When looking at issues of advancement, one must try to look from all directions.

African Americans star on the playing field, but what's next? African Americans are getting opportunities to manage and coach (taking the quality of those situations out of the equation), so what's next? African Americans are executives in team, league and union offices. Is there a next beyond that? Yes. Ownership.

In all four major sports, and even in golf and tennis, you will see faces of color everywhere from the court, field and ice to the luxury boxes. However, ownership remains almost entirely white.

The reason is familiar. Financially, African Americans still are trying to catch up. African Americans don't have old money running through the family tree. The few that have the hundreds of millions of dollars need to become a principal franchise owner have little or no connection to the sports world, therefore we continue to turn to former athletes. Jordan, Magic and Isaiah all made millions away from the game, but apparently none of them has enough independent resources to own a team outright at this time.

But why is it important for African Americans to own the game when they already star in the game? Because every star burns out sometime, and when a playing career ends, so do most opportunities to make an impact on the games.

The reason African Americans need to get into ownership is power. Blacks will never have a real say in the games they play if they can't sit in owners meetings. One has to participate at the highest of levels to dictate policy and enact positive change.

I'm not implying that African Americans should receive discounts or special loans to gather the funds needed to enter the ownership game. But I am suggesting the leagues should actively investigate the private sector to see if there are African Americans who have the means but lack the awareness needed to enter the game and succeed.

When Major League Baseball and the National Football League wanted to change the face of managing and coaching in their sports, the league offices actively participated in the process. They wanted the playing field leveled. That was a positive step, but the boardroom remains askew.

From slavery to present day, African Americans have played, and continue to play, catch up. There's a cry from the majority from time to time calling for hard work and ambition to get ahead, not handouts or special assistance. Rarely do you hear about opportunity in this argument.

Take a look at today's sports franchise owners and ask yourself, "Did African Americans have the same opportunities to make the same fortune at the same time."

The answer is no.

It's time to insure the opportunity.

Even now, with Michael Jordan acquiring an ownership stake in the Washington Wizards, the opportunity is not all that it seems. The way Jordan's deal is structured, he will never become the principal owner of the team.

We still have room from improvement.