"Privileged"

The NBA presents an interesting context within which to talk about society. It is represented, by all accounts, overwhelmingly by players of color. You could watch any NBA game on any given night and this would be clear as day. Today, in The Players' Tribune, Kyle Korver, a shooting guard for the Utah Jazz published an online article titled, "Privileged." Despite the fact that most NBA players are players of color, there have been numerous incidents this year and in years past of incidents of racism toward players from fans. The most recent one might be when Russell Westbrook's team (OKC) visited the Utah Jazz where a fan said some really nasty words to Westbrook. This is all the more shocking since even the Jazz has many of players of color. In "Privileged," Korver talks about this incident, as well as another earlier one involving his teammate Thabo Sefolosha. The latter incident was especially shocking, since it was clear that Thabo being a person of color led to the altercation leading to his arrest/injury and eventual settlement with NYPD.

Korver acknowledges his own blindness to the situation at hand and wonders how he can become an agent for change/solution rather than sitting idly by on the sidelines. He charges those in positions of "privilege" (i.e. in his case, white players and/or owners) to stand up for what is right and fight for true equity among everyone involved. The article has been received very positively by his colleagues as well as other professional athletes, coaches, and analysts.

When I read this article, I couldn't help but wonder about this idea of being "privileged" even within my own sphere of influence, namely, higher education/academia. This past year and a half, I have had many discussions with friends and colleagues, and it seems to me that academia remains largely a system that benefits those with a particular profile. Various institutions talk about pursuing "diversity" within their personnel,  but too often this is just lip service and actual practices do not bear this out. Numerous theological institutions are struggling to deal with this issue. It seems rather crass to see that many schools will happily accept revenue from a particular demographic while failing to cede positions of influence within their own leadership to represent that demographic. I would liken it to throwing a few crumbs by the wayside while reserving the best for the privileged. We have seen with the recent college scandal that higher education is in dire need of serious overhaul since as it currently stands it is often those "privileged" who get into the best schools. If this is true about getting into the best schools, then this is true even thereafter: the (academic) job market. Those "privileged" start far ahead of the game from everybody else, and it leaves everyone else scrambling to catch up (if that's even possible).

If universities and theological schools want to tout themselves as bastions of knowledge, freedom of thinking, and progress, then they must consider how they have been complicit in practices that have favored the "privileged." If sports professionals can do it, then why not academics?