Isaac Murphy's Exceptional Story Of The Jockey Syndrome

from talents and skills of the black athlete. Rhoden’s historical narrative also identifies as what he calls the jockey syndrome, where he uses the exceptional story of Isaac Murphy who was at one point the most prominent and wealthiest black jockey during the 19th century. During Murphy’s brilliant career, he won three Kentucky Derby races and he even employed a White valet during the horse racing season. Murphy earned between $15,000 and $20,000 dollars per year during the height of his career. However, all was not always good with Murphy and his career. He would face unprecedented pressures from the other white jockeys and the white racing world in general. Murphy dies at the young age of 35. He was forced out of the horse racing game by
his white opposing jockeys in the end as the whites to control the horse racing industry finally had their way. Through the intense forms of physical interference with the Black jockeys both on the track and off. In the end Whites were able to achieve what they had set out to do, which was to refuse or deny Black jockeys the opportunity to complete in the sport of horse racing. Rhoden also provides a grand account of the first major league baseball player Fleetwood Walker battled the racist white sports world prior to the what we know as the National Baseball League (NBL). Rhoden also provides a snapshot of how cycling sensation Major Taylor had to leave the united States because of the increasing and intense racism he encountered in the sport of bike cycling. Taylor left the United States for greener pastures in Paris, France at the turn of the century. Furthermore, through his book Rhoden describes the racist attitudes and roles that powerful White figures in the United States government played in the pursuit and destruction of then Black heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson.
The United States government and the boxing industry was not at peace with the manner in which Johnson paraded around with White women by breaking Whites rules and taboos established by powerful White men who controlled the world. Johnson was a huge robust Black male, who made a living punishing men in the boxing ring, in most cases White men. Finally they got their way as he would go on to lose his boxing title after being jailed several times by the White establishment on ridiculous offenses classified as Manner Acts. Rhoden also briefly discusses the similar involvement between the United States and Muhammad Ali’s racial struggles with the injustice system within the states that includes both victories and defeats as they are all interconnected to racial disharmony between Blacks and Whites in the world of
sports. In terms of the Negro National League, where Blacks superstar player could only play against other Black players before Jackie Robinson broke the color line in what we now describe as the National Baseball League, thus opening the door for other equally qualified Black players.
Leading up to Jackie Robinson, Rhoden provides a detailed account and discussion of the Black baseball pioneer Rudy Foster, who ran and organized the Negro Baseball League. Foster literally suffered mentally and eventually died because he failed to accomplish what he perceived as true baseball integration by having the Negro Baseball League to complete against the all White Baseball League. Foster so wanted badly to have the Negro Baseball League became a central part of the National Baseball League not as a supplier of Black players, but as a complete franchise. Foster put some much emphasis and energy into this concept that he would eventually suffer a mental breakdown in 1926 and died shortly
after. The mental breakdown was believed to be induced by the White Baseball world refusal to allow the Negro Teams to joins the National Baseball League as we know it to be today. Within a matter of for short years Foster dies, and yet another critical vacuum in terms of the overall vision and leadership for the future of Negro baseball players and the Negro Baseball League would soon fade into the darkness. Through Rhoden’s discussions and narratives he carefully describes how the White sporting institutions and powerful White powerbrokers continue even today to make significant financial gains and profits form the skills and talents of young Black athletes, the high school pike line or what Rhoden describes as the conveyor belt theory. Rhoden’s narrative about the conveyor belt theory is yet another one of his brilliant analysis of a successful system that is working whereby young Black males from poor poverty and underemployed communities are being herded in droves to White colleges and universities where they are being exploited by an educational and sporting system that is seemingly less interested in educating poor black males and more interested in developing their athletic talents and skills which will more often than not result in financial gains and profits. According to Rhoden, within the context of the conveyor belt theory the emphasis is on the individual success, not the system that continues to exploit the Black athlete by distributing the powers unequally in term of how professional basketball and football which are largely still today controlled by Whites, but Blacks are the majority in terms of players. However, at the end of the day the success of the Whites who run the show, ultimately depend of the efforts and labor of the Black athletes for their successful gains and profits that resemble to the old ways of the plantation behavior, one of which is nothing less than the new generation slaves who are being paid millions in some cases, as long as they don’t make too much noise or embrace White folks and object to being managed, coached and controlled in a racist sport industry.