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Spring is almost here, which means NBA babies are going to be popping like popcorn: Gilbert Arenas is expecting a boy within a week or two, there will be a new Baby LeBron in June, and Carmelo and his fiancée, LaLa Vasquez, are expecting the arrival of their baby boy sometime next week (Update: 'Melo's and LaLa's baby is finally here!).
Oh, Boy!
These major ballers expecting stork deliveries are also fellas who don't seem to put too much credence into that old "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mary with a baby carriage" arrangement.
Tiny Gil, Baby 'Bron, and Little 'Melo will all be born to parents who haven't taken that bounce down the aisle.
Apparently, ring bling is highly overrated when knocking a girl up.
And that's not just baller mentality. An ABC News poll last year revealed that more than half of all Americans now think having a baby out of wedlock is morally acceptable.
So I won't harp on the lack of "I Do's," but I will suggest using an umbrella if you don't have a fat NBA wallet to weather the storm.
Comments: (145)
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By: Darryl Howerton on 3/08/2007 1:57AM
I know this is an AOL BLACK VOICES blog, but this problem hits other races too--see Tom Brady, Matt Leinart, etc.
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By: Just being honest on 3/06/2007 12:39PM
To Barbara Cherry,
Your comment is so ridiculous! What does money have anything to do with being a great father? Does playing in the NBA automatically qualify someone to have superior parenting skills? Are you trying to say that getting preganant from an NBA player is the prize and the baby is a bonus?
Your mentality is one of the reasons that we have so many fatherless kids that are raised by the father's money instead of the father himself. How can money teach a child about God, love, family, responsibility, sharing, and etc.
Child support checks and trust cannot replace the humanitarian duties that a real father provides his child or children!
I guess you live in Ghettoville, USA!
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By: J. Taylor Pauls on 3/06/2007 2:20PM
The problem is not folk like Oprah, Tyler Perry, Bill Cosby, etc. hating on black men as you call it. Black women are finally beginning to realize they have a entitlement to better treatment. To be with someone who neither calls of treat them as whores or bitches. it's time for them (black men) to hang up the crying towels. Look at themselves and their friends and the way they have treat the women in their lives. Is the same treatment they would demand for their own mother's and daughters.
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By: Athmani on 3/17/2007 10:42AM
By reading these posts you can tell that the blackwoman still does not get it.........It's a damned shame.
There are capable brothers out here but the blackwoman is ignorant to that kind of man. Even the most intelligent of blackwomen keep making this mistake to the blackwoman a man aint a man unless he promotes a criminal or thug image. Watch them closely you'll see.
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By: Athmani on 3/17/2007 10:46AM
By reading these posts you can tell that the blackwoman still does not get it.........It's a damned shame.
There are capable brothers out here but the blackwoman is ignorant to that kind of man. Even the most intelligent of blackwomen keep making this mistake to the blackwoman a man aint a man unless he promotes a criminal or thug image. Watch them closely you'll see.
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By: Mike on 3/06/2007 5:23PM
The comments that I have read in association with this s story are a microcosm of the problems that exist in our community. When will we realize that we all have to take responsibility for our own actions, and that those actions do reflect on our community as a whole. Brothas, let's be real, you know there are many of us who are only interested in "tappin'" as many women as possible, because in some perverted view this is seen as the definition of "being a man". Where did we get this mentality? If we had a different standard of manhood, perhaps we would be involved with women that we would want to be around for longer than the summer. Sistas, why are you surprised at getting "tapped" and dumped, when many of you make you dating decisions on how "fine" that brotha is, or what a wicked "whip" he has? Perhaps if you mandated a different standard, you would attract a brother that was tring to acheive more than a notch on his belt. We must realize that is does take more than money to raise children in our community that will aspire to a higher standard. There are many single parents who have done a phenomenal job is raising their children, but I surmise that this is in spite of those dificulties. Both men and women have unique qualities that help children to become well rounded positive human beings. Education and spirituality are the building blocks for success in life. Lastly, I would say that it saddens me to see the level of vileness an d anger that we have towards one another, this is counter-productive and hastens the demise of an already fragile community.
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By: Roe on 3/06/2007 5:41PM
Being born to unmarried parents, even if the father is young and wealthy does not automatically equate to a child growning up in a warm, loving household. And young and wealthy does not automatically guarantee a life of wealth. And God Forbide if the child is born with mental or physical needs. It isn't as simple as many have made it out to be.
But I do have a question. The motivation of the women have been touched upon in the comments. But what is the motivation of these young men to have UNPROTECTED sex with an ever risiing AIDS epidemic in the African-American community. Is making a baby the name of the game?
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By: Mikey on 3/06/2007 8:19PM
This is not the exclusive province of black people, need I mention Anna Nicole Smith probably the most famous baby mommma around and they are still trying to figure out who the baby daddy!
Let's face it the institution of marriage is BROKEN, archaic and serves no purpose other than to the legal profession! Marriage hasn't kept up with our changing times, demographics or sentiment.
It's high time we told the truth; marriage ain't nothing but a loosely enforceable contract subject to subjective analysis by judges and lawyers....AND WHO WANTS THOSE IDIOTS IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE!
RIGHT ON PRO-BALLERS LEAD THE WAY!
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By: Kimberly Hines on 3/06/2007 11:15PM
It is really terrible that within the black culture there is not a respect for marriage. This why we have been surpassed by so many other cultures. The lack of respect for marriage. Children should be raised within a marriage, but because so many black children are out of wedlock, our culture is not progressing at the rate that we should in a lot of areas. Marriage does strenghten the communities.
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By: nana on 3/06/2007 9:10PM
Black this Blacks that I don't hear anyone saying anything about all these movie stars having babies out of weblock oh! but It's ok for them but not for a NBA player or (forgive me) a Black NBA player or NFL Player or anyone with skin o color
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