Roland Martin and Jason Whitlock battle in debate about sports, police brutality and race (WATCH)
Journalist Roland Martin went head-to-head last night with FOX sports journalist Jason Whitlock in a battle of ideas, on Martin’s daily lifestream show #RolandMartinUnfiltered.
The two disagreed on a lot, making for a lively debate and discussion about the source of America’s problems on everything from police brutality to racism.
“There are going to be mistakes make, and again do we overlook them- no I’m not saying overlook them– but to sit here and pretend like because it’s popular over Twitter, there’s an epidemic of police killing African-Americans… is just not true,” Whitlock argued.
“When you have numerous cases that run the gamut… that’s not mistakes, that’s culture,” responded Martin.
The two also discussed the issue of athletes hopping into the political debates of today.
“I’m not here to be best friends with every athlete in the world,” said Whitlock. “I would like for athletes to take their money and resources, and use them to support the causes they believe in… instead of electing themselves the leaders and intellectual thought leaders.”
“I appreciate that there are athletes and entertainers that don’t only say I’m here to play ball… using their celebrity and influence to speak to those issues,” said Martin.
“We’ve gotten used to athletes having this nice and neat foundation… You can have more about your life than just having a job.”
Whitlock later tweeted about the debate, clarifying his stance about faith, black people and community.
“We have allowed Politics to replace Religion. Â It’s a mistake that has destroyed our families and undermined our growth.”
https://twitter.com/WhitlockJason/status/1053317746530824194
Watch the full conversation below and hit us in the comments with your thoughts.
