November 3, 3009

Darren Rovell of CNBC said this about the 2009 New York City Marathon winner:

Meb Keflezighi, who won yesterday in New York, is technically American by virtue of him becoming a citizen in 1998, but the fact that he's not American-born takes away from the magnitude of the achievement the headline implies. http://www.cnbc.com/id/33587668

Oh really? How is that?

Meb Keflezighi, won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics for the United States and that was okay. He was born in Eritrea, became a U.S. citizen in 1998 and that is unacceptable especially after he wins a prestigious race.

Mr. Rovell is not aware that Keflezighi has lived in America since 1987 when he was 12 years old and worked hard to be a success. He went to school here, graduated from UCLA and trained in America to become what he is today.

Nothing was given to him, he earned it. He understands what it means to be an American more than Darren Rovell who got it by birth.

His victory should be celebrated and his country of origin not matter.

But it does matter for birthers who think his win is “not good enough” because they want an “American born” winner.

"Rovell the birther" shows how mean spirited and parochial his type are. Racist too. Racist because the last American NYC Marathon winner was Alberto Salazar a naturalized U.S. citizen from Cuba. There was no outcry over his win because he looks white and Keflezighi obviously looks black.

Mr. Rovell’s racism takes away from the magnitude of any of his professional achievements. Technically, he is not good enough to be an American.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Salazar