Basketball: Revisiting The Road to Character, A. Philip Randolph

"Sports don't build character; they reveal it." - Heywood Hale Broun (famously attributed to Coach John Wooden)

We model lessons for our players. Imperfectly. Adults teach communication and respect. We shine. We err. Asking players to show character when we don't exceeds a fool's errand. Etorre Messina reminds us, "character is skill number one." 

In The Road to Character, David Brooks shares character through biographies. Brooks writes, "I was born with a natural disposition toward shallowness...I'm paid to be a narcissistic blow-hard...We can shoot for something higher than happiness. We have a chance to take advantage of everyday occasions to build virtue in ourselves and be of service to the world." 

What is character? Character is a person's intrinsic "moral and mental qualities." Character sums our actions not just our words. Character reveals what lies behind the curtain. 

Brooks profiles labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph in his chapter on Dignity. "These qualities—his incorruptibility, his reticent formality, and above all his dignity—meant it was impossible to humiliate him." Randolph had vital roles in organizing the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Workers and an early March on Washington. The Pullman Company agreement reduced the work month from 400 hours a month to 240 hours (still almost 60 hours/week) and increased pay. His negotiations with President Roosevelt led to a Presidential Executive Order prohibiting discrimination in the defense industry and in the military. 

Randolph lived mostly in poverty, refusing well-paying government jobs to work for the advancement of the common man. “Justice is never given; it is exacted and the struggle must be continuous."

Randolph advocated non-violence and served as an anteambulo to Martin Luther King. We might consider him the American Gandhi. He deserves remembrance for his role in both labor and racial justice.

Coaching affords us daily chances to make a difference, to help young people with character growth in their formative years. 

Lagniappe: "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down." 



Lagniappe 2: 3 on 3 full-court Run and Jump drill 


"Turn the ball and trap the ball..."