Fear the Beard debate topic: ‘hood loyalty versus personal responsibility part II, Baron Davis interview edition.
Many thank yous to Yardbarker’s Pete Vlastelica and our own Guthrie Dolin for orchestrating the perfect forum for the continuation of this thread. And as the title insinuates, beard met beard today for some Q&A.
As some of you will remember, Baron Davis was quoted extensively in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated with regard to the pitfalls of ‘hood loyalty for the post-modern professional athlete. I blogged about it. Well, with Pete facilitating a conference call for a select crew of Yardbarker’s most faithful blog hacks, we had the chance to follow up on the issue with Baron himself. The question and answer went as follows.
FTB: Whatitdo B? You were recently quoted extensively in an issue of Sports Illustrated on the issue of ‘hood loyalty and I wanted to ask you a quick hypothetical. If the NBA put you in charge of leading next year’s rookie orientation, what would you have for the rooks?
BD: If they put me in charge of the rookie orientation, I would definitely invite a bunch of current and former guys to come in and talk about finances. I would show them a copy of my gang documentary, have different people from different walks of life, whether it’s rappers, or cops, people from prison, come in and just let people know that there are so many different people and so many different angles that people are going to come at you with. You know, I’d have, from the most successful people, to some of the shadiest businesspeople—that are caught by the law—just to let the rookies know that this is the real world and you can’t take anybody for granted. But, most importantly, just continue to follow the guidelines. And engage people in conversation in small seminars, so that they can open up and realize that with old and young NBA players, that we all go through the same thing. The game never changes, it’s just the names that do, so just having more current and former guys around (reiterating the same stories).
Make the jump to read Baron’s response to the follow-up question and get the rest of the FTB takes.
FTB: Right on. Following that up, especially for cats that are coming out of the ‘hood, what would you tell them to bring with them and never lose? And what would you tell them to leave behind?
BD: I’d tell them to take they heart. You know, take what got them out. Take that same drive, that hunger, and use that. As far as what your craft is, you know, be real on the court. Be real on the field. And from that point, look to empower people that want to be empowered in a positive way. But at the same time, keepin’ it real has lost its meaning. ‘Cause being real is being honest with yourself. A lot of guys, you know, they come from bad and negative situations. And sometimes they just want to continue to perpetuate that stereotype. And it’s not cool, ‘cause you don’t make it that way. And me being from the ‘hood—growing up in South Central and being around gangs, and you know, doing everything that I did in my childhood? If it wasn’t for me going the right way, then I probably wouldn’t have made it. You know, if I would have stayed a gangster, or continued to have kept it gangster, I wouldn’t have made it. You know, a lot of times we just have to be honest and real with ourselves and then take that and bring it back to the ‘hood and create positivity in our neighborhoods instead of continuing the negative stereotypes.
All of this begs the biggest question of all, the one that is for all of us. And it concerns the relationship between the heart of which BD speaks and the realities of life. The heart, that drive and hunger that gets people out of the ‘hood certainly becomes a potent weapon on the court, on the playing field. But in its perfect form it is not always be an isotope that can be controlled and released solely on the playing fields and in the arenas. It is volatile, despite being fired in a kiln of Nietzschian heat. And while this strength is cheered in the arena of sport, it is often judged harshly if it leaves it for the world of civilians.
But keeping it real is ultimately a personal decision. Keeping it real, as Baron noted, is—most certainly—being honest with yourself. And when any of us, athlete or otherwise, recognizes the ability to choose for ourselves the realness necessary and appropriate for a particular moment, we are liberated from the simple prisons constructed by the expectations of others.
Thanks to Baron Davis and Yardbarker for opening the door. And as always, the real show is in the comments field.
Daniel Turman
More of a commentary then a comment:
Blog nerds, checked.
Must say, that it was a fun and funny conference call. It certainly had a lot of pre-chatter by the all-star interview team. First in a far-fetched conspiracy theory email thread, then a little stand-up routine while we waited for BD to join. But all that confidant funny blogger-guy stuff melted away the instant that the baritone voice lazily spat “Baron Davisss” and the beard of Bay swagger got on the call.
It was a diverse group and some good questions were posed.
Again, big shout out to Pete and Dew from YB for their efforts. A beer at Ben ‘n Nick’s awaits your arrival. FTB is buying.
Audio, cock blocked.
