Mr. White's speech to the legislature was treated as misbehavior, on the order of Dennis Rodman's transvestite antics or the various assaults, drug arrests, and rape charges that have become so common on the sports pages. Besides homophobia, Mr. White was charged with racism. Together, he said, human beings in all of their diversity make up the image of God. You just can't say that kind of thing anymore, said the analysts around the watercoolers. Professional sports has no room for such racism, said the radio call-in shows.
Racism is supposedly an act of power and oppression.
Even if the black man has been allowed by the white racist culture to enjoy a measure of apparent success, including presumably multimillion-dollar NFL contracts and the adulation of football fans everywhere, he remains a victim. This principle has been widely used to excuse the overt antisemitism of Elijah Muhammed and the anti-Korean violence in the Rodney King riots. As for the alleged racial stereotypes, set aside that Mr. White was not being hateful toward these races but affectionate, that he was calling for the races to appreciate each other and to get along, hardly the message of a racist. The multicultural movement thrives on precisely these kinds of cultural generalizations-and often ones that are much worse and, in fact, genuinely racist. Some of Mr. White's critics say that he is entitled to his beliefs, but that it was inappropriate to voice them before such an august and official audience of state lawmakers.