LOVE-LOVE-LOVE: HE AIN’T HEAVY HE IS MY BROTHER!

By Bernard A. Chavis

John McEnroe deserves kudos for making a very bold step to revive American tennis.  He recently opened an $18 million dollar 20 court tennis facility on Randall’s Island in New York. The most successful player in US Davis Cup history was always ready and willing to represent his country in Davis Cup play, when others looked the other way. 

The passion he displayed on the tennis courts is matched by his commitment to bring the US back to its rightful place of prominence in this sport for a life time. His passion for this country and tennis is unquestionable. Unlike many who talk a good game and do nothing McEnroe has put his money where his mouth is. 

I share his long standing frustration to get the USTA, (the governing body of tennis in the United States by an act of congress) to construct and put into effect a well thought out and systematic agenda to bring the United States back into the forefront and develop the next generation of players to carry on the great tradition of American tennis.  

With the exception of Venus and Serena Williams and perhaps Andy Roddick and James Blake the US program has fallen on hard times. Where are the current likes of the caliber of past top players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe.  There is no question that the USTA has the resources and money for this.  

When I last checked Donald Young a 21 year old African American who had a sensational junior tennis record has been relegated to playing on the pro satellite tour. What ever happened to Lavar Harper Griffith who would now be another African American player who just a few years ago showed promise?  When I last checked he had been relegated to being a practice player of the US Davis Cup team! 

It will be interesting to see if the USTA will find a way to partner with John McEnroe on this project.  His younger brother Patrick is the USTA’s General Manager of Player Development. A very interesting situation, John is the outspoken innovator and Patrick is the company man.   

In issue the Sports Illustrated (May 31, 2010) John was asked if he hoped to work with Patrick he said, “He hasn’t called to congratulate me.  I don’t know what that means.”  

The USTA has an annual operating budget exceeding $200 million and top notch training facilities it should be a no brainer. Enter internal politics and unwise financial deals and you may have hit on the problem. An article in the New York Times newspaper (Nov. 24, 2009) revealed that the USTA paid former Chief Executive of Professional Tennis, Arlen Kantarian more that $9 million in 2008. 

The USTA Player Development program has undergone many transformations over the years while having very little to show for players developed and money spent.

A few years ago as National President of the American Tennis Association I had the opportunity of being a member the USTA Plan for Growth Steering Committee.  

The organization had committed to spending $35 million to grow the game. I was the only African American on the committee of about 18 that included tennis legend Billie Jean King. I offered that the growth of the game lays in the urban inner city areas of the country. This is where the majority of the population lives. My comments were ignored. This remains true today. This is not racket or rocket science. 

Maybe this is the problem with the USTA hierarchy this makes to much sense.  Let’s hope that the current situation and John McEnroe’s bold initiative wakes up the establishment and Patrick McEnroe remembers who he is and where he came from.

Bernard A. Chavis, Author

The Games of Tennis, An African American Journey

 

LeBron James Better Than Michael Jordan?  I Don’t Think So?

I want to be as fair as I can to LeBron James.  He came into the NBA as arguably the most hyped and talked about high school athlete of all time.  He did not pronounce himself “King James.”  The media put that crown on his head and for the most part this young man has worn it well exceeding almost every expectation.

Looking back there were signs of intoxication.  James chose to wear the No. 23 jersey.  Now I understand that move was to pay homage to Michael Jordan, however, that only serves to fuel the conversation that LeBron James is declaring himself the next Michael Jordan.

In terms of his off the court business moves, LeBron is coming close to being a global icon, some would say he has achieved that goal.

I am here to tell you any argument or comparison of LeBron James to Michael Jordan needs to STOP right now.  After the last two seasons of being knocked out of the playoffs, and particularly the way the Cleveland Cavaliers were bounced from the NBA semifinals earlier this week, there is nothing to talk about.

LeBron and the Cavaliers quit in the fourth quarter of their last two games.  Their last performance was worse than choking in my view.  When you choke you’re at least trying.

LeBron James is a great player—throughout the regular season.  At this point in his career, LeBron James has morphed into an Avatar built for ESPN and other sports stations highlight reels.

Comparing LeBron James to Michael Jordon is cruel and not fair to LeBron.  In fact, it’s probably a borderline call to compare LeBron James to Kobe Bryant.  Jordan and Kobe never quit.

This is not to say that years from now, when LeBron’s playing days are over that he won’t eclipse both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but from what I can see, it’s simply unfair to do that now.

Michael Jordan has six championship rings.  Kobe Bryant has four championship rings.  LeBron James has none.  At this stage of his career the only measuring stick for LeBron James is championship rings.  So the question in my mind is this:  “Can LeBron James win a championship in Cleveland, Ohio?”

