The great Jim Brown

[Joe Miner]

He also had a hand in screwing up Richard Pryor's career.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Though I said I was done with this thread, in good conscience I'm compelled to return due to several responses by some of the best posters on this forum.

 

Firstly I'm not a Jim Brown apologist. He's a problematic person at best and the consensus is that he's something less than a good person on balance. I agree.

 

I just think it's pointless to start a thread about someone where that thread basically amounts to target practice at an easy target. The result is inevitable and only asks the question, whose character shall we assassinate tomorrow?

 

And I am bothered by uninformed opinions. Whatever anyone wants to say about Jim Brown, he's a complex person and I guess I was a bit peevish about the direction of the discussion. I should have steered clear from the beginning.

 

Please carry on with the conversation and sorry to have posted against my instincts.

[KD in CA]

Take a chill pill, SJBF. Brown was NOT a maligned minority for most of his life. Sure, he experienced racism through his 1st couple decades, but by the time he shocked the sports world and quit at 29, that crap was disappearing across the nation and he was already an icon and a household name.

 

I have no use for him, for all the reasons mentioned -and, he's a terrible actor. Ha! He's still so full of his damn self, he has no idea how foolish he appears to many, if not most people. This is the guy who so disliked Franco Harris' running style and threatening his career totals, he claimed he'd come out of retirement at 47 and play for the Raiders, just to keep Harris at bay from his record. He's the only person on earth who thought he was able to do it and he probably still does.. He's on record of despising OJ as well, waaaay before the murder of his wife. He's a pathetic, hateful man and will likely continue to be all his days.

 

It's an entirely new Cleveland Browns. His teamed moved to Baltimore. I, for one, am glad to see his career records fall further and further from the top. And, I know what I'm talking about, SJBF.

 

+1

 

I always thought Jim Brown was a total d---.

 

You guys who think people shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion of someone because they are black need to pull your heads out of your asses unless you are applying that same standard to every person in every situation.

[Lurker]

I don't think it's fair to judge any man unless you've closely studied him and know all of the intimate details of his life.

 

We're talking about a black man who was born in 1936.

 

Virtually none of us have any idea what he's gone through.

 

This topic is patently unfair and an invitation for a lot of people who have no idea what they're talking about to give their opinions.

 

That is all.

 

Well said.

[Cheddar's Dad]

This is the post that should (but won't) end this thread. 100% agree.

 

Jim Brown is bitter. I never got the sense it was because he is a black man. I think he regrets retiring so soon. Decades later and the football nation is still sucking his dong and he still has a chip on his shoulder??

 

Jim can take that goofy kufi and head over to the casino and work as a greeter. Or Walmart. Maybe he will learn humility as an anonymous elderly man.

 

He does seem bitter. Maybe you're right about him regretting retiring too soon. Maybe he thought he could take Hollywood by storm, since he was a handsome man, but failed to do so. I've seen a lot of Jim Brown interviews over the years and have never seen him laugh or crack a joke. He gives the impression that he hasn't enjoyed his life. Sad.

[Kemp]

I don't think it's fair to judge any man unless you've closely studied him and know all of the intimate details of his life.

 

We're talking about a black man who was born in 1936.

 

Virtually none of us have any idea what he's gone through.

 

This topic is patently unfair and an invitation for a lot of people who have no idea what they're talking about to give their opinions.

 

That is all.

 

It is patently fair to offer an opinion on anything and everything.

 

Brown was easily the best running back I ever saw.

 

I am certain he went through hell being black in that era.

 

Some of his actions were great since retirement.

 

Some were reprehensible.

[Kemp]

Though I said I was done with this thread, in good conscience I'm compelled to return due to several responses by some of the best posters on this forum.

 

Firstly I'm not a Jim Brown apologist. He's a problematic person at best and the consensus is that he's something less than a good person on balance. I agree.

 

I just think it's pointless to start a thread about someone where that thread basically amounts to target practice at an easy target. The result is inevitable and only asks the question, whose character shall we assassinate tomorrow?

 

And I am bothered by uninformed opinions. Whatever anyone wants to say about Jim Brown, he's a complex person and I guess I was a bit peevish about the direction of the discussion. I should have steered clear from the beginning.

 

Please carry on with the conversation and sorry to have posted against my instincts.

To prevent any further problems perhaps it would be a good idea for us to filter all of our posts and thoughts through you before we make them public. This would greatly reduce any uninformed opinions from ever being made available for public consumption. Otherwise, think of the damage to the children.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

To prevent any further problems perhaps it would be a good idea for us to filter all of our posts and thoughts through you before we make them public. This would greatly reduce any uninformed opinions from ever being made available for public consumption. Otherwise, think of the damage to the children.

 

 

The others are fine but I agree that all of your opinions should be filtered if not deleted outright seeing as most of them really suck.

 

 

Just kidding big fella.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this topic. If it isn't, I'm certain that someone will remove it or criticize me for posting it but here goes.

 

I'm old enough to remember the great Jim Brown; the power, the speed, and the disappointment upon hearing of his somewhat premature retirement. He really was an amazing athlete.

 

Jim Brown always impressed me as an angry black man; angry about the treatment of minorities in 1950/1960 America and for good reason. But it was his always seemingly angry atitude that I noticed. He always had a chip on his shoulders.

