Cowbell Alert: Jason Whitlock

Confession time: I am a clone (non-hunter, non Stucknut). That means, like millions of people around the world, I listen to the Jim Rome radio show. He hosts the best sports talk show in the country by far. His show not only draws the largest audience and all the biggest names in every sport popular in America, his takes (opinions and analyses) are humorous and, more importantly, well-prepared.

Unfortunately, like he says many times, Rome takes a lot of vacation because he gets a lot of vacation. Summer is when he takes full advantage of most of his freedom, and he is currently on a two-week mini-sabbatical right now.

This means that substitutes fill his three-hour slot when he is away. Most are good, they all have unique styles. But there are two who always infuriate me and the other clones beyond description: Skip Bayless and Jason Whitlock.

Skip Bayless is a consensus idiot. Everybody knows that. I want to focus on the self-described prosecutor of "bojanglers."

First of all, I mentioned the Jim Rome Show because Whitlock was sub on July 3rd. He friggin' hijacked the show ignoring all pertinent topics of the day to talk about his own bullshit. I know it's July but there are interesting things happening in sports that he could've talked about. However, these are the segment descriptions from his turn to fill in for Rome (from jimrome.com):

* 1) How The Hip Hop Culture Is Affecting Society And Sports * 2) Hip Hop Is A Bad Business Model For Any Sport / No One Cares About The Five Elements Of Hip Hop In A Sports Arena * 3) Gary Sheffield's Comments This Season Were Arrogant And Ignorant * 4) The Gangsta’/Prison Culture Is Unhealthy For Sports And Any Kids Who Listen * 5) A Culture Of People Can Not Define Themselves With W2's Or The Size Of Their Rims * 6) No One Forces Anyone To Do Anything / If You Believe In Yourself You Don't Let Anyone Dictate Your Actions * 7) The NBA And NCAA Have To Be Responsible And Change The Culture And Expectations Of Their Future Players * 8) Dr. Harry Edwards Is “Moved” To Make A Call To The Call-In Line * 9) Calls / Emails * 10) Jason Defends The Accusation That He Is An Uncle Tom * 11) Huge Email Of The Day * 12) Huge Call Of The Day

Rome can't be happy to see this. He didn't talk about ANYTHING having to do with Barry Bonds' home run chase, the upcoming all-star game, the NBA draft, Wimbledon, anything someone might want to hear. If you agreed with his opinions, you would've enjoyed listening but I don't. I guess that's the real reason I couldn't listen that day (but is it professional to come into someone else's show with a clear agenda unrelated to current issues?).

I used to like Whitlock. I liked his columns when he was on Page 2. He once wrote about how the Notre Dame athletic department played favorites (a.k.a. was racist) in offering Charlie Weis a contract extension after his first year there while not taking care of Ty Willingham after having a similar first year. It was a good column. I agreed.

But since his firing from ESPN and his move to AOL Sports he's been on a vicious anti-rap and anti-"bojangling" campaign which has probably alienated many of his readers. It certainly has alienated me. A great blog, Leave the Man Alone, has an excellent critique of Whitlock's "bojangling," which thoroughly articulates my stance on the subject. Read it.

I will take on his claims about hip hop and its impact on sports and its listeners.

There have been crime/gang issues in this country for much longer than hip hop has been around. Why is a music genre to blame whenever someone starts a fight or fires a gun or says anything stupid? The 70's in the NBA were the most violent and drug-infested its history and the Sugarhill Gang didn't come out with Rapper's Delight until '79. We should prosecute the blaxploitation films for that tumult, right Jason? I mean they did portray black people doing drugs, fighting, and killing each other. NBA players had to be influenced by that.

If I'm not mistaken, crime existed before rap. Rappers do glorify disobeying the law, but I feel most people realize that it's entertainment, including the rappers. Of course some of them get into trouble trying to "keep it real" but how many of them actually do what they talk about? Maybe a couple were formerly thugs and engaged in the activities described in their lyrics, but generally, after they get that first check, they're on the right side of the law. Have you ever seen Ludacris get arrested for movin' bitches out his way, or Eminem for killing his girlfriend, or Jay-Z for big pimpin'? Why would they? They're rich! They're going to say what sells. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's entertainment! People don't get mad at Denzel for playing a dirty cop in Training Day, but Too Short is a bad guy for saying "bitch."

Blaming hip hop is a cop out. Whitlock is the guy who berates people for claiming racism in response to bad situations, so why is hip hop ruining society? I don't see people writing articles about punk rock and metal ruining white people, they seem to be doin' fine. And there are definitely some crazy lyrics in those songs.

Where's personal responsibility in Whitlock's argument? Maybe Steven Jackson pulled his heat out because he's crazy, not 50 Cent. Don Imus said racially insensitive things having nothing to do with rap long before the Rutgers' team crossed his path. He probably did hear the word "ho's" in a rap song, but Imus was the one dumb enough to use the word on nationally broadcast radio program with his conservative audience listening. Accusing music of increasing crime rates and negatively impacting culture is and insult to the "victims'" intelligence, honestly.

A person's behavior also depends heavily on his upbringing. The parents' effort in the life a child is the most important part of a person's development. I've listened to hip-hop almost all my life and I think I turned out fine; so have many of my peers. If a music genre strongly influences someone's decisions, blame mommy and daddy, not Lil' Mama and Big Daddy Kane.