(I have to admit, I borrowed this topic from an ESPN talk show.)

Blake Griffin is one of the hot items in the NBA this season. The LA Clippers player has become the latest human highlight reel, with thunderous in your face dunks appearing nightly on the sports clips shows.

His father is black and his mother is white.

The question can be, what race is Blake Griffin?

Outside of an athletic context, people choose their racial 'designation. For example, President Obama self-identifies as 'black'. This is not a biological conclusion though, but a cultural one, and our society approves of such designations.

But what about in an athletic context? Can Griffin reasonably be described as 'black' on an athletic field.

I don't think so.

I do think it is time for mixed race people to be given their due in their own right, and something like this may be a good place to begin that process.