The Cleveland Cavaliers team have tried to surround LeBron with a cast of players but this efforts have fallen short.  I think it’s time for LeBron to move on to another city and get motivated with the only challenge that cements him from true greatness—a NBA championship.

I don’t want to hear any comparisons of LeBron James to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson or any other great player until LeBron wins a championship.  Outside of that STFU!

Let’s just wait until LeBron's career is over and then we can accurately reflect on his entire body of work and then discuss his place in NBA history.

Gary A. Johnson is the Founder & Publisher of Black Men In America.com a popular online magazine on the Internet and the Black Men In America.com Blog. Gary is also the author of the new book “25 Things That Really Matter In Life.”

 

Hopkins and Jones, Jr.:  A Senior Moment At The Fights!

By Harold Bell

When I was a youngster growing up in Washington, DC there was an over the counter bottle of pick-me-up medicine called Geritol. It was designed for men and women in the twilight years of their lives. Geritol was thought by those who were 40 and over if they took a couple of spoons it would make them the Energizer Bunny in the bedroom. Geritol was the Viagra in the 60s and 70s.

I was at ringside when Bernard Hopkins faced off with Roy Jones, Jr. at RFK Stadium on May 22, 1993 in Washington, DC. The two soon to be boxing legends fought for the vacant IBF Middleweight title. 

The stadium seated 49,000 and there were less than 5,000 fans on hand for a forgettable performance by both fighters. 

Roy was awarded a unanimous decision but from my seat at ringside the judges could have easily made the same decision and given it to Bernard. I would not have blinked. It was definitely not a fight to rival Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. I had seen better fights at the Girls & Boys Clubs located in walking distant of RFK Stadium.

It is hard to believe that these two great fighters let their egos, politics; unscrupulous promoters and being “The Man” cheat fight fans out of a rivalry for the ages. Seventeen years later their entourage is now made up of paramedics from any nearby hospital in the city of the fight. Arthur aka arthritis is a constant companion that follows them from their bedroom to the ring. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is lurking around for the next weight-in.

If Geritol was still on the market Roy and Bernard would be the perfect spokespersons for that product.  Bernard is closer to 50 than 40 and Roy is only a few years younger.

I am really at a loss trying to figure out who would pay to see these two “Geritol Warriors” from back in the day. It is too bad “Ol’ Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra is not here to sing the National Anthem; he would be 95 years old this year and he would feel right at home at the fight.

If the Commissioner finds ticket sales a little slow they could lure boxing fans by offering the first 5,000 arriving in wheelchairs free admission. The fight game is in critical condition if this is its biggest attraction in 2010.

The fight in DC left Bernard with some bitter memories it was his first big payday. On paper his share of the purse was to be $700,000. The thieves in his entourage took theirs off the top and after taxes he received $50,000.  In 1993 Bernard, “Was not as smart as a fifth grader.”

This was one shortfall he could not blame on Don King. The truth would come out in Federal Court—it was there he learned that Don was not the only unscrupulous promoter lurking in the corners of boxing rings.

It rained all day on May 22, 1993 and the bad weather was partly responsible for the poor turnout and you can add the worst boxing promoter in DC boxing history, Cora Masters Barry. She would later be convicted of stealing from the commission. Cora’s boxing hero—Don King.

I had the opportunity to watch Bernard up close and personal since 1993 without the pom-poms. In 199,5 he returned to Washington, DC to fight Segundo Mercado in a return match at the Capitol Centre in Landover, Maryland. The first fight was held in Mercado’s hometown of Quinto in Ecuador. Mercado knocked Bernard down twice in that fight but he picked himself up off the canvas to rally and held on for a draw. 

This fight marked the only time in Bernard’s career he had been knocked off of his feet. The IBF scheduled a rematch in Landover, Maryland at the Capitol Centre. Bernard would win his first world title with a seventh-round technical knockout over Mercado. In November 1997 he returned to the DC area to out box Andrew Council in 12 rounds to retain his IBF middleweight title in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Bernard Hopkins has been a nightmare for homegrown DC boxers. His nickname “The Executioner,” is a familiar name to several boxers from the area. He clearly executed their careers in the ring. They thought their do-do didn’t stink. The names include Andrew Council, William Joppy, Simon Brown and Keith Holmes.

Bernard Hopkins has been a true ring warrior. He has defended his title 20 times in the past two decades. This makes him truly “The Iron Man” of boxing. I find it difficult to believe that Bernard would ever duck anyone who wanted to fight him (in or out of the ring). There are some brothers you can take out of the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of them and Bernard is one of them.

