An Inclusive Litany

9/7/92

The Village Voice reported that race was the motivating factor in determining which members of the men's Olympic basketball team would appear on the cover of Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal boxes.

Voice writer Mike Rubin notes that of the five Dream Teamers featured on the box—Larry Bird, John Stockton, Karl Malone, David Robinson and Chris Mullin—three are white, "a percentage considerably greater than the [National Basketball Association's] white population of 18 percent, or for that matter the '92 team's actual 25 percent [really 33 percent] breakdown of four white players out of 12."

Kellogg U.S.A. publicity manager Donna Thede responded that the company attempted negotiations with all the members of the gold medal bunch. The company was foiled, however, by the contractual obligations that are so much a part of professional sports today. Witness Michael Jordan's efforts to avoid compromising his Nike endorsement—covering the Reebok symbol on his medal ceremony outfit with a U.S. flag.