To those of you who sit in the press box, How True is this statement?

"In 2007, I am one of two or three African Americans in the press box," Rhoden said.

True or False?

 

Combining the people who also cover the teams I do, I know of one.

Given the area, that's par for the course.

But I doubt his claim.

 

In which press box? The last basketball game I covered, I'd say about a half-dozen African-American reporters were there and the last high school game I covered, I wrote right next to another.

I wonder if Rhoden looks at numbers before he writes anything.

 

For Rhoden to sit in a press box it would be the Knicks, the Jets, the Giants, the Yankees, the Mets, NBA and NFL playoffs, the NCAA tournament and maybe the BCS Championship. Only 2 or 3 African Americans from across the nation cover these games?

 

If he's talking about press row at, say, a Celtics game, he might be off by one.

 

If the press box is in any of the five cities where I cover college or pro games in this state, he'd be right. If he's talking about a national event like the Final Four or Super Bowl, of course not.

 

is there an icon for one-trick fucking pony?

 

At a national event, obviosuly the statement is preposterous.
But consider the 7 NYC area papers who travel regularly with most of the NY teams --- Times, News, Post, Newsday, Star-Ledger, The Record, Gannett Westchester-Rockland -- and tell me how many black beat writers there are on all of the major beats combined.

 

If I am sitting in the press box, one of my co-workers isn't there. He's the only consistent one covering three major Division I universities.

 

I've been in the press box of college and pro games where there were only two or three African-Americans present. I wouldn't say it's the usual circumstance, but it's not all that rare.

 

rhoden or heyabbott?

 

Just going by the game I covered Sunday, there were four African-American sports writers on my row, and at least half a dozen more on the second and third rows.