CK (returning MMW guest contributor!)
I’m not a huge sports fan, but one positive thing that you can say about American sports teams is that they are racially diverse.  However, the question that arises is whether or not the races are integrated.  I thought that this recent article by Stephen Rodrick about mixed-race baseball star Johnny Damon in New York Magazine brought this point up, but focused more on Johnny’s life story and the impact he will have on the Yankees. 

Rodrick observes the racial cliques in the Yankee locker room:

“Across the room, the Latino pitchers congregate, with closer Mariano Rivera and newcomer Octavio Dotel leading a Spanish-language gabfest. No one knows what they’re saying, but they seem to be the only inhabitants of Planet Yankee having a good time.”

Then goes on to say:

“But that’s why Damon is here—he brings people together. “People say Johnny was a leader on the Red Sox,” says a longtime Red Sox observer. ‘That’s a mistake. Johnny was a consensus builder. He’d move from the Latinos to the blacks to the whites, just making sure everyone got along.’”

And…

“Damon radiates charisma—he’s all exotic good looks (he’s half-Thai) and surfer-dude charm.”

Not surprisingly does the author attribute Damon’s good looks to the fact that he is mixed, because, of course, all mixed people are beautiful, right? I wonder if the author is implying that Damon’s mixed background has allowed him to bridge the racial divide that exists in sports, or specifically, the Yankees.  Or, I wonder if Johnny Damon thinks that his mixed background allows him to “bring people together.”  I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on that.  Either way, I think that Johnny Damon is extremely warm and likeable and is sending out a positive message to other players and to millions of young baseball fans.