The Litmus Test

"Jalen McClendon ejected for playing the GAME!"

Last Friday night a Charlotte high school quarterback was ejected from a state 4AA playoff game for doing the Cam Newton Superman move after scoring a touchdown in a 45-10 rout. Jalan McClendon of West Mecklenburg High School was ejected for taunting and for poor sportsmanship! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Are we still on this?

Let's keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Celebrating and talking trash on the field is a cultural thing bruh! That means that the brothers in the ghetto have been talking trash and being cocky while playing sports since the beginning of time! That's what makes them so great in the long run because they've passed the test! If you starting taking the emotion out of the game there is no more game! The only cats that are offended by some kid celebrating are those that can’t play because boyz that can get down know the drill! If you don’t want a boy celebrating keep him out of the endzone. It’s just that simple!

 When kids first learn how to play ball in the hood, they are taught from day one by the older kids that the game is played between the ears. See everyone in the hood has talent, speed, agility and quickness. Therefore, the playing field or the court is always level. How does a kid get an advantage? By getting inside of the other guy’s head.  Doing the Superman move, talking trash or dancing on their opponent is always effective.

If you want to compete you have to be able to hold your own. Playing in the ghetto is where the best games are played and where you find the most talent. That's why you see guys that have been able to escape the hood and move to the suburbs take their kids back to the hood to play little league ball. It's the only way you're going to know if your kid is good enough to compete in high school or in college! Ballin' some nerdy kids in the suburbs where everybody gets a turn and is told that they're doing a great job when they aren't means absolutely nothing.

Can he ball with some kid talking about his momma and telling him how bad he's about to school him? Can he ball with a kid in his face telling him that he's garbage for the sake of saying it and none of the adults in the stands are going to stop the abuse? That's the litmus test bruh! How do you think that the guys in the NFL have made it to the NFL? They’ve passed the litmus test. Even if they grew up in the suburbs they ran into some boyz from the hood in college that taunted them, talked trash and they passed the test too.

 If you aren’t strong mentally you won’t make it. So kids in that environment have learned to be tough early on because those are the ground rules. You can’t afford to get labeled as the kid that can’t take the trash talk because you’ll get targeted daily. Guys will intentionally go after you just to break you down mentally. So if you can’t take a boy doing the Superman in high school then you need to quit now!

It’s more than just a game it’s about who’s tougher between the ears. Those that are the toughest mentally usually become the better players. The question has always been, “how can I get an edge on a guy that has the same amount of talent that I have?” There’s no secret formula or magic potion, just rattle him until he breaks. Doing the Superman is just another joint to rattle the opponent to get them to quit. Thus 45-10!

It's much easier to beat guys that are internalizing the taunting and taking it personal. It’s called “gamesmanship”. In the hood it's called, "backing a boy up off of you!" I can beat you as long as I’ve got you doubting yourself and many times that means trying to embarrass you in the process i.e. Superman move! If I'm successful at doing that, I'll beat you 100% of the time. It’s the state playoffs so ole Jalen was only doing his job!

Muhammad Ali was the king at doing it! Michael Irving “The Playmaker” and Deion Sanders “Prime Time” were very effective at doing it as well. Remember when Billy “White Shoes” Johnson would do the crazy legs in the end zone and people would go crazy? That made the game more fun to play and watch. It is entertainment right? But more importantly they were trying to get into the opponents head to win. Why are people trying to take the attitude out of the game? That’s what makes the Game the Game! They don't eject cats for dunking in basketball do they? That's only done to embarrass a boy too! What about the screaming that they do afterwards? That's no different than a cat talking trash or dancing in football. REAL talk!

I constantly hear people saying that the kid is disrespecting the other team. That’s exactly what he’s trying to do! He’s trying to WIN the game and emotion and intimidation is part of the process. However, the only people that make comments like that didn’t grow up in the hood or that don’t know how to compete. If the ghetto didn't exist we wouldn't be watching the NFL or NBA because there wouldn't enough talent in the league to keep our attention! So we need to embrace boyz talking trash because they are the future of college and pro sports.

What this kid did in the game on Friday night was no different from kids doing the high five or shoulder or chest bumping. Where do you think that originated? In the ghetto with boyz playing hard and talking trash! You CAN NOT take the trash out of the game because it's a part of the game!!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport