Very interesting article... perhaps it's just my 'blissfully ignorant' white perception having never been forced to look through the eyes of anything else bus just that... but I never even thought of Kimbo from those angles until now. I would be interested to read more articles from this guy about his views on guys like Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, or even more extreme 'leaders' such as Farrakhan and the ever-so-popular Rev. Wright (which he obviously dislikes).

Regardless, I still admire Kimbo for changing his life. According to a lot of veteran MMA stars, he is taking MMA very seriously and dedicating himself to training. Perhaps the author is right... he is a willing-pawn of Shaw's and Kimbo shares part of the blame for "clowning for dollars" (as the author describes it) in playing up the stereotypes of the "...a runaway slave with a mouth full of gold teeth playing up every single stereotype of an African-American male in exchange for short-lived adoration from a soulless media with ADD" (again, authors words). So is Kimbo the problem or our pop culture that idolizes the easy-ride to the top?

http://fightlinker.com/blog/?p=2192

fightlinker says granderson is a racist...

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

I thought this was an outstanding article, and I think it's especially appropriate for African Americans as it relates to MMA. MMA is the closest sport to the "sport of fighting." Given the predominant stereotypes of African Americans in the U.S., both contemporary and historical, it's important for people to discuss how racial stereotypes can play out through MMA. Thus far, star athletes like Rampage and Anderson Silva have not connected with the African American community to a large degree; nor have they perpetuated negative images of African Americans (the latter of which is a good thing). Kimbo on the other hand, may very well further cement images of the big, dangerous, criminal African American male, and he seems to be parlaying this image into wealth (or maybe he's just being used this way...I'm not quite sure). It's really difficult to discuss race in contemporary sport, so I appreciate this article. If nothing else, it will stimulate an important discourse. Unfortunately, Granderson will take a lot of heat for writing it.

i agree with good ole academics here. granderson never said being black was wrong or anything like that, and i agree a lot with academics here too: bring on the quote!!

saying someone is playing into sterotypes doesn't make you a racist.

sometimes i think fightlinker guys are on crack sometimes.

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

I don't know. I'm tending to disagree with Fightlinker on this one.

He's speaking from a perspective of probably never having been stereotyped or being part of a stereotyped group (although MMA fans in general are stereotyped.)

When you come from a group that is stereotyped (as Indians often are in Hollywood), I believe there is a greater sensitivity to not playing into that stereotype. It's easy to do what Kimbo is doing to make money. Much more difficult to break the mold and make your own way.

It would be easy for an Indian actor to wear a 7-11 shirt, drive a cab, and speak with an Apu-like accent and sell out too. But, I'm glad to see them playing doctors, scientists and other roles that are just as much a part of the culture.

African-Americans have a complicated relationship with American society. It's different from the relationship Indians have because for one thing, my parents came here voluntarily seeking a better life. They weren't part of a group that was brought here on slave ships and systematically destroyed as a people for two centuries.

Regardless, I still meet people who are surprised I don't have an accent or are surprised that I'm thoroughly imbued with American culture. And, in my opinion an Indian on TV who played to the naive, fresh off the boat monkey stereotype would be a step back.

These things matter. It's amazing but they really do.

And Kimbo is playing to a racist stereotype -- maybe he does or doesn't realize it.

I think it's excellent to be able to talk about this... and I am glad he wrote the article. I also disagree with Linkers assertion that it's a 'racist' article... controversial, yes - but not racist.

Stereotypes are difficult to talk about because to some degree there is truth behind them... what I mean is that there are SOME people within the population that can be identified as fitting that description (I think of the 'good ol boy' image associated with Texans for example). Sadly, while I think it is wrong to stereotype and make assumptions based on appearance, it is nearly impossible to NOT do. Kimbo had his look, image and for all intents was the same way now as he was prior to his rise to popularity on YouTube and now on XC. So Kimbo is not playing a role... I think (he thinks) this is the way he is and most comfortable... it's XC's embracement of that image that bothers me most...

