There is no question that white fans boo white players easier and, in
fact, seem to despise them, even when they play for their team. For
instance, not that long ago the Washington Wizards had a roster filled
with white players. This was before the explosion of European players,
and was really a pheneomenal thing. Guys like Rex Chapman, Brent Price,
Don McLean, Tom Gugliatta and Georgi Mureshan gave the Wizards an
unusual look for that time and place. I remember my friend, another
racially aware fan, calling me up in excitement one night to tell me
that he'd just watched the Wizards field five white players on the
court for a brief period of time. I don't know when that will happen
again, even with all the Europeans. Anyhow, during that time, white
fans would beseige radio talk shows with calls complaining about the
Wizards. Invariably, every mock trade they proposed to the hosts would
involve shipping off some of the white players for some typical black
name player or players. When the team traded Gugilatta for Chris
Webber, I think 99% of the white fans in town were ecstatic. Even a
couple of years later, when Webber proved a disaster both on and off
the court, few fans rued the trade. The Wizards have always been
overwhelmingly black, so how this happened, even so briefly, is a
mystery. After the Gugliatta trade, the others were all eventually
moved out, to be replaced by token white Mark Allare. Allare was a
great player at Duke, but was never given a chance in Washington,
despite the fact the team was filled with derelicts who couldn't begin
to touch his talent. Of course, the fans played their part, and never
gave him a break, either, much as they didn't give the token who
replaced him on their roster, another ex-Duke star,Christian Laettner,
a chance either.