Jason Whitlock's Ideal America?

Jason Whitlock's Ideal America? byDavid J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
Oneof the common arguments offered during the NBA lockout was that David Stern andthe owners had to initiate the lockout in an effort to make the leaguebetter.  Citing the success of theNFL, these advocates predicted that the NBA would be more successfuleconomically, more important culturally, and just a better game if it adoptedthe rules and policies of the NFL. Such arguments have not died down with the end of the lockout or withthe start of the NBA season.
Embodyingthis logic is Jason Whitlock's recent column, "NFL is model for Americansuccess."  Whitlock argues that NFLis a model of success not just for the NBA, but the nation.  With a salary cap, revenue sharing, a requirementthat players attend at least three years of colleges, its amateur draft design,its "emphasis on teams over individuals while making room for superstars" and "afree-agent system that allows franchises to retain their marquee players", theNFL offers "the perfect blend of capitalism and socialism."  He remarks further:
One hundred years from now, when scholars analyze therise and fall of our dynasty, the NFL might be considered America's greatestinvention, the cultural and economic force that should've been our guide to 200more years of global domination.
If only Pete Rozelle had been our president ratherthan the architect of the modern-day national pastime, Americans wouldunderstand the value of restraints on capitalism, revenue sharing and a systemthat strengthens the poor.
Thereis so much wrong with the argument and the analysis that it is hard to knowwhere to start.  The idea that theNFL's age restriction leads to a better or more successful system, even inabsence of any sort of evidence, is reflective of Whitlock's propensity to sellmyths as fact.  The ample successof NBA players, whether those who skipped college or those who were "one-and-done"ballers, runs counter to the rhetoric offered by Whitlock. 
Likewise,the premise that NFL is superior because it emphasizes teams over individuals,which has led to increased fan interest, erases the overall popularity of NBAstars throughout the world.  WhereasLeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan are transnational icons, whosetalents generated profits for the NBA and its corporate partners, the samecannot be said for the NFL.  Thinkabout it, can you name an NFL player that captures the global imagination?
WhenMichael Jordan was playing, he was one of the most recognizable people in theworld; Kobe Bryant's visits to Asia lead to mass hysteria.  Would any NFL player – past or present –elicit such reactions?  Despite thefact that the NBA erases these global realities from its economic picture, theNBA global success is very much a result of its emphasis on individual starsover teams. 
Likewise,the ascendance of dynasties within the NBA – Bulls, Lakers, Spurs, Celtics –,which has certainly enhanced the NBA's brand, is reflective of the structure ofthe NBA.  In many regards, the NBAsystem is superior even though David Stern and the owners seem intent on slowlyundermining what has been successful for the league in so many ways.      
Whatis most striking, however, is Whitlock's celebration of the NFL as an idealmodel for the entire nation.  Shouldthe NBA and the nation at large emulate the model provided by the NFL giventhat: 21 former NFL players recently sued the NFL for not protecting playersagainst the harms of concussions. Inthe lawsuit, they "accuse the NFL of deliberately omitting or concealingyears of evidence linking concussions to long-term neurological problems."
Isthe NFL the ideal business and social model, given that: according to a 2006Study in the St. Petersburg Times,for every year an NFL player spends it the league, it takes 3 years off hislife expectancy.  In other words,given that the average career of an NFL player is 4 years, his life expectancywill be 55 (as opposed to 75, the national average for American males).  Putsuccinctly by Greg Doyle, "The NFL is killing its players, literallyleading them to an early grave -- and now the NFL is trying to kill them evenfaster.  That's a fact, people."  While some may call this rhetoric incendiaryand hyperbolic, consider that in 2010, almost 280 players spent time on injuredreserve, with 14 suffering head injuries, 13 experiencing neck injuries, andone dealing with spine injury. 
Hey,Jason, is this the model of success you are speaking of? Or are you writingabout the poverty, joblessness and despair facing former players.  Accordingto studies, "78 percent of former NFL players, two years after their lastgame are either bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed."  Given thatrecent NFL players see poverty rates twice as high as those comparablenon-athletes (with similar college education), it is hard to imaginesomeone advocating replicating this system. Yet, we get this piece.  Evident in the heightened levels ofpoverty, unemployment, and inequality throughout the United States, Whitlockmay get his wish as all industries seem to mirror the organization of the NFL.
Whitlockalso regurgitates the often-cited claim about NFL "strengthening the poor."  Given the above statistics, the NFLclearly doesn't "strengthen the poor," but rather profits off the labor of notonly the players but also the many near minimum-wage workers that fill the manyjobs in stadiums across the United States.  Beyond the inequalities between owners and all other workerswithin professional sports, the sports-media-industrial complex thrives becauseof government subsidies and public investment.  NFL owners, and not America's poor, have benefited from asystem build upon public support, tax-breaks and other financial incentives forstadium construction. 
Asnoted by Dave Zirin, "The building of publicly funded stadiums has become asubstitute for anything resembling an urban policy."   The promise ofjobs and redevelopment has been a fairytale, told over and over again as theowners increase their profit margin. One has to wonder if Jason Whitlock really wants to see the NFL style ofgovernance transcend the gridiron into all walks of life, because one can onlyimagine our society going from one ruled by the 1% to one ruled, owned, and controlledby the .1%. 
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David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of CriticalCulture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. Hehas written on sport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing inboth popular and academic mediums. His work explores the political economy ofpopular culture, examining the interplay between racism, state violence, andpopular representations through contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis. Leonard's latest book After Artest: Race and the Assault on Blackness will bepublished by SUNY Press in May of 2012.[image error]