Stereotyping of Athletes

Recently in class we have been talking about the minstrelsy dynamic in class, and the stereotyping of athletes, as people who should just “shut up and play”. To me, this reminded me of Kevin Durant’s MVP speech last year, where he thanked all the people who helped him get to where he was. He was most emotional when talking about his mom, at one point telling her that she was the real MVP. This line has been made fun of so many times, and while many people acknowledge it as a touching speech, others discount it, saying he shouldn’t be crying the day before a game, that he is soft for being emotional, and that he should just focus on beating the other team. This instance really helps illustrate the dynamic that athletes in pro sports experience. Kevin Durant has had to alter his personality and appearance in order to be more marketable, and this is simply not right. The image that all athletes have to be well-trained, focused, machines who play hard and be tough isn’t a fair stereotype to push all athletes into.

Another example of KD receiving criticism for acting “soft” was when with the playoff series tied 2-2, and his teammate Russell Westbrook shooting 3 free throws with the Thunder down by 2, he sat down on the court and looked away. Apparently, this is wrong, and as an athlete he should be able to stand there and watch. He needs to be able to cope with the tension of the situation because that’s what is expected of him as a superstar in the NBA. If he wants to have fans, get endorsements, and be liked, he doesn’t have a choice but to adopt a persona; he is just another performer who does what the crowd wants him to do.

Kevin Durant has been forced to change his personality simply because of the media and the fans. After criticism following the 2012 NBA finals that he was too much of a “nice guy”, and didn’t have the killer instinct needed to win the title, he responded. During his 2010-11 season, Durant had 3 technical fouls, in 2011-12 he had 5 technical fouls. In 2012-13, after the criticism, he had 12 technicals, and last year he tied for the league lead with 16 technicals. This drastic increase didn’t happen by random chance; Durant was told that he had to be more fiery on the court, and he doesn’t have a choice but to please the crowd, at the core, he is an entertainer and nothing more, his actual personality is rendered meaningless because the fans and media, most of whom have never even met Durant, deem it unfit for an athlete.

Gunnar and Basketball

Basketball in the White Boy Shuffle is a central theme to Gunnar’s development as a character. However, in the book, it doesn’t function in the way that we might expect given his situation and where he lives. In the media and in many stories, basketball is often portrayed as a way out for people who live in tough situations in rough neighborhoods with gang activity and the like. Being a gifted basketball player represents a chance at getting out of the situation that many young black kids are stuck in. NBA stars talk about how basketball helped them avoid the toxic situations they grew up in and succeed in the world despite their surroundings. Both Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose grew up on the south side of Chicago, and they are just two of many who received chances to escape because of basketball.

However, in this book, basketball is portrayed completely differently, especially after Nick and Gunnar reach high school. Nick absolutely hates the attention that he gets, and Gunnar is pretty uncertain about it himself. The public scrutiny on both of them is too much, and Gunnar seems to prefer his reputation as a poet to being cast as a star basketball player. Its almost as if hanging out with Psycho Loco and the gang provides an escape for Gunnar from the scrutiny and attention he receives because of his basketball skills, where Gunnar can just be himself and not worry about pleasing anybody.

When Gunnar goes to basketball camp, the kids he rooms with talk basketball all the time, and seem to truly have a passion for the game. In Gunnar’s case, he is just supremely naturally talented, but never seems to show that much drive to want to get better or desire to play basketball at a high level. His energy goes into being a good poet and writing poems, that is what he seems to be truly passionate about. Being the poet for the gang and defeating other gangs’ poets gives him more pride than anything he achieves on the basketball court. We see his indifference firsthand at the end of his first game at Phillis Wheatley high, he misses one free throw on purpose when he has a chance to win the game, marveling at the power he has to send everyone into frenzied celebration or send everyone home disappointed, before making the second one, he muses that he has hypnotic power over the crowd. I think that the point being made here is that there is more to Gunnar than just being a basketball player; even when he first starts playing ball in the park, when people tell him he is a baller he resents the “pigeonholing” even though he enjoys the fact that he no longer feels so out of place. The book is trying to make clear that Gunnar isn’t just a supremely gifted athlete, and that Nick Scoby isn’t just a guy who never misses a basketball shot, but that they each have their own identity outside of basketball.

Chapter 4: Gunnar's Transformation

In the 4th chapter of the White Boy Shuffle, Gunnar goes through a pretty serious transformation. In this long episode, he goes from being an awkward misfit who seems out of place in his Hillside surroundings to by the end of the chapter seeming much more comfortable in his surroundings and more outgoing. One question that comes up during this transformation is what changes between Gunnar’s awkward attempts to make friends and assimilate earlier and his newfound confidence and self-assurance in the latter part of chapter 4. Nicholas Scoby is a key part of this transformation, as he is the first one of the cool kids/in crowd to accept Gunnar. When Gunnar first approaches Nick, it seems very similar to events during the summer that usually resulted in him getting beaten up. However Nick has a different attitude towards Gunnar, talking to him and accepting him as part of the group. Once Gunnar feels like he belongs, a lot of the tension goes away and he begins to act cool in his new environment. His innate talent for basketball helps him and he begins to interact with new people. Gunnar talks about how there is a certain rite of passage that one must pass to be part of the group in Hillside,and that nobody trusts you until you prove yourself trustworthy. Basketball becomes his identity in the town and his new haircut and the way he dresses represents that.

One other thing that occurs in Chapter 4 that represents the social dynamic is Hillside. When Gunnar says hi to Psycho Loco, Nick hears about it and tells Gunnar that he is now going to be involved in the gang’s activities as Psycho Loco will ask him for favors because he likes Gunnar. This brings up the question of how far Gunnar will go for his friends. When Gunnar gets beaten after going to play basketball with Nick and his friends, he thinks of it as taking a beating for friendship. These episodes made me wonder how far Gunnar is willing to go for his friends, it seems like he was willing to directly disobey an order for the sake of friendship, but how far does this go? This dynamic in the book seems like a subplot that could become relevant; Gunnar has to find a balance between pleasing his friends and going to jail, which could be increasingly difficult to do if he indeed is to become a part of Psycho Loco’s friend circle.