European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 21, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Racial lax would score More in cases Clarence Page a caller to a radio show recently suggested that the Fate of Cincinnati reds owner Marge Schott punished by fellow baseball owners for uttering racial slurs should be left up to Market forces. If the fans Are offended the caller reasoned the fans should stay away from her Ballpark. That is free advice that a Worth every Penny of what the listener pays to hear it. As a Cincinnati arca native and frequent visitor i doubt very Many reds fans Black or White feel sufficiently offended by Schotts remarks among other offences she talked freely of some players As a million Dol Lar niggers a to take it out on their beloved bal dub. Jesse Jackson whose 1988 a Hymi Etown remarks put him into a free speech predicament of his own says quite correctly that Schotts remarks Arentt As important As professional baseball a general slowness to put More managers of color into front office jobs. He threatens a Boycott Over the Issue but if it happens i done to expect Many fans or players to Honor it. Players prefer to Deal with owners through agents. No neither free speech nor the free Market is at Issue Here. Schott has made baseball look bad and that is too serious a Public relations matter to be left to the fans. But the Telephone caller May have a Point if he was suggesting that Market forces could play a bigger role in encouraging equal Opportunity. As i mentioned in an earlier column former Harvard Law professor Derrick Bell suggests something similar in his Book faces at the Bottom of the Well the permanence of racism. Bell suggests that we do to discrimination what libertarians have Long suggested we do to recreational drugs like marijuana legalize and tax it. Bell suggests a a racial preference licensing act a that would allow companies to discriminate All they want in Exchange for a 3 percent tax on All the in come derived from Whites employed Whites served or products sold to Whites during licensing periods. The Beauty of the plan is that it would put the License fees and commissions paid by License holders into an a Equality fund that would include at least one representative nominated by five major civil rights groups to serve a three year term. The a Equality fund would be used to underwrite Black businesses offer no int Crest mortgage Loans for Black Home buyers and provide scholarships for Black students seeking College and vocational education. Although it sounds far fetched a form of a Equality fund was offered by sponsors of the 1990 fiesta bowl when they offered $100,000worth of Black scholarships to colleges that agreed to play in Phoenix in spite of the Boycott then waged against Arizona for its failure to pass a Martin Luther King Holiday. Marge Schott has been funding similar favors for Black folks in Cincinnati since her Mouth got her into trouble. Small wonder. This is More than a free speech Case. Her organization reportedly had Only one Black employee out of 45 at the beginning of this Case a statistic that look too Good if she were caught up in a discrimination suit. How much easier it might have been for Schott to have bought a a racial preferences License that would have protected her right to discriminate while offering deserving Black youths a Chance to improve their lives perhaps even to someday buy their own baseball team that could beat the red socks off the reds. Instead Schott was judged less satisfyingly by her Peers who would just As soon see the whole mess and Schott go away. Those who police themselves Are most reluctant to punish themselves especially when the accusers May be As guilty in various ways As the accused. But baseball a owners Are paragons of racial virtue compared to some other major corporations. A deplorable example popped into the headlines a Day after Schotts settlement was announced. Lawyers in Washington announced a record $105 million race discrimination settlement against the so Oncy a inc. Restaurant Chain. Evidence of discrimination at Shoneye a 759 restaurants in 35 states included according to court documents a direct order from the company a founder and ceo to Stop hiring Blacks because he said he thought his restaurants were becoming Quot too compared to that Schott got off easy. Shell barely feel the pain of her $25,000 Fine her mandated sensitivity classes or her Quot suspension from baseball for one she can t sit in the owners Box at riverfront stadium or be involved in player personnel matters but she still can be the clubs general partner and apr Vav v Svejk i it Ltd v so. V n 7 \ a a a or it \ map abcs Diane Sawyer Marge Schott and Schottie pose during a recent primetime live filming. Prove major deals like television rights. The team still plays the Ballpark still Sells tickets and she still profits. What a Sweet Deal. If anything the cases of Schott and so Oncy a illustrate How racism is alive and Well in America in spite of sweeping anti discrimination Laws that were passed a Quarter of a Century ago so Why not make the Best of it it would be Worth it just to see some of today a critics of civil rights enforcement suddenly turn their guns on the real enemy joining forces with civil rights leaders to Root out racism and ferret out Bias As Long As it forces the Marge Schotts of the world to pay their proper discrimination tax. The Chicago Tribune searching for smarts in College to and the lotto Andy Rooney to the Best of my knowledge the following things Are True a you meet a lot of dumb people who went to College. A not Many Lead pencils get used Down past 6 inches. A the weather is a lot colder warmer Wetter drier than when you were a kid. A no one loves an insurance company not even another insurance company. A elastic bands were a Good idea. A Christmas Wasny to Long ago but it seems As though it has been Over for a Long time now. A none of the plugs and wires that fit into the Back of one computer fit into the Back of any other. A if it weren to for the Honor of it being president of the United states would be a Lousy Job. A the Best thing about Winter is you done to lose your sunglasses. The Best thing about summer is you done to lose one Glove. A if you heard about a military operation from Only the military people in charge of it you a think there had never been one that was unsuccessful. A you read about crimes that make it difficult to be against capital punishment. A telephones done to ring the same As they used to and the sound is neither As loud nor As satisfactory. A it has been More than 30 years now since they made the last Basic improvement in an air plane and replaced propellers with Jet engines. A considering How Clumsy a lot of people Are its surprising so Many cars pass on the roads every Day without hitting each other or anything else. A there Are still a lot of books being printed in spite of How much time people spend watch King television. A americans arc most enthusiastic about attacks on Iraq when no americans get killed making them. A if you have 25 things hanging in your closet Only three of them Are possibilities on any Given Day. A a two car garage Isnit big enough for american families with two cars. They need space for two cars and then they need a parking place for All the other stuff in the garage. A its surprising How much the television networks Are willing to pay Jay Leno and David Letterman considering that everyone you know goes to bed before they come on. A the people who dream of getting Rich by buying lottery tickets Are poor a and always will be. A there Are fewer shoe repair shops than there used to be for two reasons 1 a lot of shoes Arentt Worth fixing and 2 no one walks very far. A when you re looking for a Pencil to Jot Down a note there Isnit one. And if there is there Isnit anything to Jot the note on. A television news shows have a Lough time telling an important Story if there Are no pictures of it. A Madonna is like barbra Streisand but not very. A its redundant to Call something a a new beginning.�?�. Tribune med services Andy Rooney is former stars and stripes reporter. February 21, 1903 sunday a Page 9
