A well-informed person would have observed that the players handled the entire situation very intelligently. They were strategic in their demands and patient in their response. This is a game of chess -- it's not checkers. Unfortunately, many criticizers simply didn't understand that.

That's precisely why racism holds on within America. In the privacy of our homes, clubs, and offices -- and in the tradeoff of philanthropy and what we perceive as the greater good -- we ignore our values, dismiss and rationalize them.