Check out my Friday Op-ed on Above the Law
Started from the bottom, now we’re here: Minorities in the legal profession
Kenny Smith’s open letter to Charles #Barkley about #Ferguson
Editor’s Note: NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley’s comments about recent events in Ferguson, Mo. have prompted a strong reaction from many, including Kenny Smith, his friend and fellow analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
Smith addressed Barkley’s remarks in an open letter submitted exclusively to For The Win. The letter is featured below in its entirety:
Dear Chuck,
I hope this finds you in the way I always see you, in great spirits, with great joy and full of life. There are some things I want to openly say to you that sometimes in conversation get lost.
Firstly I lied! You ARE the greatest Power Forward of all time. It’s not (Tim) Duncan or (Karl) Malone, they had size and height that you weren’t blessed with and you never had near the talent around you that they were blessed to have. Contrarily you took your teams to similar heights. Secondly, you are a champion in my book. Effort and determination is what makes a champion, not a ring.
Lastly, you are the most entertaining person in sports television (partly because I throw you so many assists lol).
However, what I consistently find interesting is how writers and media members view your insights in politics, and now race relations, with the same reverence as your insights in sports.
They did it in the Trayvon Martin trial and now with Mike Brown and the decision in Ferguson. It’s not that you shouldn’t ever have an opinion, but you are often quoted alongside the likes of Al Sharpton and even President Obama. I would hope that Sharpton or President Obama would never be referenced with you when picking the next NBA Champs!
The body of work that our Black Civil Rights leaders put in by planning, executing and activating does not justify you being in the conversation. While your body of work on the court very few compare to nor should be mentioned when you are giving your expert analysis. Again, I respect that you have an opinion on Ferguson. And here’s mine.
The question must be asked: Why is there so much distrust in the police and the legal system from the African American community? Without manifesting what the effects of slavery still have today, Dec 1st still marks only 59 years since Rosa Parks sat on that memorable bus. Many of our parents and grandparents have lived through those times and have passed those stories on to all of us. Those civil rights changes were at one time the law! They were not illegal.
So did the protection of the law by the courts and police make it right? Obviously not, so as African Americans we still know and feel that there are laws and jurisdictions that severely penalize the poor and, most importantly, African Americans greater than any other group. Some laws were initially made without us as equals in mind; that’s just the facts. So the thought process that it’s not for us or by us will unfortunately lead to distrust.
When someone is in “the struggle”, which many of our black communities are in, they are living with a lack of educational facilities, high unemployment and poor recreational facilities. The masses involved in “the struggle” will react in several ways. They can overcome it, challenge it, live in it, or fall victim to it … For those of us who are decades removed from “the struggle” because of our life through sports or business, we now have to acknowledge that every option listed exists. If not, then we are the ignorant ones.
That leads me to the looters and civilians burning buildings which you referred to as “scumbags”. Here’s an analogy: If you put 100 people on an island with no food, no water, no hope of a ship coming, then some will overcome it and be resourceful, some will live in it, others will panic and others will show horrific character, which is wrong. But not to understand that all alternatives are possible is wrong as well.
I was also disheartened to see the reaction of burning buildings and looters by some. However, when you are in “The Struggle” to not expect that that potential reaction is foolish on our part.
The real issue is learning to positively manage your anger so you can be heard. It’s not that they are “scumbags”, their emotions won’t allow them to rationally think through their anger. I applaud that you have done a great job in your anger management in recent times … but not always.
Mike Brown wasn’t about race relations, nor Trayvon Martin or even Hurricane Katrina for that matter. It’s about trust. Do I trust you to help me off the island? If so, do you have my best interests at heart? Do I trust that you will you send a ship or allow me access to build my own ship?
And you were right Chuck, let’s not discredit that there are great police officers in all neighborhoods, but let’s not credit that we shouldn’t have doubt.
See you Thursday night!
Kenny Smith
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If other industries were like Wall Street
Finance is a strange industry. The way we think about fees, the way it’s discussed in the media, how laypeople use it, and the way it’s taught in school is like no other field.
Maybe the best way to get this across is to imagine — hypothetically and absurdly — if other industries got away with stuff Wall Street does.
