The Undefeated debuts

Considering the call from some protestors over who is responsible for the Chicago violence and who does the actual killing in that city makes Wilbon's point perfectly.

Some people don't look at analytics.

 

Good story about Hampton's lacrosse team, and black presence in lacrosse as a whole, from pros all the way down.

The dream (or fantasy) of black lacrosse

 

Slate doesn't like The Undefeated's Jameis Winston story:

The Undefeated’s Jameis Winston Profile Is Sports Journalism At Its Worst

 

Buncha racists at Slate.

 

Deadspin didn't care for it either.

http://deadspin.com/the-undefeated-cant-find-anything-bad-to-say-about-jame-1781961610

 

If this was a publication dedicated to the intersection of white privilege and sports, I doubt they would have had a problem with it.

On a related note, I eagerly await Shaun King's rebuttal column.

 

First SB Nation, now The Undefeated. What's gonna be the third recent publication to green light a story that tries to repaint a rapist? Oh, sorry, alleged rapist in Winston's case...

 

This is not on the level of the Holtzclaw piece, but it's in the same vein.

 

I mean, it's not a great story. Not much depth. A ton of coaches saying nice, cliched things. Feeling the need to talk about his past, but also brush over it again and again. I've written the hey, look at this big athlete who came to a local camp story, but I don't know what ESPN has any interest in it.

 

The thing is he writes like the Jameis case is over and done with. There are still civil suits by both parties. The accuser's trial against Winston won't start until January.
Plus because of how bad Florida State, the state attorney's office and the Tallahassee Police screwed up the investigation, FSU is still under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights and had had to pay the largest settlement for a Title IX case (that is, until Baylor and Tennessee have court cases).

 

In the wake of the alligator tragedy, a story on how black babies were once used as alligator bait.

The gut-wrenching history of black babies and alligators

Pretty macabre stuff. What's more - and I found this unappealing - the piece references Lane Graves' death at the top of story as if to say "seeing as the topic has been raised, did you know..."

As it turns out, the piece claims a larger purpose:

"I know this is dark stuff that we don’t want to think about, but we should face it. We should be reminded of it and the ways our dark chapters inform our biases, our politics, and the ways we feel about one another. We should feel sadness for Lane Graves and for the nameless children whose deaths were not accidental. But sadness is not action. Empathy and understanding are characteristics that prompt actions. Actions that give birth to progress."
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Pretty good speech. Then again, Self Destruction was a cultural statement 25 years ago and not much changed.