will get lighter and more professional. Other owners will see the bottom line and WTF up! Slowly the caste system against whites will crumble.

I hope your right. The success of the Pats and Colts could certainly help. They are the most exciting and popular teams and have almost half white rosters. Both the Colts and Pats have a good white WR. The play of some of the white WRs this year is a good sign. I think we will see a slow rise in white WRs in coming years.

I also think if Leonard rebounds from last week and has a few more great games, before Jackson returns and Sam McGuffie wins the Heisman in 2010 we could see a few white starting RBs in the next decade. It's far from being a level playing field, but the NFL like other industries copies success, so these things could help. The play of top white skill players, will help to weaken the hold stereotypes have on white skill players.

 

[white is right]

I recall reading in Jimmy the Greeks autobiography he stated that he added or subtracted points to teams power ratings in terms of the teams racial tension. So any team like the Bungles would lose points every Sunday night when the lines were set. So this problem isn't new.

 

[Guest]

The term is "Tipping Point", for a mostly black team to not reach it is something remarkable. I can use the Lakers of the Jabar and Johnson era as one example. The NFL from my memory has few if any examples of a team becoming "black" and accomplishing much. Reading this article over at FreeRepublic one poster even wrote that the Patriots test for intelligence, and I can believe that. Calling Dr. Watson.

 

[white tornado]

I'll add me two cents in on this. I've played on many different teams from all white to majority black. Black people have a hard time getting along with anyone because THEY DON'T HAVE THE AWARENESS TO REALISE WHEN THEY HAVE MADE A MISTAKE; THIS CAUSES TENSION BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS FEEL THEY ARE FAULTLESS FOR THE TEAMS BAD PLAY AND INTURN PUT ALL THE BLAME ON OTHER TEAM MEMBERS.
Some teams I've been on have had good chemistry others have had bad.
Many black players will accept you as long as you prove to be a good player. Of coarse the burden of proving yourself is incredible hard and if a white player turns out to not be very good he will get the blame for most things.