In the meantime, Roy Jones, Jr., has been called the best all-around pound for pound fighter ever. In my humble opinion Roy was nobody’s Sugar Ray Robinson, but his accomplishments are not to be overlooked.

In Roy’s first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in 24 seconds of the first round. By the end of 2000, he had defended his IBF title 12 times without a loss.

He is one of the most unique champions of all time. Roy was a decent basketball player and played for pay while still boxing. When he fought Eric Lucas a future world champion, he became the first athlete to participate in a paid basketball game and a boxing event on the same day. In Jacksonville, Florida he played a game in the morning and defended his title that same evening.  

Roy the showman never missed a trick or opportunity to be different. He held a press conference in the ring just before he fought Bryant Brannon. He started the press conference by taking questions while sitting in his own chair in the middle of the ring. He then defeated Brannon in two rounds on a TKO.

He topped that by having a group of dancers the famous “New York City Rockettes” lead him into the ring before a championship fight. Roy is also a rap recording artist. In 2001, he released Round One: The Album on CD.

During this time in his career, Roy was considered one of boxing's top four "pound for pound" fighters. In November of 1994 he met IBF super middleweight champion, the undefeated James Toney, the No. 1 ranked member of the "pound for pound" contenders. They met in Las Vegas— Roy was on the top of his game when he dropped Toney in round three. He secured an easy unanimous decision to win the IBF super middleweight title. He then moved to the top of the pound for pound ladder in boxing.

I think his most remarkable ring accomplishment was moving up the ranks from middleweight to the heavyweight division. 

On March 1, 2003, in Las Vegas, Roy defeated John Ruiz with a 12-round unanimous decision for the WBA heavyweight championship. Roy weighed in at 193 pounds and Ruiz at 226 pounds. Roy became the first former middleweight title holder to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. He also became the second man in history to advance from the Middleweight to the Heavyweight Championship. Roy is the first fighter to start his career as a junior middleweight and win a heavyweight title.  

He proved he “was smarter then a 5^th grader.” He knew going into the fight that Ruiz was a bum and had no chance of beating him. After the fight, Roy decided to keep campaigning as a light heavyweight. He eventually gave up the WBA heavyweight title without ever defending it. This move made Roy the first heavyweight champion since Rocky Marciano to retire undefeated.

The two legends have one thing in common they both march to their own drum beat and their careers have not been without controversy. 

Bernard is an ex-convict who went from the “Outhouse to the Penthouse” in the world of boxing. He owes much of his success to his loyal friend and boxing trainer Bowie Fisher. Bowie was looking out for Bernard when he could not lookout for himself. 

I was up close and personal when Sugar Ray Leonard kicked his long time trainer Dave Jacobs to the curb over money, but I was in a position to convince Ray to re-hire Jacobs. Dave Jacobs could not carry Bowie’s jock strap as a trainer and fight technician but Bowie didn’t have anyone to plea his dismissal.

Success and new money has its drawbacks in the black community. Loyalty is a word that is only whispered among former associates and friends in the inner-city. You would think that most successful black athletes had money before they ever met the goose who laid the golden egg (Boxing, NBA, NFL and MLB). Meet Bernard Hopkins.

When Bowie Fisher asked for his fair share Bernard told him “Hit the road Jack and don’t look back.”

Bernard then turns around and makes a deal with the “Devil” to promote his fights, the notorious Don King.  He knew going in that Don had been accused by almost every fighter he has represented for theft. Don King Productions, Inc. had become so familiar in Federal Courts of America he was allowed to enter the courthouses without going through the metal detectors. Bernard is more like Don King than he cares to think.

The relationship eventually soured as many thought it would. During that period I would see Bernard and I would ask him why Don King Productions, Inc? His response, “It is just a matter of time and I am out of here.”

During the promotion for the Felix Trinidad fight there was more controversy when he threw the Puerto Rican flag on the floor in press conferences in New York and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico he had to run for his life to avoid a good ass whipping from an angry mob. Bernard caused more controversy when he bet $1,000,000 on himself to win the bout. 

The New York City showdown would unify the middleweight division. The fight was a classic Bernard Hopkins Clinic. I didn’t have Trinidad winning a round when the fight was stopped in the 12^th round.

It was now Don King time.  When the decision was announced in the ring Bernard said, “Goodbye Don King.”

The victory over Trinidad made Bernard the first undisputed Middleweight Champion of the world since Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1987. Controversy has been no stranger to Roy Jones, Jr.  For example in 2004 after beating James Toney a man called the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Jones celebrated his win in Nassau, Bahamas by being arrested for being armed and dangerous at the airport. His three fights with Antonio Tarver left a lot of questions. Tarver took two out of three and Roy still declared he was the best in the world.

