I’m sure many of you have been hearing about the allegations of racism at Downtown Sports Bar lately. And like you, I too was outraged. Reading Jonathan Wall’s story about how he was thrown out of the bar because he’s black made me sick. Kicking Jonathan Wall out for being black doesn’t make Todd Chriscoe racist. Let’s just say it makes him…racist-ish .
And who isn’t racist-ish nowadays? Let’s be honest. I may be Arab, but I still wouldn’t feel safe next to me on an airplane. That’s why, as a courtesy to all of the other passengers, I commit to clearing airport security and boarding the flight completely naked. It’s also makes using the restrooms in the airplane much easier.
Mr. Wall claims that the first racist-ish incident of the night was when he and his friend, who is also black, met the bouncer at the door to the bar. They were stopped and told that to enter that night, they needed a membership. As the bouncer was trying to explain the membership-only policy, a policeman approached him to discuss something unrelated. At that moment Wall says the bouncer then told them, “Never mind, y’all go ahead.“
If you’ve ever been to Downtown Sports Bar, you’ll know that it’s the epitome of class. Any place that has Free Pong Tuesdays with one-dollar pizza slices and all you can eat wings with DJ Randy B is worthy of requiring membership status. And folks, like all elite societies, Downtown Sports Bar is incredibly selective about who it admits.
It’s hard to believe Wall’s attorney when she says that the club had no characteristics of a private club. Tom Murphy, the sports bar’s co-owner says the club has roughly 7,500 members, which includes all of the bar’s Facebook and email contacts.
So if you want to gain membership to this fine establishment, then you have to go through the grueling application process of opening your Internet browser, logging into Facebook, typing “Downtown Sports Bar” in the search bar, clicking on their page, and hitting the ‘like’ button; then, depending on your Internet connection, you have to wait anywhere between one-half to one full second to receive confirmation of your membership’s acceptance. Your other option is to be white and show your ID at the door, like the group that entered before Wall and his friend on June 17. See? It’s pretty much a country club, if country clubs discriminated based on race rather than wealth.
In their report on the issue, WRAL posted a link to Lazyday.com which takes photos for the bar. The news source says that the pictures show a “diverse crowd.” Ladies and gentlemen, I couldn’t agree more after seeing these pictures, I can say that out of the 332 pictures posted, 13 of them have at least one black person. Some of you might say that’s a small amount of black people, but I assume that’s only because bar is trying to promote racial equality through a new, more diverse version of ‘Where’s Waldo?’ called ‘Where Are All of the Black People?’
In the pictures you’ll also see a diverse mix of white people ranging from pasty white to overly tan orange.
When asked about his actions by WRAL , Chriscoe said that it had nothing to do with race and that he was just trying to create an upscale environment where patrons of the club could feel comfortable. Clearly Wall, who will be going to Harvard for his master’s degree, just didn’t fit the criteria. C’mon, Harvard! Really? There’s nothing upscale about going to a university with a seven percent acceptance rate. Philip Christman , a former professor and friend of Wall, says the Harvard-bound student is “one of the most intimidatingly accomplished and polished undergrads” he’s ever met. How are Downtown Sports Bar patrons supposed to feel comfortable around someone who is described as being intimidating?
These will be undoubtedly trying times for Chriscoe as he fights these allegations in the courtroom. That’s why I’m asking you to relieve Chriscoe of the stress of running a business. In the meantime, eat at my other favorite place in downtown Raleigh, Tobacco Road Sports Café on Glenwood Avenue.
