ESPN announcer askes Black NASCAR crew member to "tap dance for us"..

[HipChick]

http://jalopnik.com/5602629/espn-announcer-to-black-nascar-crew-member-tap-dance-for-us

This weekend's NASCAR race at Pocono was delayed at the start by rain and the ESPN team was forced to fill the first 30 minutes of the broadcast with banter and discussion. At approximately 1:38 PM EST, they start an interview with the "over-the-wall reporter" for the day Kenyatta Houston — a pit crew member for Kevin Harvick and graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.

The conversation is fairly normal until, out of nowhere, one of the broadcasters says: "We call this in the television business the tap-dance and people know we can't dance. Can you... gotta little tap for us down there?"

Houston, for his part, is able to whip up a short dance before returning to work. It was an odd moment and Jalopnik readers weren't the only one to notice. Matt McLaughlin over at Front Stretch also picked up on this strangeness and noted the double standard:

During the rain delay, an ESPN broadcaster asked a black crew member if he could tap dance. Oddly enough, I can't recall any white crew members being asked to do so.

Funny, we can't either. Can anyone identify the voice of the broadcaster? The main announcers are Rusty Wallace, Allen Bestwick, and Brad Daugherty with Andy Petree, Dale Jarrett, and Marty Reid on the play-by-play.

[Ken Burch]

1. Wouldn't it have been great if the pit crew guys had started singing

"I get no kick from champagne..."?

[dhill926]

3. Blazing Saddles....coming to a track near you.....

[walldude]

4. LMAO... and then hit him in the head with a shovel....

[tanyev]

2. That's something Dubya could do to earn a little spare change in his retirement.

Just keep him in the green room and trot him out if there's time to kill.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/03/06/svBUSH_wideweb__470x263,0.jpg

[Chemical Bill]

5. They sell racist t-shirts at NASCAR tracks.

"Top Ten Reasons There Are No Black Drivers"

You can imagine...or google it.

A black guy I know bought one and wore it at the races....

Bill

[political_Dem]

6. Oh dear. Someone still believes that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 didn't pass.

For the love of God, those announcers should be very glad the young man didn't give him the finger on live TV.

Maybe the announcers should tap dance, shuck and jive on television and see how he likes it.

[pipi_k]

7. Of course, there could be a very innocent explanation for it...

like maybe the guy who made the request didn't even notice the crew member was black.

Is that the first thing people notice? Really? Come face to face with another person...or even see someone on a camera and the first thought to come to mind is...

ALERT!!! ALERT!!! BLACK PERSON!!!


Even if that were so, the history of Tap Dance isn't purely black.

It's a mixture of cultures:

"
Dance has been around for hundreds of years. The history of tap dancing involves several different cultures from around the world are responsible for its evolution and growth. Although it is not as popular as in its golden years, it is still enjoyed today. Although the history of tap dancing is widely considered an American art form it involves a fusion of many different cultures. This form of dance is a mixture of British, African, Irish, Spanish and Scottish influences."

http://www.allbestarticles.com/sport/dance/the-history-of-tap-dancing.html


How can people judge what a person says if they don't even know what was in his heart or mind at the time?

[HipChick]

8. the negative association of asking a black person to tap dance is also well known..

[sylveste]

9. jesus

i happened to see it. the context was the guy had crewed at iowa saturday night caught a late flight out east somewhere then another to pocono. the point being he hadn't had much sleep in the last 24 or 48 hours. the tv guys were like "are dead on your feet,can you do your job, can you do a little dance? yadda yadda yadda" it wasn't anything racial by any stretch, just inane tv babble.