He said the quiet part out loud is a
phrase commonly used in the Black community when referring to whites
and others who reveal their innermost thoughts.
Former
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned last month after a
trove of racist, homophobic misogynistic and xenophobic attributed to
him publicly surfaced.
Gruden,
in conversations
with Bruce Allen, former president of the Washington Football Team,
exchanged emails filled with bigoted, anti-gay and misogynistic
comments for more than a decade, but was only held accountable for
such odious behavior when his scurrilous remarks became public
property. Among other things, he callously said DeMaurice Smith, the
executive director of the NFL Players Association, possessed "lips
the size of Michelin tires," and referred to the league's
commissioner, Roger Goodell, using homophobic and misogynistic slurs.
Gruden
also criticized Goodell for recruiting LGBTQ football players, sent
photos of topless women to other coaches, and denounced the
recruitment of female referees. The list of disgraceful, reductive
commentary goes on.
An
in-depth expose published by New York Times detailed that Goodell
directed league officials to review 650,000 emails that were sent
over the past few months. The NFL launched an investigation to look
into allegations of sexism, and other indignities that plagued the
league. which as of this moment, have only barely scratched the
surface.
The
league fined the Washington Redskins $10 million for workplace
misconduct, but gave owner Dan Snyder a benign slap on the wrist and
have steadfastly refused to release any comprehensive materials that
could potentially shed light on untoward behavior.
Let's
be honest, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude why the
league has resisted opening up emails for public consumption. Those
of us who are Black Americans know the answer.
As
is often the case with individuals when caught and exposed with their
hand in the racist cookie jar, Gruden reverted to the "Who me?
Nah man, I'm not a bigot. There is not a racist bone in my body. That
is not who I am" dishonest defense. Well, guess what, Gruden —
your actions and emails blatantly demonstrate otherwise! You embody
all of the traits you profess not to harbor.
Gruden
and certain other members of the NFL are representative of a segment
of Americans who long for a time where Blacks and, in some cases,
Jews, were occasionally seen, certainly not heard from, and deprived
of any sense of dignity, fairness and equality. Women were largely
relegated to second-class status, were of no competition in the
workplace, had to often quietly overlook or turn a blind eye to
infidelity or spousal abuse, and were largely relegated to objects of
sexual objectification. LGBTQ people were seen as less than human,
regarded as deviants, perverts and unworthy of any form of respect.
Disabled people were seen as quasi-human, burdensome and semi-tragic
figures.
Yes,
for a notable segment of Americans like Gruden, these were indeed the
"good ol' days."
Gruden
and Allen arrogantly believed that their comments would not enter
into the public domain. Truth be told, they had ample reason to
believe such a possible reality. For more than a decade they were
given free rein to engage in such perverted, hyper levels of toxic
masculinity.
While
there has always been a segment of Americans that have harbored rabid
levels of hostility and hatred toward non-white people and other
marginalized groups, these men and women were largely forced to
resort to discussing and reaffirming their racist, anti-Semitic,
bigoted, myopic, sectarian and other reductive and largely
pathological viewpoints with other like-minded individuals.
Their
bigoted views were largely confined to white supremacist newsletters
and magazines, obscure far-right radio programs and the darkest,
racially sordid corners of the web. This was primarily the case up
until a few years ago.
The
current climate has afforded individuals such as Gruden, Allen, and
other closet racists a green light to express their regressive
viewpoints with growing levels of fierce pride and confidence. The
NFL is just a microcosm of this rabidly festering cancer saturating
our society.
