Jack Johnson is no hero

[bchynn]

good points, its funny how everyone is jumping on his bandwagon, the guy fought a 100 years ago, how does anyone alive now know what he was really like, from what ive read he is a self serving ahole, now they want to honor him

Hypocrite. Why is it alright for you to criticize Jack Johnson, but it isn't alright for someone to support him when NO ONE alive knows what he was really like.


People, this is boxing. We admire boxers, not for their personal lives, but more for their ring accomplishments and legacy. Boxers aren't known to be very great role-models. WAKE UP CALL. Don't try to mask yuor racism with faux-credibility.

[scramwarrior]

Jack Johnson lived in a very different time from the 50's and 60's, much less 2005. I'm white, but I can honestly say that if I was black during those times, I probably would not be the most upbeat and community-driven citizen. It's ridiculous how people living in our politically-correct and more equalized society can actually use our culture and values to analyze and compare someone from the early 20th century.

[bonafuwa]

Jack Johnson deserves all the credit in the world. He never claimed to be an activist for African American right or for anything for that matter. He was just his own man! He did whatever he wanted, dated whoever and went anywhere. This was in the early 1900, and that took major balls - the size of which I can't comprehend!

[hollister]

Gotta give him that much, he fought an uphill battle and pretty much won.

[jgisbc]

Everyone on this forum condemns Jack Dempsey (rightfully, by the way) for being racist, even though it was a "different era", as you put it, and pretty much every white guy was racist. Doesn't make it right. Plus I make pains to mention that Johnson brutally beat his women. He didn't just slap them now and then, as I'm sure a lot of husbands did at the time, as you say.


You are way way wrong here. Read your damn history, for god's sakes. Read about W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. These guys were advocating for black rights at the SAME time that Johnson was fighting. There were guys who were doing so even earlier. The late 19th century and early 20th century were full of black activists.


This just makes Johnson an even bigger jerk for thinking only about himself when so many other people were looking up to him. And Joe Louis fought only white guys because the same racial problems existed in his time. Only after WW2 did the public start accepting other black challengers.

web dubois and booker t washington were educated men doing extrodinary things at the time you cant judge jack johnson for not following them in their footsteps in leading the black rights movement. johnson wasn't educated, he wasnt in a position like athletes today are, nobody cared what he had to say, he was just a boxer in white america at that time.

[TheEvilSaint]

of course jack johnson wasnt a hero. he was and arrogant rascist who did everything he could to make people hate him.

[Mike Tyson77]

I love Jack Johnson, and love watching his fights. We can't judge him, everyone does bad things.


I will always remember him as a true American hero.

[AintGottaClue]

i think its great jakc was the first black man to dominate a huge sport, jackie robinson was the next great black player to come into a major white "ruled" sport, i think he woulda had a lot lot tougher time then he did if jack johnson wasnt the champ in boxing

[Mech.]

Okay, fair enough. I disagree though that Johnson was critical of Louis because he thought he was playing up to white people. If Johnson didn't care about civil rights for African Americans why would he care if Louis was doing this? Fact is Johnson liked the spotlight for himself and himself only.

I know that a lot of people will like Johnson no matter what he might have done in his personal life. I wasn't trying to start trouble with this thread. You might be surprised to hear that I'm a big fan of his as well. It's just that people shouldn't say that he did or believed certain things when it's not true.

Ive seen the documentary way after this thread was done,so I'll say this about Louis-Johnson,didnt Johnson want to train Louis? But he was turned down because louis's people didnt want him assosiated with that kind of man/image.At which point Johnson turned bitter,and predicted louis would lose his next match(which he did?)

[ThunderGatti]

What Bombardier was sayin is that Johnson didnt benifit anybody but himself. I heard when Joe Louis was comin up his trainers were telling him you have to be the perfect gentlemen outside the ring and the meanist sonofabitch inside. Louis trainers also had rules for Louis you couldnt drink or smoke, or be photographed with a white women, etc. And even through all these difficulties and barriers (None of which Johnson alleviated by respecting the title) Louis stil respected the heavyweight champonship of the world all most 10 years before Jackie Robinson.

Johnson could have sacrificed things to help the future of his ppl but he chose not to. And b/c of this book and documentry we see him on HW TOP 10 lists and all that and to me its a bit funny, b/c nobody was talkin about him a couple yrs ago. Its almost the same case w/ Braddock with the exception that Braddock was truely a great human being, but after the movie ppl overrate him a bit.

In any case Jack Johnson is no martyr for the black race and in my opinion he ranks in between 14-10 and no higher than 10 in the top heavies of all time