Roy returned to HBO to continue his role as an analyst for its World Championship Boxing series. He called the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shamba Mitchell mismatch and the Jermain Taylor vs. Bernard Hopkins rematch on December 3, 2005. His return to the network was short lived; he was fired from his ringside analyst role in January 2006. HBO cited his reported lack of commitment to attending the network’s production meetings.  He probably forgot about the meetings.

Don’t be surprised if Bernard and Roy both are no-shows. It is possible they can have a senior moment and forget they are supposed to fight.

About the Author

Harold Bell, is a sixth generation Washingtonian.  He is a pioneer in radio and television sports talk shows.  His work with at-risk children in the streets of DC is legendary.  You can learn more about Harold Bell by visiting his official web site:  http://www.hbsportslegends.com

 

Playing the Race Card When the Deck is Stacked With Jokers!

By Harold Bell 

As a black man in America I don’t blame all whites for the racist environment that we now live in.  Racism will be here as long as there are different colors of people.  The only solution to the problem is to make everybody one color, even then people would find something to dislike another person for whether it be for being, too short, too tall, too fat, too thin, blue eyes vs. brown eyes, etc. 

Evidently, there is a gene that most if all of us are born with that makes each individual a competitor.  This can be a dangerous gene in a world where the only color that really counts is GREEN--a dollar bill is King. 

My lesson in racial tolerance came about because of the white faces and mentors I encountered early in life such as; President Richard M. Nixon, Red Auerbach, Angelo Dundee, Hymie Perlo and Jimmy Connors.  They all played roles in my early mental development as a black man and sports talk show host (Inside Sports). 

They helped shape my thinking along the divided racial lines in America.  Thanks to their influence I closed out my sports talk show with a phrase I coined “Every black face I saw was not my brother and every white face I saw was not my enemy.”  It was a tough lesson but it is a lesson that I have never forgotten. 

There were times some white friends and associates would become too comfortable and words would slip out, but I understood.  There are times some whites don’t know when they are being racist (Jimmy The Greek, Howard Cosell).   

For example; former Boston Celtics Sam Jones, Jim “Bad News” Barnes and I were riding around town one summer day making pop calls and found ourselves on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest DC.  We were in the neighborhood of Celtic coach Red Auerbach and we decided to make a surprise call on him.   

Red and his wife Dotie (class act) lived in a gated community and you had to go through a security check point to get to their condo.  I was a familiar face to the guard so he waved us on through.  The security desk called up and announced us and we caught the elevator up to the apartment.   

Dotie was standing in the door waiting for us.  She invited us in and told us Red was out at Woodmount Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland playing cards.  She was having lunch and asked her assistant to fix sandwiches for us, but we said no thank you. 

We had time on our hands and decided to ride out to Woodmount and surprise Red.  Not a very bright idea! 

The attendant ushered us into the clubhouse where Red was seated at a card table with several other members.  He looked up and spotted us and muttered “Damn I can’t get away from you nigg—and he never completed the word.  He kept on playing like nothing had happen and we made like we never heard anything.  We stayed for lunch and had a great time. 

On the ride back to town Sam, Bad News and I laughed about the almost choice of words by Red.  We realized we had invaded his space and he temporarily lost it.  We crossed off the slip of tongue as being human.  Sam remembered how Red had admonished Bill Russell in practice for using the N-word. 

White folks have never been black so how could they know when they are being racist?  And they don’t have a copyright on racism.  I know some blacks who are “off the hook” and are some of the biggest racist in their own community, light vs. dark skin and African vs. American blacks.   

In one a recent response I said “Bleacher Report would be a great vehicle to discuss race in sports.”  We can run but we can’t hide. 

This brings to mind a column written by Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon.  NFL Hall of Fame player Bruce Smith before ending his career in Washington was complaining about racism in the city of Buffalo ,home of the Buffalo Bills.  Despite his status as one of the NFL’s best players he often felt the sting of racism in the city and he wanted out. 

In his column, Wilbon quoted me saying on Inside Sports “Harold Bell said trying to outrun racism in America is like trying to outrun the Moon and Sun.”  Nothing has changed and it still holds true today. 

Wilbon’s biggest problem is he likes to sit on the fence and fall to one side or the other depending on the topic (safe or risky).  There is never any consistency.  He has mastered saying nothing to offend unless it is safe. 

