Happy Valentine’s Day!
As you know February is Black History Month.
For 28 days Americans of African descent will be feted honored, and buffeted
with an array of historical retrospectives ranging from Jean Baptiste Point du
Sable, founder of Chicago, to Barack and Michelle Obama, two of the most famous
Americans to call the Windy City home. But that’s not all. Over the course of
the month a variety of groups and individuals will be making an effort to
elevate a truth that has never been fully told, and that is too often flatly
denied.
According to a study completed by The Institute
for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, The National Basketball Association (NBA)
was 74.3 black during the 2015-16 season, and 81.7 percent of the players were
people of color. The study also found that 18.3 percent of the League’s players
were white (including Europeans), while 22.3 percent of players were
international. That translated into 43 white Americans spread across 30 NBA
teams. However, eight teams did not have a white player at the start of that
season.
On the basis of the preceding summary, it may
sound as though the NBA is ground zero for black emergence in America. That
might be one way to look at it. Another view might be that it is an oasis in
the midst of a sprawling desert of despair for many black folks. The reality is
the previous statement is many African Americans’ truth.
From time to time someone with a commanding
profile steps up, takes a megaphone and shouts the truth from the mountaintop.
Enter Gregg Popovich, an NBA icon. You may know Pop as the Head Coach of the
5-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, or as the guy who hired the first
full-time, salaried female Assistant Coach in NBA history, or as the next Head
Coach of Team USA, the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team. Is that high profile
enough for you?
During the month of February, the NBA
celebrates Black History Month in a variety of ways. The league honors
trailblazers like Earl Lloyd, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Chuck
Cooper for breaking the
league’s color barrier in 1950. Individual teams look back at their respective
pasts. Players wear special gear, including sneakers and warm-up shirts to commemorate those who have come
before. For the primarily African American league, the month of special
activities serves as recognition of, and acknowledgment that the giant steps
the NBA has taken toward international success and prominence have come as a
result of strength, sacrifices, and contributions of a great many people, on
the court and off of it, over the years.
In addition,
they also call to the forefront of our minds how much further we all have to
go. That was the aspect that Coach Popovich was most interested in discussing
when he was asked about his thoughts on Black History Month, Monday, prior to a
game between The Spurs and the Utah Jazz.
Popovich is known as a no-nonsense, give short
shrift to mundane post-game interview kinda guy. He’s also renown for
occasionally speaking his mind on pertinent social issues of the day. Given the
latter, it was not surprising that just a couple of days ago; he framed the
scenario in stark, blunt truth terms:
"I
think it's pretty obvious," he told reporters. "The league is made up of a lot of
black guys. To honor that and understand it is pretty simplistic. How would you
ignore that? But more importantly, we
live in a racist country that hasn't figured it out yet. And it's
always important to bring attention to it, even if it angers some people. The
point is, you have to keep it in front of everybody's nose so they understand
it still hasn't been taken care of and we have a lot of work to do."
As
implied above, Popovich, who matriculated at the Air Force Academy, and who
served five years in the military, has frequently voiced his displeasure with
the state of affairs in
the U.S. political
system and broader
discourse — has spoken about the importance of recognizing that
many of the issues central to black history in the United States aren’t really
“history” at all.
Coach Popovich
said last
February:
“Well, it’s a remembrance, and a bit of a celebration in some
ways. It sounds odd because we’re not there yet, but it’s always important to
remember what has passed and what the black population is experiencing now.
It’s a celebration of some of the good things that have happened, and a
reminder that there’s a lot more work to do.
But more than anything, I think if people take the time to think
about it, I think it is our national sin. It always intrigues me when people
come out with, ‘I’m tired of talking about that,’ or ‘Do we have to talk about
that again?’ And the answer is, ‘You’re damned right we do.’ Because it’s
always there, and it’s systemic, in the sense that when you talk about
opportunity, it’s not about, ‘Well, if you lace up your shoes and you work
hard, then you can have the American dream.’ That’s a bunch of hogwash.
If you were born white, you automatically have a monstrous
advantage – educationally, economically, culturally, in this society and all
the systemic roadblocks that exist, whether it’s in a judicial sense, a
neighborhood sense with laws, zoning, education. We have huge problems in that
they are very complicated, but take leadership, time, and real concern to try
to solve. It’s a tough one; because people don’t rally want to face it.
In all likelihood, that
includes many NBA fans, and no doubt, many Spurs fans, who might appreciate
Popovich’s gifts as a coach and executive, but might not look so kindly on his
assessment of the U.S. as a “racist country.” Regardless of whether all those
watching, listening to, and/or reading his words share his viewpoint, it doesn’t
appear that Coach Popovich is going to be dissuaded from espousing the legit
truth, anytime soon.
I’m done; holla back!
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