Racism
I'm wondering about the most recent comment by Jermaine O'Neal of the NBA, saying that imposing a 20-year old age limit on people entering the NBA is racist. I can see both sides of the argument. I cannot name you one Caucasian who has skipped college and went straight to the NBA from high school, so maybe Jermaine has a point there. I would also like to believe that the powers that be at the NBA offices did not even think of race when pondering this rule change. I really don't see where it will have that much of an impact on a truly gifted basketball player. So maybe a young man will have to wait until 2 years after high school to make millions, SO WHAT? I have been around 40 years and probably haven't made a total of a million dollars. I don't think Jermaine understands how things are in the real world. You see, Jermaine came right out of high school to the NBA back in 1996.
When I finished high school my parents were paying for my college, I never knew about student loans. I had heard of student loans but I thought they were for the extremely poor. I would like to thank my high school guidance counselors for that little mistake. After going to college for 2 years, I figured there was no reason for my parents to have to keep paying for a degree that I was NOT going to be able to get in 4 years. Now I understand that anyone can go to college -- IF they have the Grades, and sometimes even if you don't have the grades, especially if you are an athlete or a minority. Anyone can get a federal student loan too. Oh if only I knew then what I know now, or something like that.
Dear Jermaine,
When I got out of high school, I went to college and worked part-time making minimum wage (at the time it was $3.35), after about a year and a half of that, I decided that I and my family needed the money more than the schooling. Anyway, by this time I was making $4.00 an hour. A couple of years after that I found a job that had health insurance, paid holidays and vacations. A few years after that I was able to start a family, oh by the way, I was now working at a factory. A factory where it was unbearably hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. It was basically a factory with a leaky roof and paper-thin walls. I worked along side 100 other American Dreamers, who thought we were living the American Dream. We were all making at least $10.00 an hour with paid insurance and a few other benefits. It didn't matter that some of the people I worked along side couldn't read or write, we had cash in our pockets. I have worked with people of all races and I have worked with racists. I do not believe in my heart that it is racially motivated to set an age limit on a job. That is actually all the NBA is to the players, -- a job. I truly feel that it would help young men to mature a little before having to go to work. Waiting until you are 20 years old to start making over a million dollars a year is a very, very small price to pay, no matter what color you are.
Thank you for your time,
Benny Hill
When I finished high school my parents were paying for my college, I never knew about student loans. I had heard of student loans but I thought they were for the extremely poor. I would like to thank my high school guidance counselors for that little mistake. After going to college for 2 years, I figured there was no reason for my parents to have to keep paying for a degree that I was NOT going to be able to get in 4 years. Now I understand that anyone can go to college -- IF they have the Grades, and sometimes even if you don't have the grades, especially if you are an athlete or a minority. Anyone can get a federal student loan too. Oh if only I knew then what I know now, or something like that.
Dear Jermaine,
When I got out of high school, I went to college and worked part-time making minimum wage (at the time it was $3.35), after about a year and a half of that, I decided that I and my family needed the money more than the schooling. Anyway, by this time I was making $4.00 an hour. A couple of years after that I found a job that had health insurance, paid holidays and vacations. A few years after that I was able to start a family, oh by the way, I was now working at a factory. A factory where it was unbearably hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. It was basically a factory with a leaky roof and paper-thin walls. I worked along side 100 other American Dreamers, who thought we were living the American Dream. We were all making at least $10.00 an hour with paid insurance and a few other benefits. It didn't matter that some of the people I worked along side couldn't read or write, we had cash in our pockets. I have worked with people of all races and I have worked with racists. I do not believe in my heart that it is racially motivated to set an age limit on a job. That is actually all the NBA is to the players, -- a job. I truly feel that it would help young men to mature a little before having to go to work. Waiting until you are 20 years old to start making over a million dollars a year is a very, very small price to pay, no matter what color you are.
Thank you for your time,
Benny Hill
posted by Benny at 11:59 AM
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