USA Today reporter Mike Freeman accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of being a racist for saying basketball players are more athletic than baseball players.
Freeman wrote a near-800-word article dedicated to DeSantis’ alleged “racist dog whistle in speaking about basketball players.”
Freeman accused DeSantis of peddling “an old stereotype of the Black athlete as the physical freak, who doesn’t work hard, and the white one in baseball as the steady, hard worker who gets ahead despite not having that athleticism.”
DeSantis called basketball players athletic “freaks of nature,” a common praise bestowed upon athletes playing at the highest level. However, the “total context” of DeSantis’ praise is somehow proof of his racism, according to Freeman.
Freeman wrote:
No, this isn’t Jimmy the Greek level racism, but it’s close.
DeSantis is playing on an old stereotype of the Black athlete as the physical freak, who doesn’t work hard, and the white one in baseball as the steady, hard worker who gets ahead despite not having that athleticism. And also apparently forms democracies.
This is why I say DeSantis is being knowingly misleading. DeSantis played high school baseball and also played baseball at Yale. He knows the level of athleticism it takes to make it just to college, let alone the pros. He knows that baseball players are, without question, some of the best pure athletes on the planet. Baseball history is full of remarkable athletes from Willie Mays to Roberto Clemente to Shohei Ohtani. The latter throws 100 mph and hits baseballs 400 feet. That is supreme athleticism.
Also, the work ethic of NBA players is second to none. You don’t think LeBron James works hard? Or Steph Curry? Curry turned himself into one of the best shooters of all time because of a remarkable work ethic. Michael Jordan got the way he did because of his competitiveness. He wasn’t born dunking a basketball.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) speaks during a convocation at Liberty University’s Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va., on Friday, April 14, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In reality, DeSantis was praising the athleticism of basketball players. During an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, the interviewer asked DeSantis about his thoughts on baseball.
DeSantis explained that he views baseball as a more “meritocratic” game compared to basketball, where pure athleticism reigns supreme.
“So I think that there’s kind of a place for everybody on a baseball team if you’re willing to work hard, if you’re willing to practice, and if you’re willing to hone your skills,” DeSantis said. “I kind of thought it was always a very democratic game, a very meritocratic game.”
“Whereas I kind of viewed like basketball as like these guys are just freaks of nature. They’re just incredible athletes,” the Republican presidential hopeful continued. “In baseball, you know, you have some guys that might not necessarily be the best athletes, but maybe they’ve got you know that slider that nobody can hit, or they have the skills that allow them to compete at the highest level.”
Ron DeSantis said basketball athletes are “freaks of nature” while contrasting the sport with baseball which he described as a “meritocratic game” with “different skills that are required” to be on the team. @patriottakes
pic.twitter.com/7ijm6CPKdu— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) June 21, 2023
Despite DeSantis’ innocent remarks, that did not stop Freeman and other left-wing reporters from accusing the governor of the state with the third’s largest black population of being racist.
The Root’s Candace McDuffie also accused DeSantis of “relying on a disgustingly racist trope.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.