The Debate: Meb

On Sunday, Mebrahtom Keflezighi won the New York City Marathon. He was the first American to win the New York City Marathon since 1982. He was wearing a singlet with "USA" on the front. He waved the American Flag. It was awesome.

Then, some people pondered his name and started questioning if he was really an American.

New York Times: To Some, Winner is Not American Enough

CNBC: Marathon's Headline Win is Empty

CNBC: What I Got Wrong About Keflezighi (aka "Oops.")

Whatever. The fact is that Meb came to this country when he was 12 years old. All of his running training (youth, college and pro) took place in the United States. He is a United States citizen.

What, exactly, is the criteria for being "American enough" to run as an American? American born? Born on some other continent than Africa? American sounding name? No accent? Not black?

All of this hype is racism, and it is stupid. I thing Meb is awesome and Todd and I cheered loudly when he crossed the finish line. You go, Meb!! And GO USA! I'm excited for 2012.

Photo courtesy Getty Images