Friday Fiend! The NFL Draft and Racism, Clipse and A Bomb Weekend Track!

It’s a beautiful Friday afternoon, and I am off in a couple of hours to watch the Indians play the Twins in Cleveland this evening. Tomorrow is “Summer Sendoff” here at school where Clipse will perform. Without further ado, the things I am feindin for this weekend:

1) NFL Draft, my “guest blogger” Chase Updike wrote a gorgeous analysis of the NFL draft yesterday. Beyond that fascinating piece of writing, I read a very interesting Sociology article about race and the NFL draft by Dufur and Feinberg, published in Qualitative Sociology in December of 2008. 

The article points out the extreme power that the NFL teams have in the drafting process, where 51,000 athletes play college football and only about 200 are drafted. This allows for organizations to take all kinds of stereotypes into account, usually refered to  as “character issues”.

This is not to say that all teams abuse this power, and I am fairly confident that the best 200 college football players in the country are drafted. However, the draft is a powerful mechanism that lays the groundwork for many racial issues within the power structure of the NFL, especially because minority players, (which make up 75% of the league), according to the article, are more likely to view negative events as racist. Many players have grievances with the way that the NFL handles racial issues, but, starting with the draft, it is made clear that players are commodities that can generally always be replaced, and all of the power lies with the white owners. 

This is not to say that the NFL is a horrible racist institution, but its power dynamic is very effective in controlling players from speaking out, and this begins with the NFL draft.

So when you are watching the draft this weekend, keep in mind that it is more than entertainment, it paves the way for a power dynamic that supports institutionalized racism. 

2) Clipse!

I am pretty pumped to see Clipse at Sendoff, hopefully they will put on a good show.

Clipse Live at SXSW from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

Enjoy the sunny weekend! Here is a fun track:

get up get out, the Rosebuds (remix by the hood internet feat. Aesop Rock)

More from this category

• Thursday Takeover, Chase Updike gives his “Bro-Tastic” Analysis of the NFL Draft
• Macro Monday! Twitter and Sports.
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More from this author

• Thursday Takeover, Chase Updike gives his “Bro-Tastic” Analysis of the NFL Draft
• Macro Monday! Twitter and Sports.
• Friday Fiend! NBA Playoffs and A Weekend Jam