r T4
Editorials & Comments
NFL Hypocrisy
Pete Rozelle, Commissioner of
the NatTortal Football League,
has reportedly expressed out
rage over part of a book co
authored by Jack Tatum, a
defensive back with the Oakland
Raiders, who describes himself
as an “enforcer” against rival
receivers.
Tatum, who admits to using
“enforcer” tactics against his
opponents, describes his vivid
and boastful intent-to-hurst style
of play in these words:
“When you hit someone with
your best shot and he’s still able
to think, then you’re not a hitter
* My idea of a good hit (tackle) is
when the victim wakes up on the
sidelines with train whistles
blowing in his head.”
Tatum writes further, “I never
make a tackle just to bring
someone down. I want to punish
the man I’m going after and I
want him to know that it’s going
to hurt everytime he comes my
way. I like to believe my best hits
border on felonious assault.”
In a more graphic and inhu
mane illustration, one passage in
the book describes Tatum’s en
counter with Riley Odoms, an
offensive back with the Denver
Broncos. He writes, “It was a
perfectly timed hit and I used my
hook. I heard Riley scream on
impact and felt his body go
limp...(and his) eyes rolled back
in his head and he wasn’t breath
ing. I had another knockout.”
It was in a similar contact
situation with Tatum that led to
Darryl Stingley’s career-ending
paralysis in an exhibition game
in 1978. Stingley received a rela
tively little heard about out of
court settlement.
Muzzle Tatum
Jack Sands, an attorney repre
senting Stingley, has reportedly
urged Commissioner Rozelle to
find a way to punish Tatum for
his tactics and comments. This
led Rozelle to say last week that
his office “will not tolerate” the
kind of player philosophy ex
pressed by Tatum. Paradoxical
ly, Rozelle’s office staff was
advising him that any attempts
to muzzle Tatum might raise a
constitutional question of free
speech.
Tatum’s reaction to Rozelle’s
comment was to say, "Rozelle—
and his people know what goes
on, so what can they say?” The
truth of Tatum’s comment was
very evident on Super Bowl XIV
last Sunday in Pasadena. Writ
ing in the CHARLOTTE NEWS’
“Sports Plus” section (Jan. 21)
Ronald Green said when the
game was over, “both teams
looked like they had been in a
street rumble.”
He continued, “somebody’s
blood was spattered across
Steeler running back Franco
Harris’ jersey numbers. Team
mate Jack Lambert had a two
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9
Republicans Appear Headed For White Supremacy?
Alfreds 1,. .Madison
Special To The Post
The Republican Party
chaired by Senator John
Towers of Texas has begun
holding hearings for the
purpose of affecting a par
ty platform These are be
ing held in; Washington, St.
Petersburg, Los Angeles,
—Indianapolis, Philadelphia,
St. Louis, Davenport. Seat
tle, Chicago and New York.
The first three-day meeting
has been held in Washing
ton with the concluding one
in New York in June.
Among the list of wit
nesses in Washington there
appeared no names of
blacks. The hearing plan
states that testimony will
be given by concerned citi
zens, representatives of na
tional organizations, the
academic community and
elected officials.
Practically, all of the
witnesses strongly empha
sized decentralization of
power and giving just
about complete control to
the states. It appears a
complete resurrection of
the old states' rights policy
The witnesses stated that
the programs which affect
the citizens' lives must
Alfreds L. Madison
have state and local con
trol. Blacks can’t expect
equity treatment from the
states It just seems a
concerted effort by the Re
publicans to return to the
pre-fifty and sixty days
A great defense raise
was strongly supported,
and a hold down of govern
ment spending for social
programs
Senator Paul I^axalt of
Nevada who along with
Jake Garns of Utah, two of
the most staunch conserva
tives on Capitol Hill, said
that if congress fails to
balance the budget, the
party should support a con
stitutional amendment to
do so.
