Bryant Gumbel is a pompous ass. A smarmy hump. An adulterer. Let’s finally add "racist" to the mix.
Here’s what Bryant Gumbel – host of HBO’s Real Sports - said during the sign-off for the February 7, 2006 show:…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
26 - alan
to say that you cannot have a group of the world's greatest atheletes without having more black atheletes is an absolutely true statement. this is not a racist statement, this is a fact. nobody complains that there aren't more white people in the nba or as quarterbacks in the nfl because blacks are obviously superior in these areas, but we do not say that the nfl or the nba contain the world's greatest atheletes, that's just ignorant. also, in the comments about gumbel leaving his black wife to marry a white woman..what are you smoking? how does that relate at all to his comment. that's trying to make this into an issue aobut race. i am not defending gumbel at all, but his comments were not out of line, just opinionated. you have to be opinionated to get a tv show, that's why tv personalities make such shocking/one-sided statements. i guess you're all just jealous that he has a tv show and you don't, that's the only reason i could think of for you getting angry. don't get mad at a man for sharing a strong opinion, it doesn't make his a racist, ironically, that's actually what made him famous
27 - sal m
alan:
your comments are ridiculous, but thanks for proving that there are people like you out there who are just as racist as the dopes who say a black can't be a good quarterback.
to be a believer in your philosophy that you can't have a group of great athletes without blacks in the mix means that swimmers aren't great athletes, skiers aren't great athletes, hockey players aren't great athletes, snowboarders and skateboarders aren't, etc. by the way, how many blacks need to be present to validate a group as having great athletes? do these blacks need to win or just be there? this is silly beyond belief.
and the point about how gumbel lives his life is to show that he is a hypocrite of the highest level...his life looks like a GOP convention.
28 - alan
sal m,
i am not saying that there must be a certain quota of black athletes to be considered the greatest athletes in the world, but i am saying that a large number of black athletes are among the greatest athletes in the world. i'm not saying that a group of swimmers cannot be great athletes, but i am saying that without adding all athletic events to the discussion, you cannot say that you have a group of the greatest athletes in the world. i have no problem with getting together a whole bunch of skiers and ice skaters and saying they are great athletes, but i do have a problem with saying that they are a group of the greatest athletes in the world. i am simply trying to point out that there needs to be many more people included in a group than only the winter olympians to consider them the greatest athletes in the world. surely these winter olympians are among the greatest athletes, but they do not make up the only group of the greatest athletes. they are the best at what they do, i do not dispute that and i do not believe that there must be more blacks in the winter olympics to consider the winter olympians great athletes, but i do think that to call a group of athletes the greatest in the world, you would have to have a much more diverse group. let's be honest, there are many great athletes who are black. that's my point, gumbel is spot on about that. sal, thank you for responding so that i could clarify myself...i hope this helps.
alan
29 - sal m
alan:
what you clarified makes your position clearer, and is different than what gumbel said.
that being said, i still do not agree with you.
the winter olympians are certainly among the greatest athletes in the world. to assert because there aren't enough blacks to satisfy some undefinable quota for how many are enough is foolish and reveals a lack of understanding for the nature of athletics.
30 - Andy Marsh
actually, the olympics USED to be a venue for amateurs! It's not supposed to be the worlds greatest athletes...it's SUPPOSED to be the worlds greatest AMATEUR athletes! Guess we can blame things like the USSR's hockey team for that???
Besdies all that...Gumbels a dick!
31 - alan
i am glad that i could clarify and not come across as a bigoted ignoramus - rather only an opinionated ignoramus...
32 - Andy Marsh
Ok...let's take alans argument, or gumbels...alan...give us one name of a sports personality that you consider to be a great or even the greatest athlete...now...I'd almost bet that your pick won't be say, a skier...or a curler for that matter...I'd bet my house that your greatest athlete wouldn't be able to keep up with a winter olympian in their preferred sport. I bet Michael Jordan's never even been on ski slope...hell for that matter he already proved that he can't play more than one sport at the professional level...that's why his baseball career never made it out of the minor leagues! So, if someone crawled out from under a rock back in the day when Michael was playing baseball, they probably would have thought that he sucked as an athlete at the pro level...obviously, he didn't suck as an athlete...he sucked as a baseball player!
Todays olympians are the greatest in their respective sports...it's that simple....and it has nothing at all to do with the color of their skin...it's more demographics than anything else...come on...how many snow skiers come from Florida?
33 - sal m
alan:
i don't think you came across like an ignoramous...i just think that you might be caught up in a semantics issue more than anything...
34 - Larry D
As a Canadian I can sit back and be pretty objective. I believe his comments to be very racist and his tone was intended to stir things up. He is a journalist and as a journalist picks his words very carefully. I don't think anything he said was unintentional. He is not a stupid man...and ignorant man maybe, but not stupid.
