"Winter Games look like a GOP convention"

Who said the following?

"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games: Count me among those who don't like them and won't watch them … try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks, who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention."

None other than the guy on the right who seems to not have an issue with all white people.

La Shawn adds:

Having slept with white women while still married to his black wife (and mother of his children) of over 25 years and leaving her for a white woman, I guess Gumbel has the expertise to speak about the whiteness of things such as the Winter Olympics and GOP conventions.

And Jeff is just as blunt:

Of course, no one has thought of Bryant Gumbel as being black since long before Michael Jackson stopped being black. And who knew Bryant would screw a Republican?

Hopefully Gumbel will be notified of this news:

Shani Davis knew what he was doing. Davis became the first African-American to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history Saturday, capturing the men's 1,000-meter speedskating race.

...

Davis trains at the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich., in the summer and is a junior at Northern Michigan.

No word yet on Davis' political affiliation.

Comments

[matt]

Gumbel's words are getting tons of air play up here in Canada on sports talk, and everyone is wondering why he hasn't lost his job yet. How do you say that and still get as much face time as he does. Just wondering if anyone is calling for his job south of the 49th parallel or if they are lauding him as hero.

[Michael]

While I actually agree about Bryant Gumbel's comments being out-of-place and counterproductive, I come at it from the angle of the left. Discouraging blacks from watching the Olympics is entirely the wrong way to increase the amount of minority athletes.

However, that being said, Shani Davis' win does nothing to take away the fact of representation in the Olympics. Just because one of the few that are there won a gold doesn't mean overall numbers suddenly increases.

Good spin though.

[Jeff H]

Michael: how would you "remedy" the alleged paucity of members of color on the various national teams competing in the Winter games? Set up racial quotas? Run public service announcements starring Snoop Dog urging young black kids to take up luge?

Here's the simplest answer: move basketball from the summer games to the winter games.

That should even things out.

[MarcV]

While it seems to make sense to move basketball to the Winter Olympics, every event has to involve a form of solid water, either snow or ice. Unless they can play on an ice-rink, basketball stays in the Summer Olympics.

Did anybody else see the Shani Davis interview after he won the gold medal? It felt like I was watching a skit from "Saturday Night Live", waiting for Nat X to pop up. I'm guessing you could find the interview somewhere on the 'net. Funny stuff.