Who's the whitest team in the NBA? (no, it's not the Celtics)

The Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Minnesota Timberwolves fans may notice something different about their team this year. In a league in which American-born black players made up 75 percent of roster spots in 2011, the Timberwolves will have an opening-day roster comprising just 33 percent black players (five out of 15).

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, this year's squad will be the league's whitest since the 1980s Boston Celtics.

Is that a problem?

Some civil rights leaders in Minneapolis think so. Tyrone Terrell, chairman of St. Paul's African American leadership council, told the Star-Tribune that he thinks the unbalanced roster could be seen as a ploy by the ownership to sell the team to a majority-white fan base."

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201210/are-minnesota-timberwolves-too-white

 

Oh my goodness!

Someone complains a team has too many black players and they get labeled racist. But complain about having too many white players and it's an issue for "civil rights leaders"?!?!?!

 

I was going to post something, but I want nowhere near Mark on this thread.

 

This should evoke some thought-provoking discussion...

 

I used to have thoughts about the Celtics in the '80s then researched their history and saw they were the first major professional sport to truly integrate and essentially become "color-blind."

This does bring up the question that "if you s*ck, might as well s*ck with more attractive players?" (I love Love and Rubio though.)

 

Here's is the Star Tribune article

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/176071391.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y&refer=y

"David Kahn, Wolves president of basketball operations ... and other Timberwolves executives call it a coincidence of circumstance and a purposeful plan to scour the globe for the best players they can possibly obtain. They will start the season with players from Russia, Montenegro, Spain and Puerto Rico, a total of five international players among a group that also includes five white American-born players."

 

The Celtics were the first franchise to play five African Americans on the court at the same time and the last to play five white guys on the court at the same time (happened in the playoffs in the '80s against the 76ers). To me anyway, that's cool social history.

 

Even if the team was doing it to attract fans --- and I'm convinced that's the reason --- is there anything wrong with that? Teams in all sports employ all sorts of gimmicks, promotions and other things to draw fans. Nothing new there. It is, after all, a branch of the entertainment business.

I wouldn't be likely to pay out top dollar to watch a bunch of black players run up and down the court. White players? Not sure, but possibly. This nonsense that the world is colorblind is just, well, nonsense.

 

Keep doing you.

 

Of course there is something wrong with it if that's what they are trying to do.

Goal is to win, not please Whitey.

 

Well, you can only hope.