The race card isn't played up here as much as it is down in the USA, but it does rear it's ugly head once and awhile ( whites vs. natives can be pretty explosive up here...Oka...Ipperwash) so I am not being all self-rightous here. As someone mentioned previously Canada does have some black athletes in the games (and the USA had a black gold medalist in speed skating a couple of days ago) The fact that there are so few blacks in winter sports is about culture and real estate. You don't live in a cold weather envoirnment, you won't be pulled towards cold weather sports. Case in point is the growing number of professional hockey players that are non-white coming from Canada. Jarome Iginla, Kevin Weeks, Ray Emery, Georges Laraque, Paul Karyia, to name a few. Not to mention one of the greatest goalies of all time Grant Fuhr.
35 - sal m
larry:
great comments...
you nailed it when you wrote about the winter olympics being a matter of culture...gumbel is not only a racist but he has shown - through his comments - to be intolerant of other people's cultures...we've been preached to by the elites that we have to respect all cultures, gumbel is the kind of person that respects only the cultures he deems worthy...truly a hypocrite.
36 - RJ Elliott
Semi-off-topic comment:
I believe we will see more and more black ice hockey players in the NHL...and as that percentage increases, we will see more and more respectful coverage of the sport from the mainstream media.
Just an opinion...we will see...
37 - sal m
rj:
i don't know if we'll see it happen that quickly since hockey isn't so popular at this time...although it would seem to be a natural progression...high school hockey is pretty popular in new jersey, but the prep/private schools and the suburban schools are still where the game is being played...until inner city schools add the sport it'll be tough for black kids to have access to it.
38 - omar butler
Wake up people - People already say the NBA is to black, they actually say it everyday. When people decry tattoes, braids, dress-code, hip hop's influence on the NBA. You are basically saying the NBA is to black. When corporate america pressures David Stern to implement policies which are directed at the players, that is in fact saying the NBA is to black.
When people talk about the intelligence of Payton Manning, Eli Manning and Tom Brady and "compliment" Mike Vick, and Daunte Culpepper on their athlectims, what they are really saying is that the black quarterback will always rely on this physical ability rather than the "more celebral" (white) quarterback who makes intelligence decision. Dononvan McNabb is perfect example of this.
He changed his entire style to fit the mode of "intelligent" quarterback, ignoring his obvious physical gifts.
Society makes generalization about blacks everyday- watch the news, watch a basketball or football game...there are always references to the various atheletes and their physical/celebral attributes.
So before everyone jumps out of the closet with cries of reverse racism, and the "see I told you so's"--be honest with yourself.
39 - sal m
omar:
reread the post...i say anyone who makes baseless race based claims is an idiot regardless of their color.
also, i disagree about your point about the current state of the nba and why people don't like it...the nba for at least a generation has always been more black than white...white people lionized and worshipped dr j, magic, michael jordan, kareem, wilt, bill russell, david thompson, earl the pearl, bob lanier, dave bing, clyde and the rest of the black superstars...kids didn't wear bill bradley or john havlechek or dave cowens or bill walton jersies...
the current version of the nba is a joke, from a skill standpoint and from an attitude standpoint...if you want nba-fandom to be based on whether or not people like rap and the nonsense that is incorporated in its lifestyle, than the nba is doomed...if the new test has become you must like rap and tatoos and punks or else you're a racist, you are cheapening the real elements of racism.
and the fact that some white dopes still generalize about blacks doesn't make it ok for a black dope to generalize about whites.
40 - jamaican
I'm black, and Bryant Gumbel's little speech was as out of order as Don Imus's...and in BOTH cases i see a tendency to make jokes based on what they mistakenly thought were culturally ok to say...gumbel thinks cause he's black it's okay to make cliche statements about sports that are not popular with blacks...don imus thinks cause he's a shock jock expected to say shocking things and black hip hop culture degrades black women the way he did, that it was okay for him to throw it out there the way black people do...
And I see how black people are allowed to air their grievances against america until people ears start burning, but white people are allowed no outlet for their side...and we all know in any serious problem, mediation can never work EVER if BOTH sides are not allowed to air their side and be taken seriously. I see truth in what the black people say (not all of it) and I see truth in what the white people say (not all of it) and i realize it's honestly not a colour thing, it's a culture and class problem that happens to fall along the colour lines in most cases. And because there is truth in both arguments that neither side wants to give credit to and really deal with...it will never change... and for the record i am not some rich kid, but if i was to run myself in debt, it wouldn't be for bling bling, it would be to put my children in private school because I went to private school in Jamaica and I believe in the power of a great basic education (and because I also believe in uniforms, religion IN schools, and being able to pick up both my kids from the same place and live wherever i can afford without having them zoned for some low-rated school, not to mention the lasting, close-knit friendships that form when you've gone through the growing years with the same circle of friends)...
Please don't judge all of us based on Bryant Gumbel. I didn't know what any of his opinions were til I saw this, just that black americans saw him as an Uncle Tom...but now I see he is another ignorant instigator easily dismissed right along with his opinions.
41 - jamaican
and i forgot to say that yes, since don imus was fired even though the girls handled things themselves and decided to accept his apology, gumbel needs to be fired because joke or not, the nation is not so cool with race that people can be racist on national tv outside their own little circle...he's not at home with his buddies, he's on tv.
42 - Desmond
all black dudes in the end ended up with caucasian women after they got money:
nba players, movie stars, a singer and a golfer
they are so proud to be black but they prefer blond lol