The act and the reaction are sobering reminders of our need to grow in words and deeds.
In a March 5 report about the West Charlotte (NC) and Ardrey Kell basketball game, reporter Langston Wertz, Jr. of the Charlotte Observer wrote:
“As for Ardrey Kell, a successful season ended under a cloud of controversy and with a suspended star player. Several Knights’ families who attended the game declined to talk about the week’s events. After initially answering an Observer’s questions about the controversies preceding the game, another Kell parent ripped the page out of the reporter’s notebook containing her comments.”
Courtesy: Huffington Post
Now, if citizens weren’t aware of how much these schools mirror each other, they do now. One is rich. One is poor. It’s a mirror of society with an image we don’t want to acknowledge. Why? It’s because of what’s reflected–injustice of an educational system that is poorly managed by politicians who are highly influenced by the dollar.
Re-read the reporter’s words and ask what would prompt a person to think he/she had the right to rip a page from anyone’s notebook? My answer is arrogance–righteousness wrought from wealth or position or both.
Think about this. A Kell parent speaks of the events surrounding a high school basketball game. Then another parent (her husband?) rips the page of her comments from Wertz’s notebook.
Yes, a family, a school, and its coach have all apologized for a racial slur posted on social media. Apologies are good and necessary. However, that racial slur (any slur) comes from somewhere. That somewhere is more than a non-thinking 17-year-old basketball star playing for Kell.
What the Kell parent did to the reporter speaks more than all the apologies that have come from Kell. The act of invading anyone’s space–much less to take their property–is one of the highest acts of disdain.
I was not present at the game, but I wonder if the woman and the person who ripped the page from Wertz’s notebook are white. I wonder if the one who violently took the page is male. I don’t know, but I know that contempt like that is usually bred out of arrogance of being white and being well-to-do. It sometimes leads one to think he or she is above the rules that govern the rest of us.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the Kell parent acted like a Christian holding four aces. Every influence valued by our society is in his or her corner.
Racism is a sin–and like other sins–it can be concealed and denied. However, when a person shows such aggressive arrogance to a person doing his or her job, then that sin is revealed. How could anyone think that type of action is right?
The boy who posted the slur did not act in isolation. He and his environment need to be examined honestly. It is convenient to deny racism verbally, just like you would with envy, lust or any other sin. However, our acts expose who we are. It does not matter if the persons who engaged the reporter are white or black. The act of invading his notebook is wrong, as is the arrogance that feeds such acts.
In order to accommodate fans, the game had to be moved from the small (450 capacity) gym of West Charlotte. But part of me wishes that Kell players had to dress, play, and shower at West Charlotte.
I wish Kell fans had to drive to West Charlotte, sit in that small gym, and had a new experience. If that had happened, I believe they would have come away impressed and would have had their eyes opened.
It takes more than an apology or confession to eradicate sin. While either option is the first step to right living, actions are required to demonstrate an authentic change of heart.
Let’s all look in the mirror and see what’s honestly there. If the image is right, good. If it’s wrong, we need to work to change it authentically via our words and deeds.
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Editor’s note: On Wednesday night West Charlotte beat Kell, 69-53, in the NC 4A quarterfinals. Tension added pressure to the game. Read Wertz’s commentary here.