The witnesses recom
mended removal of govern
ment regulations on the oil
companies for more re
search and production.
There must be a tax index
ing which will free the
private sector to increase
—jobs ■ . .
James Buckey who, until
two years ago was the
senator from New York,
and is now running for the
senate from Connecticut
talked strongly against a
Washington centralized
government. He spoke of
the restoration of an au
thentic federalism which
gives the states great
powers
Senator Javits of New
York who has been consi
dered as a liberal and said
we must continue our bi
partisan support of Presi
dent Carter in the Iran
and Afghanistan questions,
and that the Republic aim
should be for the United
States, together with its
Western European allies
and perhaps Japan mast
control the Persian Gulf
trade routes. When asked
by Congressman Lott of
Mississippi, if this meant
controlling the small coun
tries in the area too, Senat
or Javits replied that such
is a future aim. When we
asked the Senator if his
statement didn’t give cre
dence to Russia and Iran’s
accusation that the United
States is embarking on an
imperalistic course, he
- said that such control jn tfw>
Persian Gulf area was
necessary since we are the
world’s greatest produc
ers. In response to a state
ment that the African coun
tries would view his pre
scribed actions as a white
supremacist racist policy,
since no Third World coun
tries were included, Mr.
Javits said, “they can take
part if they desire to do
so.” However, there was no
mention of asking their
participation. _
Senator javits said,
questions will be raised
whether the Andrew Young
school of thought on atti
tudes toward the develop
*ng countries of the Third
World best meets U.S. na
tional interests and whe
ther better policies can be
shaped to meet our
interests.
Ail witnesses’testimony,
in reference to framing the
Republican platform, ir
“tr? represented,
sounded like the old pre
civil war .Smith
John Elliott Announces For School Board
John W. Elliott, Jr., di
rector of Johnson C. Smith
University's Upward
Hound and Special Services
Program has filed to be
come a candidate in the
Chariot te-Mecklenburg
School Board Election.
Elliott's key motto is
‘Educational Excellence
through Harmony.”
He believes his back
ground experience compli
ments his ability to serve
as a worthy member.
Elliott, 33. 2000 Patio
Court, is a Philadelphia
native and a 1972 graduate
of Johnson C. Smith.
He has held his present
position since 1977. His
otner positions nave in
eluded: Public Defenders
Office Investigator, Char
lotte; Juvenile Court Coun
seling Service, Juvenile
Probation Officer, Char
lotte; Neighborhood Cen
ters Department, cultural
and recreation specialist,
N. C. Department of Cor
rection*, correctional pro
gram supervisor; Parks
and Recreation Commis
sion, director of Cordelia
Park
His organizational mem
bership and awards In
clude: Vice-president of
the North Carolina Council
of Education Opportunity
Programs, North Carolina
representative to
Southeastern Association
of Educational Opportuni
ties Program Personnel,
member of Kappa Alpha
Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Out
standing Young Man ol
America, 1976; and Aca
demic Advisor to the JCSU
_basketbaH team.
Check the ads in the
lotte Post each week f
best bargains
inch swatch of flesh from an
—index-finger J1_
“Steeler receivers Lynn
Swann and Theo Bell were foggy
from jolts to the head that took
them out of the game.”
Los Angeles’ quarterback
Vince Ferragamo had a big raw
__knot on his jaw.
“Others limped, rubbed bruis
es and winced when they
moved.” Big Mean Joe Green of
the Steelers illustrates this tru
ism in his Coca-Cola commerc
ial, but soda pop doesn’t ease the
_paiiL_____
Pain-Killing Drug
Furthermore, a recent seg
ment of the hit CBS-TV show “60
Minutes” took a close look at the
violence and pain in the National
Football League. “60 Minutes”
noted that over 70 percent of all
players in the league miss at
least one game a year in a
16-game schedule due to injuries.