I understand the issues and respect them, but it’s a shame that the audio of the interview can’t be posted. Mainly because BD is such a cool dude and on that call you could really get a sense of his personality. I think that’s one of the issues with his current bloggin’. You can’t get his intonation and the rhythm of his speech. It strikes me that’s one primary reason fans check out athletes blogs is for a window into who they are and what they are all about – ultimately looking to strengthen the affinity.
Perhaps Baron should consider taping (audio or video) his schpeel for YB more often. Add a little freestyle and watch the crowd go wild.
Baron, ka-killed it.
Like I said, a lot of good and diverse questions. Baron demonstrated his flexibility and poise addressing them all considerately and most thoughtfully. I’m biased, but the FTB question was the deepest and I felt it inspired the best and most interesting response of the session.
Skeets of The BasketBall Jones asked a question about the now infamous “bullet fedora” sported during the Mavs play-off series. After the comically framed question, I was pleasantly surprised with the meaningful response. But I’ll let The Jones tell ya ’bout that.
Hood loyalty, hold the Vick.
As mentioned, the root of DT’s question came from insights in the SI article on hood loyalty. It is a great article, but I took some issue with more sensationalized focus on the failure of Michael Vick, and those like him. I felt the section that explained how BD navigated his own situation was far more interesting. And really got to the core “what to take with you and what to leave behind”, as Dan put so well in his question.
I really like Boom’s perspective on this. And actually share BD’s dream of creating a community of friends where we all prosper together. No matter how “quixotic” some cynical writers may find it.
I thought it was interesting that Atma Brother ONE of GSoM asked the question about BD’s favorite Bay Area rapper and pressed him after the only response was YaBoy (with a lil’ nod to Too $hort and E-40). It makes perfect sense, given his bias to support and empower opportunities for firends and family. As I understand it YaBoy is a cousin AND he is on Tremaine Ross’ label, Precise Music Group. Ross is Baron’s childhood homie.
Personally, I like his flow, but YaBoy fascination with guns may effect his universal appeal and even “longevity” in the game. Tell him to ask Stack Jax ’bout that.
Growing up in East Oakland, with an extremely multicultural group of friends that span socioeconomic and racial lines, I have an interesting perspective on dealing with hood loyalty. For me, it is about maintaining true inner identity when the world is trying to force us into boxes. The skin color box. How much you make box. The clothes you sport and music you listen to box. This Hanukkah, it’s my dick in box.
Cat, gimme my damn tongue.
At the end, Baron asked the group a few questions about blogging pitfalls and what he could do to improve. As another rookie blogger, I really wanted to chime in, but the awkwardness of the “whose gonna’ talk next” got me a bit tied-up.
Baron, this was all I wanted to say. Play to your strengths. Have fun. Experiment. Avoid the anxiety of criticism. Stay real. And, most importantly, contrary to how you might feel at the time, you don’t write better when you’re drunk. Some of my bigger fauz paxs can be attributed to a 4th glass of wine.
Peace.
Gd.
Comment by guthriedolin | 12.7.2007 | 1:06 pm
Good for Baron Davis to able to look his past and present square in the eye, and to translate his experience - gang through NBA superstar - into advice the NBA front office should take seriously as they bring in next year’s group of rookies. It’s the responsibility of older (in my case I use the term loosely) retired NBA players and generationally challenged fans and sports media to understand that terms such as “hood loyalty” are not scary nor does it in any way set aside loyalty for team and all teamates irrespective of race, nor does it detract from true sports seninment. “HL” is simply reality. And in a one on one game between sports sentimentality and sports reality, I’ll pick reality to win every time.
Comment by Tom Meschery | 12.9.2007 | 12:14 pm
i would never think to connect Michael Vick and Baron Davis, so it was fascinating to see how the two stories were woven together in the Sports Illustrated article. Today Vick is sentenced to 23 months, while Baron is fine-tuning his blog skills. that alone is very telling. i like to think we all have options in this world. i think the hardest thing is recognizing those options.
great article Baron, with great words of advice. and props to DT for bringing the story to even more people. all love all around.
Comment by kelleybarry | 12.10.2007 | 6:02 pm
Kenny, are you reading us?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aozn2lDg85b9leoPQKEaT7.8vLYF?slug=ks-keepitreal121107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Comment by guthriedolin | 12.12.2007 | 12:44 am
I e-mailed him the quote when I saw that.
Comment by admin | 12.12.2007 | 12:37 pm
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