FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Jason Kidd is right.  He said what many Americans thought.  He asked the questions that needed to be asked and that still need to be answered.  In fact, he likely cost himself some money in the very way he called-out his employer to act on the misdeeds of his co-workers.
If we are wondering where I am going with this ramble just check out these two articles (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/08/13/spain.photo.ap/index.html, http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=aw-nbaspainphoto081308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns), then read on.

Kidd had every right to say what he said about the Spanish NBA players and how the NBA will deal with this situation, not only because he is a NBA leader, but also because he works in a nation that gives the right to freedom of speech.  Even though we have these written rights, we are still obligated to follow certain unspoken rules, especially when dealing with racial issues.  We in American have a willingness to be politically correct in our language and our actions and even though I am white, I can understand how the photo can be offensive and how the Spanish players can really have no defense for these actions.
This also answers why I have waited this long to write on this; I was hoping the NBA would have issued some sort of response to their Spanish players or tell everyone how they plan on handling their players on the Spanish squad.  The best way I can say it is that if I were to do this sort of thing or to say anything that could be racist and it got back to my place of employment and effected how that company was viewed publically, I would expect to either be fired, reprimanded, or have some sort of disciplinary action taken against me.  We all represent someone or something and we need to be able to justify our actions to those people or things.  So Kidd is still right.
Another reason that Kidd is right is that if this was an American misdeed, we would have been thrown out of the Olympics.  Not just the basketball team but any team in Beijing representing the United States.  Had our judo team made these jesters, they would be done.  Same with rowing, softball, gymnastics, etc. all would likely be sent home, forfeiting the rest of their games and any shot at medaling.  So another American value that this controversy brings up is that we believe that you make the bed that you lie in.  Kidd said it, I believe it, and we should all know our history in this topic.  People that spoke poorly about the Civil Rights Movement or spoke out and said that Black Americans would never be equal to Whites were proven wrong by all the support and progress made through the 1960s and 1970s (side note; I realize that Blacks and Whites in America face different hardships and are not equal on many levels, but for this piece let's not argue that fact).  Strom Thurman never lived down his comments about Black Americans and segregation and the Spanish should have to give a better answer than, "I was coaxed into it". 
One other thing I want to say is that we cannot fully judge the Spanish or any other Europeans.  The best way to show this is to have people look at how Europe is still dealing with racism in their favorite past-time of football/soccer.  Wikipedia has a whole page describing racist events in the different leagues and competitions throughout the world, but the page mostly focuses on Europe.  We in the Western Hemisphere still see racism as a problem, but we generally don't experience it as intense as Europe still does.  Is this an excuse, of course not, I feel that we need to know the situation better.  As a white male, I cannot make remarks regarding race, gender, etc. unless I want some action taken against me.  But if I had grown-up in an intercity or poor neighborhood where all my friends and neighbors were also poor, but also happened to be Black or Mexican or Armenian or whatever, could I not interact differently with these groups than with a suburban, rich white male.  I believe in circumstances affecting how we are, but to not know what is culturally acceptable or to not know what is offensive is irresponsible.
The Spanish players need to be responsible to their country, employer, team, and sport to make sure this issue is dealt with properly and that they learn from this mistake and to make sure that something like this does not happen again.

Parting Shot:
I have only seen one of the Redeem Team's games.  Let's have a replay of their weekday games during the evenings so people like me that work can actually see them redeem themselves.