Such injuries are usually quite
serious because most players
will take some king of pain-kill
ing drug to allow them to keep
playing out of fear of loosing
their “starting” positions to
their replacements. It was noted,
too, that the team owners don’t
really care or concern them
selves with player injuries be
cause there is such an abun
dance of available football
talent.
We have noted these rather
gruesome details about a play
for-pay sport that really has no
concern with the needs or the
significance of the individual.
While we don't condone the
philosophy of Jack Tatum, we
£ind_ita bit hypercritical for
Commissioner Rozelle to be con
cerned about Tatum’s philoso
phy when in fact it was from the
NFL that he adopted such a
philosophical viewpoint.
Then, too, the NFL is only
providing wnat tne screaming
fans want to see - brute force on
the gridiron. That paradoxical
fan who booes if players don’t hit
hard, laugh when injury is evi
dent and applauds when the hurt
player gets up on his own two
feet is the real villian in what the
NFL has become.
Football also allows the fan to
release his aggressive tenden
cies as he-she is psychologically
striking out at all of the frustrat
ions and hurts of their real world
situations.
Thus, football is entertain
ment, a psychological valve and
out-and-out violence like the
American people want. They call
it sports. We call it a license to
injure and kill, yet football - NFL
style - wiu go on and on and on
and on. There is definitely a need
for jome king of change.
“KU KLUX KLAN RECRUITS CHILDREN “
“In an astonishing tirade, Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard Bill
Wilkins has openly admitted that he and the Klan are preparing
for all out race war in the United States.
Not only is the Klan busy recruiting vulnerable young teen s
for the cause, its members are also advocating violence, and
the use of guns in their organization.”
‘"Htnow theFe-ar« lots af peoplfiLgoing to throw their hands up
in horror, but we don’t have to teach our kids to hate"Negroes.
most of them do that anyhow.”
“We’re drumming into the youth corps that there are other
uses for baseball bats than hitting home runs. We don’t teach
them to hate blacks, we just teach them that they’re superior to
blacks.”
Jan Warwick
Midnight Globe
Let’s Unite
As I See It
War Is The Answer?
By Gerald O. Johnson
Post Columnist
“War, what is it good
for...absolutely nothing.”
This was a popular tune in
the late 60 s by Edwin Starr
It was a song that I
sang louder than most be
cause at the time, I was
draftable. I had a lottery
number of 19 and alphabet
of 1.
Today, however, I see
things a littje. differently,
partly because I am no
longer draftable, mostly
because of recent observ
ations. Hence, I’ve
changed the lyrics of the
tune to "War, what is it
good for...Democracy.”
In reality democracy is a
poor peace time ideology to
live by. It seems that dur
ing times of peace we all
dance to different drum
mers. You have pro-abort
ionists and anti-abortion
ists; pro-nukes and anti
nukes; pro-labor and anti
labor; pro-Anita Bryant
and anti-Anita Bryant; the
-list goes on. The nrnhlem
stems from people wanting
their beliefs thrust down
the throats of everyone
else. A democracy allows
this to take place openly
and frequently.
Eventually, things get
out of control. Leadership
is lacking and the demo
cratic process goes to pot.
With all the different fact
ions threatening the exist
ence of democracy, it
stands to reason that some
thing is needed to focus
attention away from indivi
dual greed and toward
greed to benefit the whole.
War is the answer. The war
must be one where we are
Gerald O. Johnson
fighting an aggressor. The
Vietnam war didn’t count
because it appeared to be a
civil war and we were
caught meddling.
But now we have all the
ingredients for WW'III. The
commies are pushing their
way across Europe. We
have hostages being kept in
Iran. The economy is at a
low point and we are suffer
ing from double digit inflat
ion. What a time for a war.
We could really use it.
Never before in recent
history has a president had
such strong support. We
are beginning to show signs
of patriotism once again.
Just the thought of war has
caused the stock market to
post record volumes. The
congress has overwhelm
ingly vetoed the “SALT
TREATY”. The long await
ed recession is beginning to
show signs of retreating.
