Mac McClung became a household name after the National Basketball Association's (NBA) All-Star weekend.
The 6’2” guard, who plays for the Delaware Blue Coats (the G-League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers), took fans and the NBA’s best by storm and put on an electric show in the Dunk Contest. Of the four dunk tricks he attempted, he nailed them all on the first try and was a mere 0.5 points away from having a perfect 50-out-of-50 points on all four slams.
The tape doesn’t lie. This man can throw down like nobody’s business:
When you’ve got Gianns Antetokounmpo and the top 20 or so players in the league this year in shock over how well you’re doing, you’ve done something special.
Jesse Washington of Andscape also noticed how incredible this performance was and said as much in a lengthy op-ed. However, he had to mix in an apology with his Dunk Contest recap because he said something quite ridiculous about how McClung was chosen to compete in the first place.
Washington took to Twitter last Thursday to explain why he thought McClung - who has only played in two NBA games - was going head-to-head with the best dunkers in the NBA. His conclusion? His skin color.
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In fact, Washington claimed verbatim that McClung got an invitation to the event because he’s white.
Mac is a nice kid and an outstanding dunker but the reason he’s in the dunk contest is that he’s white. i ain’t mad at Mac for participating. i’m mad at the NBA for refusing to understand that the contest has to totally change, or disappear. https://t.co/5FT1dcL5BX
— Jesse Washington (@jessewashington) February 16, 2023
It’s interesting Washington thinks the NBA would give a white guy a chance after all they’ve done to promote Black Lives Matter and all other sorts of Communist social justice initiatives.
But after seeing McClung wow everyone, Washington was finally able to admit that the guard got the invitation based on his own ability and talent.
Well, sort of.
He started to say he was sorry for his claim, but couldn’t quite keep himself from doubling down on his ridiculous stance.
The first two paragraphs of his article read:
“Yo, Mac McClung: I was wrong, kid. You belonged in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. You rose to the moment and elevated the event from irrelevant to entertaining, and I apologize for saying that you were chosen to compete because you’re white.”
If he stopped there, this would be a classy way to apologize for a stupid comment. Unfortunately, he kept writing:
“Don’t get me wrong: Skin color did play a role in McClung’s opportunity. But based on his talent and performance, McClung deserved his spot – and his presence sends a message to people who question whether Black people deserve what we have earned.”
For the rest of his article, Washington actually takes the high road and has a measured take, finally concluding that McClung earned his spot because he’s talented. But this "apology" has a proverbial asterisk next to it.
Racism doesn’t exist just because a white guy got an opportunity a black man didn’t. Maybe the league chose McClung because he’s been known for his jaw-dropping dunks since high school, and the chances of people recognizing him were pretty decent?
There’s an old saying: “To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” And to progressive reporters, every situation where “inequality” exists automatically means racism is to blame.