Jesse Jackson Calls For More Minority Ownership In Fantasy Football Leagues

MIAMI--Civil rights activist and self-proclaimed rabble-rouser Jesse Jackson took a stand today against perceived inequities in the ownership ranks of the nations fantasy football leagues. Stating that the playing field is “far from level,” Jackson complained that not enough was being done to correct the imbalance, and that pro-active steps needed to be taken immediately.

“I’m here today to right a wrong,” said Jackson at a press conference. “As I sit here and talk to you, thousands of young men from all over the nation are drafting NFL players to be part of their fantasy teams. The majority of those players are African-American. And the majority of those owners are white. Is this fair?”

But some say this will also be an uphill climb. Since there is no single unifying body of fantasy football owners, it will be difficult to get the message across. The leagues are scattered about the country in completely random clusters and there is no single organization to hear his grievances. Not only that, there are virtually no numbers to show what percentage of fantasy football owners are white and which are black. There may not even be an inequity in the ownership ranks.

“I’m not sure how he’s going to go about doing this,” said friend and fellow civil rights crusader Johnny Cochran. “I’m all for advancement of minorities in every facet of society, and I too like a good fight, even when I’m the underdog. But this is ridiculous. How the hell are we supposed to know how many black kids run fantasy football teams? My friend Jesse, I believe, just wants a little face time.”

And face time is exactly what he's getting. Sports Illustrated ran a cover story last week on Jackson’s latest crusade, entitled “Where Have All the Black Fantasy Football Owners Gone?”

In the article, Jackson rails against the injustices perpetuated against African-Americans trying to get a foot in the door in the world of fantasy football.

“First, they don’t let us own real football teams,” shot Jackson. “Now, they’re telling us we can’t even own fantasy teams? What’s next? Are they gonna arrest us just for thinking about football?”

Although he may be fighting some long odds, Jackson knows how to draw attention to a cause. Several news outlets have picked up the story and the lack of minority fantasy football owners is starting to become a hot topic. Brandon Funston, ESPN’s fantasy football analyst, weighed in on the issue:

“I must say I’m alarmed by this trend. I, like many others, had no idea that there was a problem with minority ownership in fantasy football leagues. I don’t even know how they could possibly figure that out”

When asked if he would take any action himself to help spur some change, Funston was adamant.

“Fuck no! I’m not biting the hand that feeds me. Geez, look at me. I’m getting paid thousands and thousands of dollars to be a fantasy football analyst. Talk about stumbling ass-backward into money. I’m not doing anything to jeopardize this. Although, for the record, my official stance is that yes, I think there should be more minority ownership in fantasy football leagues. There. That’s all I’m saying.”

As for Jackson, he’s just getting started. He plans a cross-country campaign to raise awareness for what he calls “a national crisis.” He insists change is coming to fantasy football, and he’s going to be the man to bring it about.