THE RUB OF IDENTITY

Identity is non-negotiable truth about none other than yourself. That might be why names are so important. People legally change their names from Buford to Antonio but the identity remains. When the Lakers were eliminated from the 2011 NBA Playoffs on Sunday most people maligned them because they felt the Laker identity had been breached. And the pundits and callers on radio stations citywide chimed in to reinforce this. They claimed that the franchise is above goonish antics, that Mr. Buss is a class act and that the actions of Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum did not reflect those of true Lakers. This was chatter about the same Lakers whose studded alumni roster includes Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Each of the men mentioned were stellar in his own right but at times demonstrated severe lapses in judgement on and off the court. Try as you might, there is no explaining away of the fact that “all have sinned and fall short…” No truer maxim has ever been uttered.

Nevertheless, there is a shameless ignorance that pervades society and recreates reality so that fools think they’re better than the poor depraved animals on television. Is the clear difference between my mistakes and those of a 7-foot tall millionaire simply that his mistakes are public and mine aren’t? And the banter of Colin Cowherd and Steven A. Smith would make you an idealist in 10 minutes. They would have you believe that we (the fans) have the innate right to judge without asking questions. By the tone of voice, the intimidating command of a wide breadth of knowledge, one listens and buys the notion that when a Laker embrarasses himself by acting brutish, he is deviating. Chances are that he is deviating from himself but not from his employer nor from the ethic of the National Basketball Association. The culprit in question, the Bynums of the world are merely reflecting the fragile mixture that is high stakes iconoclasm. High stakes iconoclasm means that if you create gods out of athletes, one day they’ll act like one. And there’s little one can do on the back end of such a creative genius save throw that god under the bus.

Identities aren’t changed overnight but they can be recognized in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye when a Flagrant 2 foul is committed by the team getting blown out on national television. The question is whether or not such recognition moves us toward honest reflection on how we arrived to the point where we are.