Roger Goodell’s ruling fails Michael Vick, players … Vick suspension doesn’t match nature of crime, behavior pattern … Goodell makes the correct call … T.O. needs reality check over Vick … Where Vick might end up … Vick to Redskins rumors already started …  Shawne Merriman returns to field … Philip Rivers looks to fine tune short game … Broncos unsigned first rounders Knowshon Moreno and Robert Ayers fail to report to camp … Reinstatement report just more false hope for Pete Rose … Hall monitors should lighten up on Rose … Mark Jackson, Kurt Rambis on short list for T-Wolves coaching job … BCS changes could force Rose Bowl to take non-BCS team … Shaq denied entrance to White House … OT: Bah-dee

Michael Vick is a free man today … Florio: Vick shouldn’t settle for second-string gig … Floyd Mayweather, once again, goes in on UFC and calls Manny Pacquiao a midget (see the video interview here) … Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson talks about his role on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 10 … That Devin Hester commercial is cool and all but damn if it doesn’t look just like this one … Nnamdi Asomugha’s role may be changing on Raider’s defense … Knicks already making alternative plans once LeBron decides he’s not coming … Shaq’s burgeoning media empire continues to grow … OT: Definition of a dime

In the first installment of B.O.D.C.A. (Barack Obama Didn’t Change Anything), we at TSI have chosen Cowboys tight end Martellus  Bennett and his interpretation of the “Black Olympics” as the target of our assertion that besides bringing class, intelligence, dignity and common sense to the White House, the election of President Barack Obama has done little to prevent the same self-destructive behaviors that have plagued black folks in America prior to his inauguration.

Bennett, a second-year tight end out of Texas A&M, has a known affinity for fried chicken, but it was a video (see above) of him and his brother, Seahawks rookie Michael Bennett, participating in a three-tiered race that included eating fried chicken and watermelon and drinking Kool-Aid that compelled me to pen a slap not only for Bennett’s apparent obliviousness to perpetuating racial stereotypes, but also a warning to athletes and those that surround them of the pitfalls of feeding the ever-burgeoning social media beast.

The stereotype that black people are born with an inclination to like fried chicken, watermelon and Kool-Aid has been around for a long time (see above), and was recently brought back to the forefront with the election of President Obama and the resultant photoshops of the president exercising his apparent birthright to enjoy the aforementioned foods.

While these images can be easily dismissed as pure and utter ignorance, what can’t be so easily dismissed is the embracing of these stereotypes by someone like Bennett. Regardless of whether or not you believe it was Bennett’s intent to offend through the device of superficial humor, the result is still the same. Two grown ass black men, both of whom attended college, eating fried chicken and watermelon -- in a manner that would make Malcolm X do somersaults in his grave -- all while beaming with pride in the name of entertaining their audience.

As recently as five years ago, Bennett wouldn’t have an audience and would just be another prospect with a high ceiling. However, thanks to platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc…we live in a world where everyone is a star and the number of friends and/or followers one enjoys is a validation of their importance in this new media sphere. Professional athletes are among the biggest stars in social media, as evidenced by Shaquille O’Neal’s 1,632,250 followers -- and counting -- on Twitter.

As a result, this new media explosion has fostered the kind of trite “humor” employed by Bennett and the “Black Olympics” is a perfect example of athletes trying to satiate the cravings of their fans to know any and everything about their favorite stars.

However, you don’t have to make a complete fool of yourself and make light of America’s sordid past to attract attention for your media ventures, regardless if you feel that your public is awaiting and nothing but the most coonish of acts will satisfy their hunger.