Martellus Bennett's 'Black Olympics' Are Exactly What You'd Expect

You probably know who Martellus Bennett is by now. Tight end for the Cowboys, cereal rapper, dinosaur fighter. He might be from another planet.

Or, then again, he might be just another goofy kid. Case in point, his Black Olympics video he uploaded to YouTube a couple days ago. Here:



Yes, that's exactly what you should have expected. In other "reality perfectly following expectations" news, BlackSportsOnline.com is less than impressed with Marty B's decision-making:

Martellus is young. He is young with some money, a lot of time on his hands and a very exuberant personality. I am 100% sure he doesn't think he is doing anything wrong. To him he is just goofing around having fun.

[...] When you are that high profile you simply cannot do a YouTube called the "Black Olympics" perpetuating stereotypes that African-Americans have been fighting for centuries.

While Marty and Mike can easily say that they were just having some fun (and indeed, their behavior is refreshingly earnest and playful), the problem was that the video was little more than a celebration of racial stereotypes. There was no irony to it, no advancement, nothing to be proud of short of the brothers' eating skills.

So really, then, the problem wasn't making a "Black Olympics," but making one that wasn't very good. Marty B doesn't have to be Dave Chappelle when he makes and posts a video--that's just unfair--but if he wants to get into the race stuff, it'd help if he added something of merit to the conversation instead of reveling in the sort of behavior his ancestors, peers, and descendants have worked and will work to distance themselves from.

What's also disappointing, though, is that the Black Olympics has about 30 times as many views as, say, him doing some horrific R. Kellly karaoke. Yes, it's human nature to want to see something controversial instead of run-of-the-mill bad YouTubing, but we just hope Bennett doesn't get defined by this Black Olympics stuff. It's a stupid video that he shouldn't have posted, but it's just a stupid video.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.