Journalism, and sports journalism in particular, has always had a problem with athletes of color. Racist narratives have floated around the careers of Jackie Robinson and Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali—more recently, Serena Williams, Shohei Ohtani, and Naomi Osaka are just a few of a litany of 21st-century athletes to get unequal treatment under the harsh limelight based on their race. The unassailable National Football League has seen its shield damaged in recent years—coming under fire for creating race-based tiers for post-career compensation for deteriorating mental health, racial discrimination in coaching and front-office hiring practices, and ceiling after glass ceiling for athletes of color looking to succeed in predominantly white position groups. Even in leagues dominated by Black athletes, the same twisted viewpoints rear their ugly heads over and over again.
Aaron Rodgers, QB — $50.3 million per year | Stephen Curry, PG — $53.8 million per year |
Deshaun Watson, QB — $46.0 million per year | Joel Embiid, C — $49.0 million per year |
Patrick Mahomes, QB — $45.0 million per year | Jimmy Butler, SF — $48.8 million per year |
Josh Allen, QB — $43.0 million per year | Kevin Durant, SF — $48.6 million per year |
Derek Carr, QB — $40.5 million per year | Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF — $45.6 million per year |
Dak Prescott, QB — $40.0 million per year | Paul George, SF — $44.1 million per year |
Matthew Stafford, QB — $40.0 million per year | Kawhi Leonard, SF — $44.1 million per year |
Kirk Cousins, QB — $35.0 million per year | Damian Lillard, PG — $44.1 million per year |
Russell Wilson, QB — $35.0 million per year | LeBron James, SF — $42.8 million per year |
Jared Goff, QB — $33.5 million per year | James Harden, SG — $42.8 million per year |
Carson Wentz, QB — $32.0 million per year | John Wall, PG — $42.8 million per year |
Aaron Donald, DT — $31.7 million per year | Luka Dončić, PG — $42.5 million per year |
Matt Ryan, QB — $30.0 million per year | Trae Young, PG — $42.5 million per year |
Tyreek Hill, WR — $30.0 million per year | Russell Westbrook, PG — $41.4 million per year |
Ryan Tannehill, QB — $29.5 million per year | Rudy Gobert, C — $41.0 million per year |
Athletes highlighted in blue are white. Sources: OverTheCap, Spotrac.
Unlike the NFL, where most of the highest-paid, most-endorsed players are white quarterbacks despite the majority-Black league, NBA stars are mostly Black athletes. LeBron James just became the first active NBA billionaire—whatever glass ceiling preventing Black NBA players from succeeding on or off the court has long since been shattered. However, as social media has invited fans deeper and deeper into the lives of these players, on-court performance suddenly becomes less important to a player’s brand, especially as compared to his off-court persona. Take Draymond Green, for example. He’s been the third most important part of the Golden State Warriors’ dynastic run, playing more games than Steph and Klay since he was drafted in 2012 while netting a Defensive Player of the Year trophy to go with his three rings and two Olympic gold medals. Basketball-Reference.com thinks he’ll be in the Hall of Fame after he retires. Nevertheless, for such a storied career, his off-the-court endorsements don’t measure up. Green’s biggest off-court signing is with Converse’s now-fledgling (but hopefully resurgent!) basketball brand. He’s also recently signed with Turner Sports—perhaps to land a coveted seat alongside Shaq, EJ, Kenny, and Chuck after he retires. More likely, he’ll be lost in the constantly shuffling quagmire that is sports commentating, where the best announcers keep their jobs for decades, making it nearly impossible to climb up the ladder. Kelly Oubre also has the same Converse deal alongside plenty of other brand deals, but unlike Draymond, he’s a 15-and-4 role player.
What’s the difference?
Kelly Oubre is an almost white-passing light-skinned basketball player—the archetype that fans on Twitter, in arenas, and even on podcasts and television shows tend to elevate. Think Damian Lillard, Trae Young, or LaMelo Ball. These players will get more coverage—and more positive coverage—than their counterparts of darker complexions. Similar to how commentators will call Luka’s assists the “right kind” of passes as compared to Harden’s “cheap assists.” Why does Damian Lillard get to be a top 75 NBA player of all time despite living in Steph Curry’s shadow in the Western Conference his whole career, while Dwight Howard was the best center in the NBA for almost a decade and hauled a lackluster 2009 Magic team all the way to the Finals and still gets snubbed? LaMelo is perceived as one of the best young players in the league in Charlotte—surely Oklahoma City isn’t so hidden away that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has to fade into obscurity?
On the other side of the colorism spectrum, players like Draymond and Patrick Beverley are seen as angry and dangerous—Luka also picks up plenty of technical fouls, yet he never gets the same label, instead being infantilized and considered whiny.
Another side of this colorism is the subsequent fetishization of these lighter-skinned players. A player like Jordan Poole, who has recently been anointed unofficial Splash Brother number three, is considered an eligible bachelor for people to fawn or lust over or make memes about him.
No one would make such a claim about Andrew Wiggins, arguably just as important to Golden State’s offense. Why?
Jordan Poole’s ascension to Warriors royalty alongside Steph and Klay is no surprise. The “Splash Brothers” moniker elevates two light-skinned basketball players above the rest of the team—past important cogs to the Warriors’ dynasty like Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andre Igoudala, and even Kevin Durant. Not to diminish the importance of those two future Hall of Famers. But how come those two earned the rabid fanbase around them, garnering millions of All-Star votes even while out for injury, while Draymond has to embody the villain role? Unfortunately, narratives drive everything in the NBA, from brand deals to contract negotiations. “Conventional attractiveness” creating perceptions around the fairer-skinned players in the NBA means that James Harden gets more flak for “foul-hunting” than Trae or Luka—even though all three of them end up at the line for around eight free throw attempts a game.
As the NBA Finals continue, the brunt of the spotlight will be largely on Steph and Jayson Tatum—regardless of how they play down the stretch. Will Jaylen Brown get his just desserts? No one’s scored more points in this series thus far. Andrew Wiggins has been playing inspired basketball—but will he be relegated to a footnote in the media run-up as the Splash Brothers dominate media coverage?
Fans and analysts alike should stay cognizant of how colorism can creep into their coverage and try to look at basketball narrative-free for once. These are real human beings—just because they are world-class basketball players and are in the public eye doesn’t mean fetishizing them is okay. And noticing the narrative construction that diminishes the play of some players based on skin tone will only benefit coverage from an analyst and a fan perspective.
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