We are (as a people)
beginning to think and act
as one. We are, finally,
showing progress.
It’s odd that a country
that talks of peace can only
thrive on war. It’s not only
odd but it's also sad.
Who’s Gonna Fight?
How can you convince an
eighteen year old that has a
car, a girlfriend, and living
comfortably to risk his life
for his country? You can’t.
" Wars are won by those
people willing to die for
what they believe in. This
is why we won the Revolu
tionary War, WW I, and
WW II. This is why we
didn't win in Vietnam.
The same would be true _
if WW III starts. If we fight
in this war we had better be
certain there is a valid
reason. History has proven
that as a country we do our
best fighting when we have
been directly threatened.
The bombing of Pearl Har
bor, the sinking of the
Titanic, taxation without
representation were all di
rect threats against the
country. We fought and
died in the wars associated
with these incidents. It
would take a similar inci
dent to stir our emotions
enough to want to fight and
possibly die lor oui* C61M-—
try Russia invading Af
ghanistan has not reached
that point where people are
willing to risk their lives to
fight, i
HcjuehnU fonducfe
Medicines and household
products and poisons must
be kept out of a child’s
reach. Some poisons may
not be obvious, such as
lead-base paints. Look for
the term “nontoxic” when
buying paints. Watch for
other safety labels as well,
such as “flame resistant”
and “hygenic materials.”
From Capitol Hill
™!S55™Vernon E. Jordan^r^^Sj^SBBSS
t
\
t t ,
EQUAL
Welfare System
Is In Need Of Reform
A modest welfare reform billhas finally
passed the House of Representatives, and
the battleground now shifts to the Senate,
where efforts at reforming a welfare
system everyone agrees is a mess will run
into stiff challenge.
The House bill falls far short of real
reform. But it does establish a national
minimum payment \yhich would raise
benefits in about fifteen states. The pro
posed minimum benefit would be less than
two-thirds of the poverty level.
Less important to the poor, but of great
consequence to Congressmen running for
re-election this year, the bill also provides
some fiscal relief for the states.
But the knives are out in the Senate. Some
senators support a different kind of
“reform’’--turning the federal welfare pro
gram over to the states in the form of block
grants.
That would make the present mess even
more unworkable and devastating to the
poor. Welfare is a national problem that
needs to be resolved on a national basis.
There is already too much state control of
the program, with the result that no state
provides benefits equal to the poverty line
while many keep recipients on shamefully
low benefit schedules.
The reluctance to reform the system
reflects widespread hostility to the poor, a
hostility encouraged by racism. Welfare is
seen as a “bla,ck program” notwithstanding
that half of all recipients are white.
It is widely scorned as a program that
rewards not working, despite the fact that
most recipients are incapable of work. And
with unemployment levels consistently
-around the seven million mark throughout
the past several year, many people still look
to a work requirement for welfare as. being _
something rational.
The House bill that faces an uncertain
future in the Senate ought to become law, if
only because it represents an incremental
change for the better, but also because it
establishes a long-sought goal of reform $
establishment of a national minimum bene
fit.
But it can only be a way station on the
road toward total overhaul of the welfare
system.
An alternative to the present system
ought to have several guiding principles,
including universal benefits, federal ad
ministration, a national minimum benefit,
-arimmi«tr«Hvn nimplinity flnj removal of
any stigma attached to receiving aid.
The best way to achieve such a system
would be through a refundable credit
income tax. Everyone would get a basic
grant in the form of a refundable tax credit.
That credit would be taxed away from
those whose income exceeds a certain level.
For those below that level, the credit would
constitute an income maintenance pro
gram.
In fact such a system is already in
existence on a small scale, through the tax
credit available to the working poor. That’s
been on the books for several years now,
and has provided modest benefits without
cumbersome administrative mechanisms
or stigmatizing recipients.