For example; When Washington Wizard’s “Shooting Star” Gilbert Arenas was being dragged through the burning coals of public opinion, he doubled team Gilbert with community activist Rev. Al Sharpton trying to get him banished from the league.   

Gilbert’s choice to bring 4 guns into the Wizard’s locker room was on the verge being labeled, “Weapons of mass destruction.”  His show of weapons for whatever reason was definitely not a ‘Kodak Moment’ for Gilbert or the NBA.   

I am still trying to figure out why Wilbon had to solicit a comment from Rev. Sharpton.  He is a man of dubious character. 

Rev. Sharpton has a tarnished history of his own, his tongue is anything but gold when it comes to the truth, and “you don’t throw bricks when you live in a glass house.”  I found his advice to NBA Commissioner David Stern to make an example Gilbert was out of his league, have you heard the latest “Shout Out” between Rev. Sharpton and radio and television personality Tavis Smiley?  Gilbert Arenas take notes. 

My question is where were Wilbon and Rev. Sharpton on Martin Luther King’s birthday when ESPN’s Mike Greenberg co-host of Mike & Mike in the morning referred to Rev. King as “Rev. Martin Luther Coon King?”   

The Great Black Sports Writers a Bleacher Report reader mentioned in a response to my last column computers must have suddenly ran out of ink and black talk show host microphones went eerily silent.  ESPN Talk show host, another dubious character John Thompson led a brief discussion but discovered he was out there by himself and dropped the topic it like “Hot Potatoes.”  

Have we forgotten radio shock jock Don Imus and his depiction of the Rutger’s women’s basketball team?  He was suspended for one year for describing the black players as “Nappy headed hoes.” 

Rush Limbaugh was kicked to the curb by NFL owners for speaking ill of the skills of Donovan McNabb the black quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Limbaugh was hoping to become a part owner and member of one of the most exclusive “Good Old Boys Clubs” in America--the NFL. 

Wilbon’s partner on ESPN PTI Tony Kornheiser was recently suspended for two weeks for making fun of fellow ESPN Sportscaster Hanna Storm’s clothing.  Greenberg call Dr. King a COON, he never apologized and he is still front and center on ESPN radio and television! 

Kornheiserer is overrated as a sportscaster and was definitely in over his head on Monday Night Football.  Unlike Wilbon, he will take a stand on something, and never sits on the fence waiting to be pushed to one side or the other.  He is the more consistent of the two, which is not saying much. 

To show how wishy-washy Wilbon is on March 3, 2010, he wrote a blog titled, “Ovechkin needs to be checked.”  Alex Ovechkin is the face of hockey in the Nation’s Capitol and has single handedly turned the Capitol’s franchise around.  The signing of Ovechkin has made the Capitols a contender for the Stanley Cup every year he has been in the league and a Washington Capitol’s ticket is the hottest ticket in town. 

Wilbon points out that Canada’s Sidney Crosby is a better and more accomplished player.  He cites that Crosby at 22 years old has already won an Olympic Gold Medal, a world championship and the Stanley Cup.   

His beef with Ovie is that he is a bully because he shoved a female fan’s camera in her face in Vancouver and he broke the camera of a man asking for an interview.  Wilbon claims there is video of each incident---So what! 

Check out the next statement by Wilbon.  He says, “How this has gone largely undiscussed and is nearly annoying as Ovechkin’s churlish behavior.”  Wilbon, you sound like the pot calling the kettle black. 

He even hints that Ovie is a dirty player when he says “his opponents have wondered whether his knee-on-knee hits are accidents.  His own coach, Bruce Boudreau, wondered this season whether his star was out of control.”  Wilbon even compares Ovie with Gilbert Arenas when he said, “The worst thing Ovechkin can have around town is too many apologist.  Look where it got Arenas.” 

His next observation I had to read over three times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  He says “Some how, Ovechkin’s lapses in judgment (or disregard of civility) went largely unnoticed.  Ovechkin is damn lucky he’s not black and playing basketball.  My BRETHEN in the national and local media would have put on their Sunday church robes and preached him to death by now.  We’d have read about those thug basketball players and such.”  Come on Michael Wilbon keep it real. 

I cannot believe Wilbon played “The Race Card” with Ovie and never got around to playing the same card with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg. 

His BRETHEN in national and local media?  I hope Wilbon is not talking about Michael Smith, Kevin Blackistone, Jason Whitlock, Bill Rhoden, Terrence Moore, and Stephen A. Smith.  I still have yet to read their columns on Mike Greenberg referring to Dr. King as a “COON.” 

