Journalism often makes people uncomfortable. Truth cuts in multiple directions. When we stand for anything, we stand for nothing.
Dr. Martin Luther King frames a backdrop for social justice and basketball discussion. A brief review of the complex Dr. King is warranted.
The prequel to the story dates to the Supreme Court's 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson 'separate but equal' decision, codifying segregation, specifically of a Louisiana law.
Martin Luther King was born Michael King on January 5, 1929 and his father changed his name in 1934 to Martin Luther King.
King suffered with depression throughout his life and tried to commit suicide at age twelve after his grandmother's death.
A precocious student, he entered Morehouse College at age fifteen and earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955. Part of his legacy was diminished by accusations of plagiarism in parts of his thesis.
King helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked by Rosa Parks. Not a single black person violated the boycott during the 383 days it existed. The Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses unconstitutional in 1956.
His interest in nonviolent protest took him to India in 1959 to study Gandhi, while he recovered from a stab wound from a schizophrenic patient.
Dr. King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Later he was arrested in Birmingham while protesting racism and segregation in 1963. While jailed, he wrote the famous Letter from Birmingham defending nonviolent protest. "King's letter was a powerful defense of the motivations, tactics, and goals of the Birmingham campaign and the Civil Rights Movement."
King was never popular during life, with a maximum favorability rate of 45 percent. As he lead protests against the Vietnam War, he was viewed by some (including the FBI) as a Communist and his favorability fell to 32 percent. The FBI tried to convince Dr. King to commit suicide.
He delivered his iconic, "I have a dream" speech before 250,000 people in front of the
Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
Assassinated April 4, 1968 at age 39, Dr. King would never see his commemoration signed into law in 1983 by President Reagan.
With Dr. King's life briefly reviewed, examine a few basketball social justice warriors past and present. This serves as a springboard for discussion.
Bill Russell, 11 time NBA Champion, was the first major sport African-American professional head coach. Russell received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award as a champion of social justice. Sociologist Harry Edwards said, “He is probably the most brilliant, intellectually, athlete that I have ever come across, and one of the most brilliant people that I’ve come across.”
UNC Coach Dean Smith signed Charlie Scott to a scholarship, luring him away from Lefty Driesell and Davidson. Dean Smith's father integrated Kansas high school basketball in the 1930's and his son surpassed him. President Obama awarded Smith the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
Jerry Tarkanian went anywhere and everywhere to give players opportunity. He didn't talk about equality, he practiced it. His players are men. "Johnson, a dean's list student and the NBA's No. 1 draft pick in 1991, returned in 2007 to complete his B.A. in social science. Stacey Augmon played 15 years in the NBA and works in player development for the Denver Nuggets. Greg Anthony is a prominent television basketball analyst and is active in the Republican Party."
LeBron James and his LeBron James Family Foundation opened the I Promise School in 2018. It plans full operation for grades 1-8 by 2022. James refused to "shut up and dribble" as an outspoken champion for the African-American community. While with the Miami Heat, James saw the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, transforming James into an activist.
Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson stepped into the spotlight of social justice by supporting Smoothie King Center arena workers salaries for thirty days.
The New York Times explores the difference between the NFL and the NBA in approaching race and controversy. "The N.B.A.’s logo has a person on it (the silhouette of Jerry West), and the image is fitting. It is a league of players, athletic and out front, and that is where the N.B.A. puts its public-relations focus."
Lagniappe: from the Playbook (two Box and 1 actions)
Lagniappe 2: Via @BBallImmersion
Did you use a play you adapted or adopted from one of our shares?— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) March 13, 2020
If so, I would LOVE for you to share it (If possible let us know the original play too). Here is an example from Canterbury Academy head coach @AdamDavies06 who shared the "I can't believe it worked" play working pic.twitter.com/NbobR7HIkD