If we thought of school grades like we do corporate accounting:
Robert gets an F on a test but says he actually got an A if you strip out one-time bad answers on a pro forma, pre-mistake basis. His teachers buy it.
If we held weathermen to the same standard as stock pundits:
Peter, a local weatherman, has been predicting since the 1970s that a blizzard dumping up to two feet of snow will hit Miami imminently. It hasn’t been below 50 degrees in Miami for decades, but Peter is inducted to the Meteorology Hall of Fame for his “spot-on, dead-accurate forecasts of the Miami climate.”
If we were as impatient about gardening as we are investing:
Sam plants some seeds in his backyard. He checks back four hours later. Nothing. He digs them up and replants them. Four hours. Still nothing. A week later he is dismayed that he has no oak trees in his backyard. He calls oak trees a scam.
If we thought of farming like we do global finance:
Joe and Ronald each own a cow. Instead of milking the cows and selling dairy, they use each other’s cow as collateral for a structured note sold to an Icelandic pension fund, use the funds to buy credit default swaps on their neighbor’s farm, start a rumor that causes a run on its assets and sends the farm into bankruptcy, collect the payout, funnel the proceeds through a Luxembourg shell company, and sell hypothetical milk futures to a widow in Arizona. The cows just stand in a field and moo. Joe and Ronald make $34.9 million a year.
If we checked our physical health as much as we check our portfolios:
Ryan wakes up in the morning and checks his blood pressure. He checks it again before breakfast, during breakfast, after breakfast, and before leaving for work. When he gets to work he checks his cholesterol, again before lunch, and twice before bedtime. During one of the four times he weighs himself during the day the notices he lost a quarter of a pound. He calls his doctor to find out what the hell is going on.
If we credentialed doctors as easily as we do stock brokers:
Jim recited the “hip bone’s connected to the leg bone” song. That qualifies him to be a neurosurgeon and your life is now in his hands.
If we thought of wine like we do triple-A rated subprime mortgage bonds:
Roger takes a Capri Sun, leaves it outside for a few hours and calls it Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945. It takes a decade for wine experts to figure out what’s going on. They’re still arguing about notes and finish.
If we thought of cell phone fees like we do mutual fund fees:
Betty has a cell phone. She has no idea what it costs, since the fees are deducted automatically from her bank without her receiving a bill. She never even sees the money leave the bank – it’s quietly siphoned off every quarter. She learns her cell phone costs 1% of her annual assets. Quick math shows she’s paying $20,000 a year for a cell phone that only works some of the time. She had no idea, and the cell phone company prefers it that way.
If we thought of private businesses like public businesses:
Sally owns a bakery. One year she sells 1,052 muffins. The next year she sells 1,051 muffins. Carl Icahn stands in front of her store yelling profanities and calling her incompetent.
If medical advice were given as universally and indiscriminately as financial advice:
A doctor goes on TV talking about the benefits of a new cancer drug. He doesn’t mention that unless you have cancer his advice is irrelevant to you. Unaware, half of viewers start using the new cancer drug despite not having cancer.
If we thought of housing like we do stock market fluctuations:
A Zillow.com programmer gets in a bad mood and adjusts the site’s algorithm so every home in America looks 10% less valuable than it was the day before. He’s fired, and a new programmer adjusts the algorithm again so homes go back to the old prices. The volatility sends America into a collective meltdown. The evening news brings on a series of experts who call owning a home a scam, a gamble, and a fraud. Ten percent of homeowners sell their homes the next day. “It doesn’t matter if I loved my home, could afford my mortgage, and planned on living here for 20 years,” one says, “this just seems too risky.” He moves into a tent.
If everyday people had got away with Wall Street crimes:
Brad assaults a guy. The whole thing is caught on tape. There’s no question about what he did. Anyone else would go to jail. But Brad is allowed to settle without admitting or denying wrongdoing. For a penalty, Brad’s children are forced to pay a $25 billion fine. Brad gets a bonus.
If we explained random weather events like we do random economic fluctuations:
It’s cold in Minneapolis. Damn [party you didn’t vote for].
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