Wilbon’s colleague at the Washington Post Dan Steinberg took issue with him on the same day in his blog.  Steinberg says, “I know this does not belong in the sports section, but hey it was this or a rant against my colleague Michael Wilbon for writing that ‘Crosby is so far ahead of Ovechkin right now Ovie would need a telescope to see him.”  Steinberg reminds Wilbon that it was less then a month ago that Wilbon dubbed Ovechkin ‘The Best Player in the NHL.’  How wishy-washy can one columnist get? 

Washington Post Columnist Mike Wise disagreed with Wilbon on his column written about what led up to the death of Redskin player Sean Taylor.  Much like Tiger Woods, Wilbon ain’t listening to nobody either. 

In 2008, Michael Wilbon had a heart attack.  I e-mailed him a note wishing him a speedy recovery and told him I was looking forward to seeing him back on the sports landscape real soon.  I also advised him to slow down and stop trying to be a know it all and every man.  I also said “You might find this e-mail hard to believe since I disagree with some of your observations in the world of sports, it is nothing personal.”  This was his response, “Harold, I don't find it difficult to believe at all...I know you take shots at me all the time...I also remember the guy who when I was new and didn't know didly who sat me down and talked to me and had me on his radio show and taught me who the good guys were among the local high school coaches...I remember all of that...I don't understand why you take it personally when people disagree...people are supposed to be able to disagree and still get along...But I don't ever forget you and your wife Hattie reached out to me when I was 22 years old and didn't know anything and anybody...Just because I disagree with you doesn't mean it undoes all the other stuff...I appreciated you reaching out then and even more now...Thanks”...MW 

Michael’s response saddens me.  In the 30 plus years I have known him he has never written, or verbally discussed his displeasure with me disagreeing with some of his columns.  I understand that I am fair game for criticism when I put my written thoughts in the public domain, from friend or foe.

When he writes a great column I make sure he knows how much I enjoyed reading it.  When we encounter each other on the streets of DC or in a pressroom he smiles and makes small talk about his latest book with Charles Barkley, his $1500 suit or asks about my wife Hattie.  Michael, a LIE will change a thousand times----the TRUTH never changes.  “The Race Card” is not an option or a crutch to use when you are trying to cover-up BS.  It is time for you to MAN up!

 

HISTORY DENIED IN BLACK AND WHITE!

By Harold Bell 

He grew up in the cotton fields of Mississippi where his mother earned two-dollars a day picking cotton.  He would leave those cotton fields for the city of Detroit and leave behind the mental and physical chains of slavery.   

Spencer Haywood left those cotton fields for the playgrounds and high school basketball courts in Motown.  Instead of picking cotton he made a career out of picking rebounds off the backboards and scoring baskets at record rates.   

His high school basketball performances earned him a scholarship to Trinidad College where he averaged 28 points and 22 rebounds a game for one season. He returned home to play at the University of Detroit and averaged an eye popping 32 points and 22 rebounds.   

Trinidad and the University of Detroit were just warm up stops on his basketball journey.  He would be only 18 years old in 1968 when he led the United States Olympic team to the gold medal in Mexico City.  This was the same year sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their historical statement against racial segregation in America.  During the presentations of medals they silently raised their black fisted signature gloves in protest.  The protest was heard around the world. 

George Foreman followed their act of defiance by waving the American flag in the ring after winning a Gold Medal in boxing.  Those were three unforgettable moments and one moment Spencer would later say “I would rather forget.  Tommie and John were putting their futures in jeopardy and were banished from the Olympic Village for their defiant act.  If you were black and you were not going to support them, it was best you kept it to yourself.”

Instead of returning to the University of Detroit Spencer joined the newly organized American Basketball Association (ABA).  In Denver he immediately became the face of the new league when he averaged 30 points and 19 rebounds a game.  He was named the league's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. 

Despite his basketball glory and bright lights and big cities, Spencer never forgot the cotton fields in his native Mississippi.  He remembered the long hours his mother labored in those fields picking cotton for pennies on a dollar.  His choice to leave college was easy, turning pro he would be able to make those cotton fields just a bad memory. 

In 1970 with the support and encouragement of his mentor and high school coach Will Robinson, he decided to challenge the NBA’s volunteer slavery rule, “No college no play.”

The challenge would be a very lonely journey and sometimes it was hard to tell whether his new NBA Seattle Supersonic teammates were playing with him or against him.  The one man he knew was in his corner was team owner Sam Schulman.  Schulman was the NBA’s Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavs) long before Cuban. 

He marched to his own drummer; while Spencer was suing the NBA for trying to bar him, Schulman was suing the league for violating anti-trust laws.  If those were not enough headaches for Spencer, the University of Detroit and the ABA was suing him for leaving school early and breach of contract respectively.

