Woke Sports Columnist Comes for Ron DeSantis Over ‘Freaks of Nature’ Comment, Gets Hit With Reality Check

In early June, we were treated to the shocking news that the alligator logo seen on some of the merch for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis equated to a “racist fashion statement” because apparently long ago in the Sunshine State, it was a “theme in humor” to depict black babies as being in the sights of hungry alligators.

No, really. This is what was alleged about Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, who was wearing a leather alligator jacket with the “woke goes to die” quote, by a so-called Florida “historian”:

Casey DeSantis Florida's First Lady makes a racist fashion statement. Black babies as alligator bait was a theme in racist Florida humor of the early 1900s. It's an inside joke. If you are not from Florida, you may not get it. She does. Do you? pic.twitter.com/mOxp2wadqG

— Dr. Marvin Dunn (@MarvinDunn4) June 6, 2023

I mean, alligator logos are synonymous with many facets of everyday Florida life, especially its sports teams. In fact, the alligator itself is the official state reptile. But yeah, we’re supposed to believe the modern version of the alligator symbol as displayed by Team DeSantis was meant to harken back to those racist early 1900s days. Sure.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the 2024 GOP presidential candidate is being accused of racism once again, this time by yet another woke sports columnist at USA Today, who declared without evidence that DeSantis was guilty of doing some “dog whistling” with comments he made about NBA players during a recent interview.

Before we get to the column, let’s look at what DeSantis, who played baseball in high school and at Yale, said in response to a question about why he loves baseball:

“There’s so many different places that you need to have on a baseball team, and there’s different skills that are required. So some people can be a pitcher, some people can be a middle infielder, some people can be a catcher.

And so I think that there’s kind of a place for everybody on a baseball team if you’re willing to work hard, if you’re willing to practice, and if you’re willing to hone your skills. So, I kind of thought it was always a very democratic game, a very meritocratic game.

Whereas I kind of viewed like basketball as like these guys are just freaks of nature. They’re just incredible athletes. In baseball, you know, you have some guys that might not necessarily be the best athlete, but maybe they’ve got, you know, that slider that nobody can hit, or they have the skills that allow them to compete at the highest level.”

Watch:

Ron DeSantis said basketball athletes are “freaks of nature” while contrasting the sport with baseball which he described as a “meritocratic game” with “different skills that are required” to be on the team. pic.twitter.com/APnbsfAOBU

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) June 21, 2023

DeSantis calling NBA players “freaks of nature” fauxfended the USA Today sports “race and inequality editor” Mike Freeman, who like Mr. Dunn the historian informed us that such terminology is allegedly code for something more sinister:

Ron DeSantis isn’t telling the truth. He knows when he uses a racist dog whistle in speaking about basketball players − not a dog whistle actually, a bullhorn … wait, not a bullhorn, stadium speakers − that he’s being purposefully misleading.

[…]

DeSantis was essentially talking about two leagues, and how the mostly Black one, the NBA, is full of freaky athletes with fast-twitch muscles and apparently not as democratic or meritocratic or whatever-cratic as baseball players.

Then, according to DeSantis, there’s baseball, or the MLB, the mostly white sport, full of OK athletes but gosh darn, do they work hard, and form democracies and meritocratic-ocracies-republics. They’re not freaks at all. They’re real Americans.

No, this isn’t Jimmy the Greek level racism, but it’s close.

DeSantis is playing on an old stereotype of the Black athlete as the physical freak, who doesn’t work hard, and the white one in baseball as the steady, hard worker who gets ahead despite not having that athleticism. And also apparently forms democracies.

Freeman then went on to accuse DeSantis of being “one of the most prominent anti-Black politicians alive” because he happens to oppose things like children being indoctrinated by woke educators who literally view everything through the prism of racism and who see it behind everything, including the most innocent of things. I should also point out that Freeman also believes America was built on “stolen land” or whatever, for what it’s worth.

Surprisingly, DeSantis was defended by some who weren’t even fans of his:

Not to defend Ron DeSantis, but he's kind of right: All pro athletes are freaks of nature, but most baseball players have approximately normal dimensions. Aaron Judge (6'7") is historically tall for a baseball player. He'd be barely above-average height for an NBA player. https://t.co/fTjYyJo85P

— The Unhitching Hour (RAA) (@UnhitchingHour) June 22, 2023

There was also this, from DC sports artist Paul Nichols:

As a former basketballer, who wasn’t very good at baseball, I can attest to the fact that the athleticism required to succeed at basketball far exceeds the athleticism required to succeed at baseball. Which is why I was often seen as a “novelty” on the courts – I was usually the only one of “my kind” out there. 🤣

How many fat, out of shape players excel in basketball? None. But there have been quite a few who’ve excelled in baseball – usually as pitchers or 1st basemen.

As for “thinking” – I would also argue that there’s more to pay attention to in baseball than in basketball. That’s not to say there’s no thinking or strategy in basketball, just that there’s more things to consider on any given play in baseball.

Further, if DeSantis is “racist” for calling basketball players “freaks of nature,” what does that make LeBron James?

If the phrase 'freak of nature' is racist, then calling someone an extraterrestrial must be super duper racist. https://t.co/R5ZgIeuXLz

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) June 22, 2023

This is all so danged tiresome, and really makes you wish sometimes that woke sports writers would stick to, you know, sports. The good thing about this, however, is that columns like Freeman’s reaffirm to us who wokesters really are – and when they do that, we should listen.