Good morning, City Desk. It’s the sixth day of January. How you doing with those New Year’s resolutions?
So…Mike Shanahan!
Guantanamo inmates from Yemen!
The Post‘s Michael Wilbon gives the Rev. Al Sharpton a big thumbs up this morning for taking to task the gun-toting Gilbert Arenas, one of the sports world’s “misbehaving black athletes.”
Sharpton can change the news cycle all by himself, and did when he called on black leaders and Commissioner David Stern to come down hard on Arenas. Sharpton has already spoken with Stern and told the New York Daily News, “The NBA needs to stand up and send a strong message by dealing with this situation.” Sharpton says his concern is a “culture of violence being perpetuated in professional sports.”
It’s a jolt to hear Sharpton be this critical of Arenas and a subculture of black athletes that has been involved in so many incidents of lawlessness for years and years. It’s nice of Sharpton to finally join this particular debate so long in progress.
Arenas, for his part, thinks it’s not so nice. He gives the good reverend a thumbs down. (Yes, Arenas hired that lawyer, but thank God for us, he’s still tweeting.)
A look at his feed from the past few hours:
– Al Sharpton comments ill try to be as nice as he was too me on my next tweet
– For a kid who does a lot of work for the black community I didn’t get the memo u were still one of our black leaders becuz if u was
– U wouldn’t have made a comment like that befor gettin all the fax str8..I hav black leaders tattooed on my leg I call it black rush more
– That’s Martin,Obama,Mr X,and Mandela..so next time before u wash ur hands of something pls hear the real story..God bless the black C
– @KevinJohnEllis yes I hav jesus tattooed on my ribs becuz he’s on my side
Oh, one more thing: Today’s Arenas’ birthday! I know this because he happened to mention it on Twitter, and because his Web site features a Happy Birthday Gilbert rap video (“Go GA/Cuz it’s your B-day/and tell the DJ/To put this thing on replay”).
Again, from his Twitter feed:
– Happy b-day to myself..gonna celebrate by ordering rm service..and sum hot chocolate..I sound borin to myself ..
If only, Gilbert…
Photograph by Freedom to Marry, Creative Commons Attribution License