Whitley: No Super Bowl MVP treatment for these teens at Disney
David Whitley
SPORTS COMMENTARY
June 28, 2007
The sign at Walt Disney World's entrance says: "Where Dreams Come True."
That is false.
I dreamed of getting busted Wednesday, and all I have to show for it is a slightly used Florida State football jersey.
Where did I go wrong?
The day began by reading the front-page story about Disney kicking four FSU football recruits out of the park for loitering last weekend. That seemed odd since the theme-park industry is based on people wandering around.
"We were just hanging out," Avis Commack said.
So were a lot of other people, very few of whom suddenly were surrounded by more than a dozen cops, escorted to a holding area, photographed, searched, fingerprinted and told never to set foot on Disney property again.
What set the Gang of Four apart?
"They just harassed a group of black kids they thought might make trouble," Commack said.
Oh, geez, it's the race card.
The last thing we need is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cranking up their tired routines outside the Magic Kingdom. But you really are living a fairy tale if you believe this wasn't a case of racial profiling.
That's understandable -- to a point. Disney is cracking down on gangs, and most gangs are made up of minorities. It would be silly to sic surveillance teams on 6-year-olds wearing mouse ears.
Of the 46 people issued trespass warnings the past two weekends, 45 were black or Hispanic. But what if the suspects turn out to be nothing more than a few teenagers having harmless fun?
That's all Commack, Vincent Williams, Nickolas Moody and Nigel Carr were doing at Downtown Disney. They are high-schoolers who've committed early to FSU. They were joined by future teammate Moses McCray, who left before the trouble started.
Only there never was any trouble. The players walked around for a couple of hours. They sat for a while at an outdoor restaurant.
They talked to girls, which is what 17-year-old boys do on a Friday night. They didn't spend any money. That might violate Disney policy, but it's hardly against the law.
They already had decided to call it a night when they were circled by sheriff's deputies. One of the players had been given a movie ticket earlier, and deputies asked them to go to the movie or leave.
"What did we do wrong?" said Commack, one of the nation's top receiving prospects. "Is this really called for?"
Disney said the players were cited for not cooperating with deputies. To which I ask, what would you have done?
You've had an enjoyable evening, minding your own business. Commack said there was a drunken white kid making a fool of himself a few yards away. But a phalanx of cops surrounds you and demands to know what's going on.
Wouldn't you have questioned them back?
If that's uncooperation, the players are clearly guilty. But I'm slightly confused why security got involved in the first place.
If Disney World ran off everybody who behaved like the players, it would turn into Sunken Gardens. Where exactly is the line between hanging out and loitering?
"If I get into details about that, it will affect the effectiveness of our safety plan," spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said.
I don't want to do that, but surely the players must have done something to trigger the Loitering Alarm. I tried my best to find out Wednesday.
I bought an FSU jersey and drove to Downtown Disney. I sat at a table in my No. 11 and did absolutely nothing.
After about an hour, a security guard approached. Surely the jersey would tip him off to trouble.
"Good afternoon," he said with a smile.
More effort obviously was needed. There was a stock car from the Richard Petty Driving Experience parked nearby.
"Please Keep Off The Car," the sign said.
I plopped down on the hood.
Nothing.
I went to the Virgin Megastore and moved the new Kelly Clarkson CD to the discount bin.
Nobody noticed.
I did everything except walk down Main Street USA wearing a sandwich board that read, "I'm Loitering!"
It was all a waste of time, which was not surprising. We all know where the line is.
Middle-aged white guys aren't tied routinely to gang activity, especially on a Wednesday afternoon. Young black guys are, especially on a Friday night.
So I don't blame Disney for scrutinizing its guests. Nobody wants Cirque du Soleil to turn into the O.K. Corral.
But when the guests are just being guests, they shouldn't be treated like criminals.
At least Disney doesn't have to worry about enforcing the lifetime ban. Commack has no intention of ever going back, even if he wins the Super Bowl MVP one day.
He'd rather go someplace where dreams really do come true, and he's not hassled for loitering because he's black.
David Whitley can be reached at [email protected].
Just gotta say that I disagree with Thomas' assertion that Disney isn't a racist company simply because it targets Blacks and Hispanics in their advertising. That's a very weak argument.Thomas: Disney apology could cool talk about racial profiling
Mike Thomas
COMMENTARY
June 28, 2007
I must confess to the crime of loitering at Downtown Disney.
You can find me at that toy store with the Mr. Potato Head bin, watching my kids slap in eyeballs and ears.
Just hanging out.
Not spending money.
But in my defense I keep my pants pulled up, don't harass other guests and don't curse Disney security, which by now must be desperately looking for white folks to boot out of Downtown Disney.
A crackdown on Downtown Disney loitering seems to target kids of color. That includes Garnet and Gold, given that some Florida State recruits were swept up in the bust.
Mickey is in a real bind here.
Disney sells an escape from reality. That includes removing the mental burden of fearing for your safety.
To deliver this product, Disney needs to maintain control. That is why Walt bought 27,000 acres, to separate his kingdom from our anarchy.
Disney controls access. It controls parking. That deters criminals from prowling around, looking for victims. This is why you rarely read about violent crimes on Disney property, whereas they are not all that rare on other tourism strips.
But now we have this hybrid place called Downtown Disney.
True, it is Disney. But you can drive right in and park your car without paying a dime or driving through a gate. On top of that, you can go in a bar and get drunk.
All this tends to loosen control.
That was the risk Disney took when it delved into nighttime entertainment. And so I'm not entirely sympathetic to its current plight.
The reality is that such venues attract teenagers looking for a cheap place to loiter. Downtown Orlando, Winter Park, International Drive and almost any shopping mall have all had their problems with kids.
If they are white kids in their Calvin Kleins hanging around Winter Park Village, they are treated as a nuisance at most. If they are black and Hispanic kids in their baggy pants hanging around Downtown Disney, they are treated as a threat.
You could argue it's racist.
You could argue statistical probabilities about which group is more likely to commit a crime.
The unfortunate reality is that Central Florida's epidemic of violent crime is centered in low-income, minority neighborhoods.
Another unfortunate reality is that a majority of young, minority males are good kids lumped into a bad stereotype.
I do not doubt that Disney has a problem with wannabe gangstas. Last week a 15-year-old was caught with a loaded pistol. And then there was that alleged armed abduction of a Connecticut couple from the Downtown Disney parking lot.
This threatens the perception of Disney control. It tarnishes the image that once you drive on the premises, you are wrapped tightly in Mickey's security blanket.
That image is why a shooting in downtown Orlando might not even be reported, whereas a shooting on Disney property would be national news.
Disney is not a racist company.
It targets Hispanics and blacks in its marketing. Last year it booted far more white kids than minorities.
If you want to understand Disney's motivation, think dollars, not color. It has a lot more to lose when violence breaks out at one of its venues.
Disney has to deal with the growing number of teenagers settling in at Downtown Disney. The problem with any crackdown of this magnitude is that mistakes are made.
To keep the crackdown credible, Disney needs to admit when that's the case, as it appears to be with these FSU recruits, and apologize.
Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or [email protected]. His blog is OrlandoSentinel.com/mikethomas.
No, he's just referring to the fact that Disney advertises in Black and Hispanic media (magazines, TV channels, etc.) Sure, they do, and so do a lot of other corporations, but that fact by itself is hardly "proof" of Disney not being racist. Remember, Strom Thurmond fathered a biracial daughter.
They sure don't do that at Disneyland...
cheers