A Difference in Judgement

The role of an athlete is to not just entertain, but to be something more than the shell of a human. Two athletes that were able to encapture their audiences were Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay. Even though the two athletes were similar in nature with their cockiness, Ali was discriminated for his actions while Ruth was this untouchable legend.

Writer Grantland Rice in his article, Game Called, romanticizes the life that Babe Ruth had led up to his death. The perspective of Ruth on the people is summed up when Rice states, "But Ruth was something more than a great ballplayer. He was an emblem, a symbol. No other athlete ever approached his color, not even the colorful Jack Dempsey, who had more than his share". The idea of believing in Ruth as something more than an athlete is great and all, but the actions of Ruth in the article can be perceived as despicable for anyone. Such as driving recklessly or hitting an officer, then being able to get away with it because of social status and name. By downplaying the gravity of these situations, it seems ridiculous that Ali was hated for believing in his own greatness while the Sultan of Swat was praised.

In Murray Kempton's article, The Champ and the Chump, the audience is able to see the distinction between the thoughts on Ali and what people would think of Ruth. The line from Kempton reads, "Suddenly almost everyone in the room hated Cassius Clay. Sonny Liston just looked at him. Liston used to be a hoodlum; now he was our cop; he was the big Negro we pay to keep sassy Negroes in line and he was just waiting until his boss told him it was time to throw this kid out". The tone from both pieces are drastically different as one great athlete is praised while the other is scorned for the same attitudes in their respective sports. It took years for people to recognize Ali because of his over-confidence, but to accept Ruth seems unreasonable.

This unreasonable atmosphere is caused by racism in the sports as the white athlete was just being one of the guys while the black athlete is seen as a savage. This polarizing atmosphere is still seen today as many athletes of color are criticized for their actions more than their white teammates. Despite being similar many people choose to separate them from each other. The separation does not end there as some also criticize athletes for simply speaking their mind on a hot topic and then telling them to just keep their mouth shut. This negative atmosphere attempts to end discourse in the sports world and leaves many wondering why an athlete never wants to give thorough descriptions on a game when they only see them as entertainment and not a person.