--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why is it sports is the only thing white…" description: "\"Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football,\" he said. \"I wanna be a lawyer.\" \"That's fin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/sue-monk-kidd-404_annoyed_why-is-it-sports-is-the-only-thing-white_2192508.jpg" --- # Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us… ![“Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football," he said. "I wanna be a lawyer." "That's fine with me," I said, a little annoyed. "I've just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that's all. You've got to hear of these things before you can…” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/sue-monk-kidd-404_annoyed_why-is-it-sports-is-the-only-thing-white_2192508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/sue-monk-kidd-404_annoyed_why-is-it-sports-is-the-only-thing-white_2192508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/sue-monk-kidd-404_annoyed_why-is-it-sports-is-the-only-thing-white_2192508.jpg) > “Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football," he said. "I wanna be a lawyer." "That's fine with me," I said, a little annoyed. "I've just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that's all. You've got to hear of these things before you can imagine them." "Bullshit. You gotta imagine what's never been.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He questions why success for Black people is limited to sports, expressing frustration at stereotypes and the lack of visible role models in other fields. **In simple terms:** He feels Black success is stereotyped as only in sports. Key Takeaway Challenge stereotypes by highlighting diverse achievements. Themes race stereotype representation aspiration identity Mood critical determined Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - education - career counseling - media representation - community mentorship Key Concepts systemic bias role models media influence Questions to Reflect On - What fields need more Black representation? - How can we broaden societal expectations? A Different Perspective Stereotypes persist despite individual talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annoyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annoyed/) [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullshit/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Football Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-said-3825777/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Negro Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negro-lawyer-4782063/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-football/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Sports Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports-thing-2680789/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Wanna Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanna-lawyer-4782062/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Football said,"Why I am not a cricket ball to get a shot from Sachin".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/football-said-why-i-am-not-a-cricket-ball-to-get-a-shot-from-sachin/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [In football we always said that the other team couldn't beat us. We had to be sure that we didn't beat ourselves. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-hayes/in-football-we-always-said-that-the-other-team-couldn-t-beat-us-we/) [Woody Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-hayes/) > [“That is why I came to school here,” Connor said pointedly. “I don’t think I could stand being more than a few miles away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-alexander/that-is-why-i-came-to-school-here-connor-said-pointedly-i-don-t-think/) [Monica Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-alexander/) > [“Clearly, sports were another thing Adam Carlsen excelled at—unfairly so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-hazelwood/clearly-sports-were-another-thing-adam-carlsen-excelled-at-unfairly-so/) [Ali Hazelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-hazelwood/) > [Sports has always been a thing of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-lindsay/sports-has-always-been-a-thing-of-mine/) [Rachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-lindsay/) > [I love the military, of course, but it wasn't my thing. Sports was my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-knox/i-love-the-military-of-course-but-it-wasn-t-my-thing-sports-was-my/) [Kevin Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-knox/) > [Sports were never my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garrett/sports-were-never-my-thing/) [Brad Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garrett/) > [Don't sell yourself short because without that you can't go far in life because after sports the only thing you know is sports and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-jackson/don-t-sell-yourself-short-because-without-that-you-can-t-go-far-in/) [Bo Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-jackson/) > [I am totally involved with music, but my goal is to do the sports thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phife-dawg/i-am-totally-involved-with-music-but-my-goal-is-to-do-the-sports-thing/) [Phife Dawg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phife-dawg/) > [One of the first things we did was to find role models or mentors at companies that had achieved what we wanted to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-harper/one-of-the-first-things-we-did-was-to-find-role-models-or-mentors-at/) [Mitch Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-harper/) > [Each email contains an unsubscribe link. We will NEVER sell, rent, loan, or abuse your email address in ANY way. Writing has been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/each-email-contains-an-unsubscribe-link-we-will-never-sell-rent-loan/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I think everyone has been annoyed at school or in their life, that's a type of bullying. So, you can take those feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/i-think-everyone-has-been-annoyed-at-school-or-in-their-life-that-s-a/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) > [“He remained annoyed with himself until he realized that not knowing what he wanted was actually quite natural. We can never know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-remained-annoyed-with-himself-until-he-realized-that-not-knowing/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Annoyed quotes > [“He remained annoyed with himself until he realized that not knowing what he wanted was actually quite natural. We can never know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-remained-annoyed-with-himself-until-he-realized-that-not-knowing/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I think everyone has been annoyed at school or in their life, that's a type of bullying. So, you can take those feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/i-think-everyone-has-been-annoyed-at-school-or-in-their-life-that-s-a/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Each email contains an unsubscribe link. We will NEVER sell, rent, loan, or abuse your email address in ANY way. Writing has been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/each-email-contains-an-unsubscribe-link-we-will-never-sell-rent-loan/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [One of the first things we did was to find role models or mentors at companies that had achieved what we wanted to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-harper/one-of-the-first-things-we-did-was-to-find-role-models-or-mentors-at/) [Mitch Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-harper/) > [We were only there for five days and during that time Tom was a bit annoyed that the French were more interested in me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalla-ward/we-were-only-there-for-five-days-and-during-that-time-tom-was-a-bit/) [Lalla Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalla-ward/) > [There are two types of people in the world: the ones that piss me off and the ones that don't. Decide which one you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-two-types-of-people-in-the-world-the-ones-that-piss-me-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a huge 'Breaking Bad' fan; I would be really annoyed if anyone told me anything about what was going to happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolaj-coster-waldau/i-m-a-huge-breaking-bad-fan-i-would-be-really-annoyed-if-anyone-told/) [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolaj-coster-waldau/) > [There's always male roles I want to play. I'm so annoyed when I watch movies and go, "That could have been played by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/there-s-always-male-roles-i-want-to-play-i-m-so-annoyed-when-i-watch/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [ “Be annoyed and sin not" ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/be-annoyed-and-sin-not-r-alan-woods-2012/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“Jen, get a clue and read Wadim's shirt." Jacque told her dryly. Jen looked over at Wadim who, oh so helpfully, pulled his shirt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/jen-get-a-clue-and-read-wadim-s-shirt-jacque-told-her-dryly-jen/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [From the exterior face of the wall towers must be projected, from which an approaching enemy may be annoyed by weapons, from the embrasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-the-exterior-face-of-the-wall-towers-must-be-projected-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [- "Women should all move to Amazonia, or at least vacation there four times a year." - "Amazonia?" - "It's the girl world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/women-should-all-move-to-amazonia-or-at-least-vacation-there-four/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I was annoyed from the start by the attitude of doubt by the spectators that I would never really make the flight. This attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-quimby/i-was-annoyed-from-the-start-by-the-attitude-of-doubt-by-the/) [Harriet Quimby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-quimby/) [Browse all 446 Annoyed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annoyed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football,\" he said. \"I wanna be a lawyer.\" \"That's fine with me,\" I said, a little annoyed. \"I've just never heard of a Negro lawyer, that's all. You've got to hear of these things before you can imagine them.\" \"Bullshit. 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