 

Brown had a problem, a few years ago, with Mike Holmgren and his Cleveland Brown's staff. He apparently did not feel he received the respect he feels he deserves. He recently appeared on the NFL Network and was introduced as "the great Jim Brown". Later one of the regulars on the program stated, "Jim Brown's greatness will always be respected". I wish I knew the inside story of what went on with Brown and Holmgren but I can't help but wonder if Brown, himself, isn't part of the problem. Does he expect homage a bit too much?

 

I recall when he and the beautiful Raquel Welch made 100 Rifles years ago. There was a kissing scene between the two and Welch wrote in a book years later that she was angred when Brown thrust his tongue into her mouth during that scene.

 

Does Jim Brown seem to expect a little too much homage beyond what he earned as a football player. I'd welcome the opinion of others that read this forum. Does he come across to you as a little too entitled?

 

I never liked Jim from his interviews or interactions with others. He is one of those guys who has to have a comeback against whatever you say. The guy is just a dick plain and simple and Holgrem probably didn't "respect" him because he didn't want to put up with his BS.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

He also had a hand in screwing up Richard Pryor's career.

 

How so?

[Buftex]

Not sure if OP saw the interview this past week on NFLN with Jim Brown, upon the announcement that he was returning to work with the Browns. He simply stated that he felt Holmgren had "no repsepect for me, and said that I was being payed too much...he just wanted me to dance (team cheerleader I took this to mean, not unlike Jim Kellys' job with the Bills), and I don't dance". He want on to make it clear, he had no respect for Holmgren either: "He wanted his own people in there, so that is what he did...they made a lot of money".

 

Now, I am no Mike Holmgren fan either. But, he was the team President and GM...of course he wants his own people. As I recall, the team, like many, was having financial difficulty, and was likely looking to cut operational costs... Brown couldn't really give any real answer as to what made him so vital to the organization. They lost with him in the position, surely they could lose without him.

 

When pressed as to what his role would be with the Browns new (crook?) owner, Brown said essentially "doing whatever they ask me to do, to keep the Cleveland Browns brand name relevant, and doing whatever I can do to help the Cleveland Browns win football games." He also expressed his undying loyalty to the new (soon to be embattled) owner. So, yeah, it sounds like he can dance if he wants to....as long as your paying.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Buftex

[Stealth]

Jim Brown is a hof football player a bitter racist and a wife beater. !@#$ him. I don't care what he did for the game of football. Any man who hits a woman is not a man that I can respect as a person.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Stealth

[CowgirlsFan]

An amazing athlete! Had the opportunity

to see him run UP and DOWN the field

against my Cowboys in the early 60's at

the Cotton Bowl.

[Storm Front]

My uncle was friends with him back when he was at Syracuse. He said he was a smart guy. He said he went out to dinner with Brown, Ernie Davis and another fellow once.

[Jauronimo]

How so?

He turned Pryor on to self immolation. All the cool kids and distraught afghan women are doing it.

[Joe Miner]

How so?

 

http://brightlightsf...ichardpryor.php

 

In 1983, Columbia Pictures gave Pryor over $40 million to set up a company to produce four films — with complete creative control. The deal established Pryor as the most powerful black actor in Hollywood. He named his company Indigo Productions and announced he was looking to make serious, relevant, and challenging films with black actors and filmmakers.

In effect, it was a case of giving the lunatic control of the asylum. Indigo was a disaster from the start. Perhaps more than anything, it finished Pryor as a radical force. He was required to make business decisions, select scripts, and green-light projects, oversee them from concept to finished film. At the press launch, he was all noble ambition and worthy intent. But underneath he had no idea what he was doing. Indigo would become — in his own words — a fiasco.

 

1 guess as to who the President of the company was.

[Chandler#81]

 

 

http://brightlightsf...ichardpryor.php

 

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1 guess as to who the President of the company was.

 

Raquel Welch?

[It's in My Blood]

“My career as a prominent athlete came during a time of tremendous upheaval in this country. The easiest thing I could have done was keep my mouth shut and continue to collect my salary—considered quite ample at the time. But instead, I redoubled my efforts towards my two greatest goals—being an agent of social change for my people, and beating the living daylights out of any woman who dared back-sass me. It is a damn shame that the top athletes of today choose to ignore the trail I blazed for them." - Jim Brown aka. EPIC PIECE OF ****!

 

Read more: http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2009/06/jim-brown-dismayed-by-lack-of-activism-and-lack-of-wife-beating.html#ixzz2VM90zncC

[Tu-Toned]

I'll just state this. When it comes to charchter, I would look for someone with CJ Spiller type attributes

before I would a Jim Brown. CJ Spiller is the anti-Jim Brown. Now CJ has a lot to accomplish before

we could even begin to look at stats, and may never approach Brown's unbelivable accomplishments.

But if black youth are looking for a role model, look no further than CJ Spiller.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Tu-Toned

[Mr. WEO]

I'll just state this. When it comes to charchter, I would look for someone with CJ Spiller type attributes

before I would a Jim Brown. CJ Spiller is the anti-Jim Brown. Now CJ has a lot to accomplish before

we could even begin to look at stats, and may never approach Brown's unbelivable accomplishments.

But if black youth are looking for a role model, look no further than CJ Spiller.

 

I think that black youths (or any youths) could find nearly an infinite number of role models more impressive than Jim Brown. But Spiller, a nice kid, is someone blessed with in demand physical skills that almost no one in the world has. What can he tell kids? Work hard and you too can be millionaire pro athlete? Follow your dreams, etc?

 

Pro athletes make poor role models by the nature of their rarified existence. Much better role models would be other men who who work hard (in the real world) and make life better for their children.