Birracial Debate

I was watching ESPN and a commentator, Skip Bayless, brought up that as a white man he felt proud to see Blake Griffin's success in the NBA. He went on to say that Griffin, a bi racial player, was resurrecting the white player in the NBA. This comment interested me because generally in society mixed or mulatto people are seen as a minority, due to their skin tone and features that are clearly different. Material in class talked about how early on in America's history immigrants were inslaved as well, but eventually the people began to turn against blacks as opposed to whites from different cultures, and enslaved people became primarily african americans. The point is that society has long used color as a seperation factor in racism. I thought that it was interesting that Blake Griffin was only claimed for being "white" after having a prolific season in the NBA. Their are several other players in the NBA who are birracial but I have never heard of them resureccting the white man in basketball. I feel that not only the commentator but society as a whole is more excepting of a mixed person with lighter complexion and a clean cut look than someone with the same background who might be darker, because they associate that with being more "black." This small segment on ESPN might not have gotten alot of air time, but it was a great indicator for me that color is still an issue in society.