Black athlete's image bothers Ivory Crockett

              Black athlete's image
bothers Ivory Crockett
Another summer ol Internallan track com'
petition has brought on a degree of bitterness
on (be pan ol Sill's champion dasbman Ivory
Crockett.
Wbllc tract and field has taken Ivory places
he probably wouldn't! go on bis own, be la fed
up wlih ihe Image of the stcrotypc athlete and
partlculary Its: "black athlete,    stereotype.
Crocterr, In his third year at SIU, has become one of the foremost aprlmers In the
United Sines, twice winning ihc National Amateur   Athletic   Union   100-yard  daab  title.
Whai concerns Crocked la not how many
blue ribbons he can' accumulate In bis four-
year Glint at SIU, but how be Is seen oil the
track as well aa on it.
"Over here (the United States), Ihe people
see you too much as" the nigger whoean run,' "
Crockett said. Having seen fans undcompct-
Itora from bolh ends of Europe and the far
casi, Crockett, a native of Webster Groves,
Mo., baa gained a perspective uncommon of
moB! athletes.
Crockett explained that Americans expect
too much out of tbe arhlete every time he competes. He emphasised that In ihia country
many of tbe training aspects ol both distance
running and sprinting, the dally training tnu-
tlr.c, arc overlooked by ihe American viewer.
A shining example of thin was Jim Ryun.
Unquestionably the lop mllcr In the world a
few years ago, Ryun rarely went under four
rolnutoaon weekly bosla much 10 the dismay of
ihc crowds gaihorcd to watch htm.
Plain and simple, Crockett blames racial
prejudice, as some of the. problems facing specifically the black sthlete.
"Ii'n hard to compete In some meets In this
country," Crockett continued, "especially In
the southern states. I can't go anywhere and
sec a white person I don't think baa something agalnat mo,"
In Europe, Crockett aaw thlnga differently
and ho was seen differently as well. Dy winning tbe national AAU title agsin ibis year,
SIU a top sprinter went on tour July 1-29,
competing  In Prance, Germany and twice In
"People In Europe (with tbe exception of the
Soviet Union) are different,"Crockettexplained. "They meet yon on a different perspective. Color Is no barrier, yovtCrv treated as
an American citizen, not as a black or white."
Docs the black-white Issue carry a heavy
burden In western Europe? No, according to
Crockett. "It doesn't exist over there. It ta
on a small scale."
Crockett praised [he track and Held fans In
"Over In Europe, you sre more appreciated
as a person than Jusi as an sthlete. They
treat athletes much better than la the U.5." he
said. "Over there they get to know you."
"Here I can run In a meet and then later go
over 10 the stands and no one will really know
Ills actual track performances were mediocre compared to his best performances,
but what Crockett learned about people of
the world through the eyes ol a black American might have been more Important In
Ihe long run.
"I don'i make any excuses for myself,"
Crockett related. "Everybody was running on
the same track and I got beat."
"Il seemed like It was all downhill after the
AAU meet," he continued. "That'salllcarcd
about. It was a lack of motivation. Here (at
SIU) coach (Lew llartrog) can get me upfor a
meet, but there I Just didn't hare the Inspiration," ssld Crockett who did not win a single
race In Europe during the summer.
Possibly, the trip across the Atlantic waa
when Crockett atoppcdihlnklngirackandaiar-
ted thinking people and world understanding.
"It was a great experience," ho said. "I
thought a lot."
what about this year? Bothered by pulled
muscles and ripped hamstrings much of last
year, Crockett haa a clean bill ol health right
"I think I'm completely welt," he said.
"Last year I had s problem In not running
through the tape. Also my stsrts were bad
and I have to work on them."
Whether on campua or on the track this
spring. Ivory Crockett will be speaking with
authority.
Tuesday: A black American athlete looki it
(he Sotiel Union