WEST VALLEY CITY, UT – Carl Gibbs has had enough. His frustration at constantly being mistaken for a member of the Utah Jazz is boiling over. Gibbs, who is African-American, finds it difficult to go out in public without being asked for his autograph or to be in a picture. “It’s as if any black man living in Utah must be a professional athlete,” Gibbs lamented last night.
Friends and family have often witnessed the misguided recognition first hand. Kristen Gibbs-Williams, Carl’s sister, doesn’t understand how the confusion can happen so often, “He works in IT, has two children by the same woman, and is 5 foot 8 inches tall. Look at this man. He ain’t dunking on nobody.”
Even his neighbor, Mark Rannells, was surprised to hear that Gibbs is not a professional athlete. “I thought it was odd he drove a Nissan Altima but I thought he could have been a rookie or one of the guys at the end of the bench.”
Gibbs, for his part, tries to keep perspective. “I get it. Black guy in Utah—it’s either NBA, or… actually no, that’s pretty much it,” he said. “But you’d think a state that once idolized John Stockton would know NBA players come in all shapes, sizes, and tax brackets.”
Gibbs says he’s considering printing a T-shirt that reads “Not in the NBA” in large block letters, but worries people will just assume it’s ironic.