BTW - Academics, you included Anderson Silva in talking about connecting with the 'African-American Community'... would he fall in to the 'catagory' of 'African American' being that he is Brazillian, and speaks virtually no English? He appears to be of African decesent in some way, but I always just thought of him as Brazillian...

Aha!!! Excellent point Sixtus. Indeed stereotypes tend to cause us to judge on a very superficial level. If someone as insightful and thoughtful as Academics falls victim to this, imagine how the rest of our population deals with all the images thrown at them on a daily basis.

Indeed, Silva is by no means African-American. In fact, I've met people from Africa who now live in this country who don't identify with African-American culture even though their appearances may be similar...

Another article on Kimbo and being on the cover, over on 411 mania:
http://www.411mania.com/MMA/columns/74536/The-Ground-and-Pound:-05.02.08...

Actually, the vast majority of my research prior to getting into MMA has been on racism in sports media (http://www.modelminority.com/article2.html) and racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. I've always been hesitant to discuss how racism gets played out in MMA because of the explosive nature of MMA media and those who read that media (not so much on FightTicker, but definitely on other MMA sites/message boards). Thus, if for no other reason, that made me appreciate Granderson's article. And I agree with Pramit, Kimbo does reify negative African American stereotypes. I think he challenges some stereotypes as well - but as I noted in my blog a few days ago, those aspects of his life (e.g., his high intelligence) are not highlighted by the media.

Doh! Yeah, thanks for pointing that out Sixtus - my bad. I actually have an article coming out in FIGHT! Magazine in a few months on how MMA has been more attactive to an upper-middle class audience than working class, especially in comparison to boxing. When I interviewed Antonio McKee for the article (who is African American), he talked about Anderson Silva being of African decent and therefore not connecting with African Americans, which very much falls in line with what you and Pramit noted above.

Yup, I wondered that too. Is the author of that blog entry on FightLinker Caucasian?

fightticker crashed when i tried posting this earlier...

believe it or not, this guy i'm we're drawing for wants a group of superhero kids, and one of the kids is indian...nothing wrong with that, it's a diverse bunch of kids, but she was the only one to be heavily stereotyped in the original drawings he had this other guy do. i was like, wtf is this? yeah she can be indian but she doesn't have to be fresh off the boat, none of the other kids are. it took a lot of convincing for this guy to change his mind.

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

i think he might be...

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

and i subsribe to fight! magazine!

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

Fightlinker (Ryan) is Canadian Caucasian...

You're my man Phoenix!!!! Thanks for standing up for what you believe in. An entire race thanks you. Word!

no problem man...you're welcome.

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

Someone else posted something in our comments which sums up what i think on the subject quite well, and i guess since it was a black female she has enough 'cred' to be listened to:

"Until you have to deal with all of the ridiculous notions that people have about African-Americans as a group, you can’t really appreciate how frustrating it is when you feel that someone is perpetuating those stereotypes."

See, I agree with that. What I don't agree with is the author basically screaming 'SLAVE SLAVE COON CIRCUS MONKEY SAVAGE' at Kimbo.

Dig the site, glad y'all read me from time to time and it's okay to disagree, means you think for yourself, which is always better than having sheep readers.

Throwing poop from his tree since 2006 (TUF NOOB stylez)
http://www.fightlinker.com

15frickshun

Hey Pramit, way to backdoor to your shitty site & opinions. Luckily, I won’t be clicking on your link. FAG.

wow...fightlinker gots some crazy people over there... i left them as nice message as well(not being sarcastic.)

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

exactly...maybe frickshun needs to read other sites opinions too. that was really childish.

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83

Good to have you on board fightlinker.

I'm not worried about frickshun. I replied to him on the fightlinker thread (nicely though I wanted to absolutely abuse him) -- I'm sure he's a first-class tool. Thanks for sticking up Phoenix.

the mmafia representin!

Underboss MMAfia

Head of the West Coast Family
ULTIMATE CHALLENGE CHAMPION UFC 83