Those were difficult times for a young man who had not yet celebrated his 21^st birthday.  There were times when he was served with injunctions just before the tip-off of a game and banished from the arena.  He slept in cars and in the team bus waiting for the game to end.  The injunctions became a guessing game.  It was hard to tell where and when the next injunction would be served.

Spencer played in only 33 games in the 1970-71 NBA season, starting, stopping and starting again with each temporary injunction. 

The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, ruled in his favor and he later became “Public Enemy No. 1” in the NBA.

He had to grow up early and he became a “Man Child” before his time.  There will be 24 players playing in the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas in 2010, 21 of the All-Stars came into the NBA and became instant millionaires thanks to Spencer’s kicking down the door to free agency. 

He blazed the path for the likes of Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dywane Wade and Kwame Brown.  There are too many of them who don’t have a clue to who Spencer is as he relates to them and the NBA. 

They don’t know, thanks to the NBA and brothers in so-called major media who refuse to take a stand and have fallen for just anything as it relates to Black History.  It looks like most of them (media) have been brainwashed by the NBA and have followed their lead in pretending Spencer Haywood is just a figment of their imagination.  For proof, do a Google search for “NBA History: African-American Influence and Breaking Down Barriers.”  Spencer Haywood’s name is nowhere to be found.  The sad part of this puzzle is that no one in the media has asked the question why? 

Spencer’s groundbreaking accomplishment was more important than Earl Lloyd becoming the first black to play in an NBA game or Red Auerbach playing five black players for the first time.  Free agency impacted every NBA player black and white.   

Earl Lloyd was denied his rightful place in NBA History for 50 years until I asked NBA legendary coach the late Red Auerbach to join me in a campaign to get him inducted into the hall of fame.  Earl was finally inducted in 2002.  NFL Green Bay Packer legendary safety Willie Wood was also ignored for decades.  He stood by and watched as his teammates were voted into the hall of fame one by one.  He was left on the sidelines and reduced to a cheerleader.  In 1985 I started an “Induct Willie Wood” campaign on my sports talk show ‘Inside Sports,’ and he was inducted in 1988. 

Boston Celtic coach and benefactor, Doc Rivers was recently quoted as saying, “For the most part, Spencer has just been taken for granted by many of us.  But what he did was huge for everyone.  We should all be thanking him.''

After the court ruled in Spencer’s favor he continued to play heads and shoulders above the rim.  In 1972 and 1973, he was on the All-NBA first team and became a chartered member of the All-Star game.  During that era he was one of the five best players in the league.   

I met Spencer Haywood shortly after his arrival in the “Big Apple” New York City.  I was introduced to Spencer by CBS and NBA color analyst Sonny Hill.  Spencer would later become a regular on my sports talk show ‘Inside Sports.’  Sonny Hill played an important role in my success as a talk radio personality.

The trade to the New York Knicks took Spencer over the top when it came to the fast life and drugs.  He took the Big Apple by storm and made all the rich and famous parties driving a Rolls Royce and with his wife, Iman, one of the world’s top fashion models on his arm.  Frank Sinatra once said in a song, “New York, New York if you can make it here you can make it anywhere.”  Spencer Haywood had made it! 

Bighouse Gaines, Spencer Haywood and Harold Bell and UM Coach Gary Williams (Far right)

When Spencer was at the top of his game as a NBA “Power Forward” he was one of the best.  There were several other players who I thought was his equal, Gus Johnson of the Washington Bullets and George McGinnis of the Philadelphia 76ers.  They also put the POWER into the forward position.  They had the finesse of ballet dancers with a linebacker’s mentally.  When they met head to head it was pro basketball at its best.  I would take anyone of these guys and match them with any similar Power Forwards in the NBA’s 50 Greatest (Barkley, DeBusschere, Lucas).  I would bet Spencer, George and Gus would win. 

Spencer’s love affair with the Knicks was over before he could say “Where is the next party?”  He suffered a knee injury and that didn’t help his career.  Spencer had more time on his hands than NBA games and depression set in and the drugs were breakfast, lunch and dinner.  In 1979 the Knicks shot an air ball to the Los Angeles Lakers and traded him, it was the beginning of his end. 

Evidently, the Knicks thought, with the Lakers Spencer would feel more at home.  The Lakers were known as Drug Central of the NBA.  It was said the best high in the NBA was found in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.  He hit rock bottom at the end of the 1979-80 season when the team suspended him in the midst of the NBA Finals because of his drug use.  Spencer went to sleep on the court while stretching. 

