If only there were some avenue for black people to become involved in athletic endeavors.

That first link is hilarious:

Gumbel's remarks have been followed by many angry posts at HBO's Real Sports Bulletin Boards. The story was also picked up at Free Republic, where one poster wrote, "Remember what they did to Rush over the McNabb remark. I will contact HBO."

You'd think these remarks would have received more attention than they have. (Well, maybe not.) It's just hard to imagine a Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity getting a pass on something like this. Don'tcha think?

Let's recall.  Rush said the media had overrated McNabb because they wanted a Black QB to succeed.  This came from a white guy known for attracting a large audience of racists assholes probably upset that the only positions still clearly for the white guys are the kickers.  Rush's conspiracy mongering was not good NFL analysis and since McNabb followed those remarks by leading his team to 2 NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, it was also proved spectacularly wrong. 

And this is honestly compared to Gumball, a black dude, saying that there aren't many Black people at GOP conventions.  I'm laying this out because I am constantly amazed how clueless most conservatives are when trying to understand what is or is not racist or sexist or whatever.  They really don't get it.  Instead they rely on triggers.  In this case, pointing out that Black people aren't present is mistaken as somehow racist and compared to a white man who draws much of his income from racists positing the subtle theory that black QBs are overrated, that they don't deserve the accolades they have previously received.  The ignorance of this mystifies me.  I just had to write it out.

Oh and one more thing.  Hannity and O'Reilly are completely obtuse to the fact that there aren't blacks at the GOP convention.  They are completely unaware of it and if they were it wouldn't strike them as significant.  Therefore, they'd never use such a comparison nor have a reason to.  Instead if pointed out to them, they'd blame blacks for not having the sense to be in the GOP.  Of course that might get them in the same trouble as Rush since it is a similar dynamic. 

Ski is not a sport because there are so few Blacks. Problem lies with skiing, not with social stratas which prevents the poor and minorities to go on trips to Utah.

Golf, on the other hand,  is a sport, according to Bryant Gumbel. Go figure.

Yeah, Newsbusters zeroed in on the black thing but if they're trying to prove liberal bias, I'm surprised they didn't highlight the reference to Tom Paine, irreligious radical whack job.

Gumbel is off base because the Winter Olympics provide the best hockey in the world, ever.

The rest is as he describes, though.

As to the racial composition, don't worry, since I think I've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that hockey is the only sport that matters,* a liberal Canadian immigration policy is swelling the ranks of black hockey players, there might be more than three or four now.

* using the criteria that is beloved by the O'Reillys and Hannitys of the world, because I say it, it's true.

Gumble works for HBO.

The Olympics are broadcast on NBC.

Is he jealous? 

Bryant Gumbel is a bigot and a jerk, and this isn't the first time.  These are the kind of comments that get people fired.

The paucity if black athletes stems not from racism but from geography and cultural convenience.  Skiing, skating, snowboarding, sledding all come from a cold climate, rural basis.  It's easy for kids growing up in the northern mountainous areas to go out the door and play.  It's not hard to get on a team and there are facilities within minutes from home.

A similar analysis can be applied to black athletes prevalence in basketball, track, football, etc.  The black population in America is urban and southern.

 As for his comments on "sport" he's not looking at the courage showm by the women downhill skiiers Linday Kildow who had horrific crashes in practice and skiied anyway.  That says nothing of the condiditons under which most of these athletes train, on a mountain it is often -20F 0r -30F with the wind chill and they don't have trainers pampering them like basketball players do.

Tell him to read the profile of Johnny Weir in today's NY Times if he wants to see character overcome bigotry.

This isn't about liberal bias, it's about Gumbel being a pig. 

Is that why so many of the winners leave as soon as their event is over and appear on late night television?  I think it is mostly about wooing sponsers in order to make the big score.