Marvin Lewis, coach of the Bengals was on the 4-Letter Sports Network, and made an honest mistake...of being honest.
When asked if the Bengals were profiled by the Cincinnati police, Lewis had the temerity to point out - politely - that getting written up and publicized for not turning on your blinker is a bit extreme.
Whoops.
Of course, human nature is such that once you have a reputation for trouble, such as the Bengals do, you are going to have walk a straighter line. Everything, no matter how minor, gets magnified. Lewis basically said as much. Of course, in the minor furor afterwards, this was ignored.
The unspoken undercurrent here is the low reputation that the Queen City Police Department has in the local black community. Since 1995, the police have shot 22 black men, 13 of them fatally. While some of those incidents were justified, others were - to put it nicely - questionable. Any talk of racial profiling has to take that into account
The Bengals have justly been ripped for their indiscretions in the past, and should be held to a high standard, both by their management, fans, and the NFL. None of that ever justifies profiling based on status, race, or profession.
Lewis offered a clarification/apology the next day. As someone who has been on the wrong end of a racial profile (not in Ohio), I’m sorry he did so. Too often, speaking truth is usually followed by a backpedal worthy of Champ Bailey.
Kudos to Marvin for making the attempt. I just wish he had stuck to his convictions.
Sorry, I missed the hubub over Lewis's comment. If a person really did experience something beyond a traffic citation for not using a blinker, I would agree that it would be appropriate to point out that such police action would be su####iously harsh. And it certainly wouldn't be surprising.
I'm certain that racial bias has existed among police officers, as it has among all elements of society, and likely still does in many places/organizations. But I also believe that many officers now adopt a "gotcha" mentality, vs. the helping/protecting mentality of old. Overzealous prosecution and aggressive policing are commonplace now. The officer that exercises judgment and an awareness of the importance of a balanced judgment, vs. absolute technical compliance, is increasingly rare (and valuable). It sounds as though this is one more instance of "gotcha" policing, vs. policing grounded in good judgment.
the sad fact is that officers in Ohio are murderers. they shoot 9 year old little girls at funerals... funerals for someone else shot by the police. they shoot in vehicles as theyre leaving weddings, get the image clearly: bullet holes in tuxedos. it even rhymes. i think one area of discontent is that there is a dichotomy in the way various communities view the police. police often roll thru the ####' harassing, intimidating and often abusing the very people they are supposed to protect. its called profiling. they call it good police work. and no matter how awful the abuse, the white community stands up for them. i've been living with a white woman for 4 years now and i am convinced that they are conditioned to believe that coppers = protection. my youngest brother is half-white ad grew up in a rich charleston neighborhood. I believe a cop could take a #### on the hood of his car and my lil bro would find a way for it to be a good thing. it wasnt until my wife and i got stopped a few times (7 in 3 years with no tickets), and they searched our vehicle a couple of times without permission that she finally understood: perfectly balanced men and women (black and white) lose their god-damned minds when they put on the badge. we got so tired of being pulled over and riding thru friday night road blocks that we moved. we moved to a predominately white neighborhood with a comparatively higher crime rate, but no sharks. nope, crooks and drug dealers live here with impunity. it'll be a year in September... and i havent run into one police officer who felt the need to search my wife'
G.H. Brooks (aka "Dr. Midnight" to his loyal fan base) is a 2-time Next Great Sportswriter (NGS) Finalist. One would think that bringing game like that would net me *something* - a cool icon to mark my site, some love from Fox Sports, cash, but noooo... :-)
I'm broadcasting live from New York City after a hiatus from the blogging scene, takes on life, sports, and whatever passing thoughts are shooting through my head. The good and bad ..passionate, logical, and on point.
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