The Lakers met the Philadelphia 76ers in game six of the NBA Championship finals, and 6’9 rookie Magic Johnson started at Center in the place of the injured Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  The Lakers defeated the 76ers and Magic scored 42 points, handed out 12 assist and pulled down 15 rebounds.  Spencer never got to see the game because he was high on drugs.  The Lakers released him.  His next stop was Italy, France for a year and he then returned to the NBA to play with the Washington Bullets from 1981 to 1983. 

When his contract was up in 1983 I could tell that Spencer had a lot on his mind and he still had a mission to fulfill.  One of the things we talked about was him getting his ring from the Lakers for the 1980 championship season.  He was voted a share of the money but never got his ring.  He was also concerned about his daughter Zulekha now that he and his wife Iman were having their problems.  He seemed to be more concerned about reclaiming his NBA name. 

Spencer had a passion for children and had no patience for politicians who used children only as a sound bite.  He was proud of being sober from alcohol and drugs and the constant battle it took to stay that way.  I took him for his word because he never did drugs or alcohol in my presence.  Spencer knew all the athletes and sporting personalities who had drug problems in DC.  The celebrity drug community in every city is a small and close knit group.  The names he gave me I already had because of my street network.  Some these same personalities are still sitting on NBA benches and hiding behind television microphones. 

The great Power Forward I once enjoyed watching was now just a shadow of himself, his greatness seldom found its way on to the basketball court at Capitol Centre.  Despite his diminishing skills he was still a great human being and a joy to be around.  He always kept it real.

He cared little about material things.  I remember when he was leaving town for over a week on a road trip with the team.  He wanted to leave his Rolls Royce with me to have it serviced while he was gone.  Hattie my wife almost had a fit and refused to allow me to keep his car.  I called Spencer and told him the bad news about her being worried about me having an accident.  He then asked me to put her on the telephone.  I gave Hattie the telephone and two minutes later she was saying “Okay.”  I don’t know what he said, but Spencer had away with words.  She later told me he said “Hattie I have insurance and Harold has a license, what’s the problem?” 

I was disappointed when I read the story by Tim Povtak senior NBA writer for the blog FANHOUSE how the NBA had pimp him and brought him to his knees while he tried to re-claim his name.    

The story said that Spencer had tried to lobby the league for several years to name the NBA entry rule after him, like the Supreme Court that still bears his name, but that effort wilted.   

I appreciate the writer Povtak being diplomatic and using the word “Lobby” instead of begging, because that is exactly what it sounded like to me. 

According to Povtak, the rule has been altered a few times through the collective bargaining agreement with the union, yet the premise has remained the same.  Thanks to NBA Union Representative Billy Hunter if it ain’t about him you can count yourself out.  The Billy Hunter that I know is not going to stand up for anyone but himself.  He sold Spencer out to the NBA. 

Povtak goes on to say “It took the league years to gradually warm to Haywood after what he had done.  He has been sober now for 24 years.  He has spent the last 15 years as a league ambassador, traveling the world to promote the NBA.  He served as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.  He speaks often to young players about the pitfalls that once swallowed him.”  It sounds like the NBA made him do community service to re-claim his name and they are now throwing him a bone during NBA All-Star weekend.

I am going to address the first sentence in the paragraph above, “It took the league years to warm up to Haywood after what he had done!”  What had he done?  I am reading between the lines that what Spencer had done was drugs and he fought the system that wanted to keep him from earning a living playing professional basketball.  Were the crimes he committed, crimes enforced across the board? 

If the NBA is punishing Spencer for doing drugs and if drugs are the issue then the NBA Hall of Fame should be half empty.   

I would hope the NBA is not punishing him for standing up for his civil rights against their bias rule on free agency.  If that is the case according to the ruling handed down by the Supreme Court they were the problem and not Spencer Haywood. 

But there is a problem that is Spencer’s and his alone.  When I read he said "I have two daughters who play basketball, but even they don't know who I am in regard to what I did once, there were times when I was beaten down so badly, I felt almost ashamed of what I did.”  That was not the Spencer Haywood the proud black man that inspired me to keep telling the truth, keep my head up and stay strong!  

First, Spencer, have you heard of Home Schooling?  Who can teach your children about your history better than you?  Your children are your legacy and you and only you must make sure they are armed with the real story as it relates to you.  

Our history is being stolen, ignored and others have used it for their own financial gain for over 400 years, for example; “Inside Sports” was a title my wife Hattie thought of in 1973 for my new radio sports talk show.  John Walsh a writer for the Style section of the Washington Post decided in 1978 to take our title to New York City and discover Inside Sports Magazine.  He followed the same pattern of Christopher Columbus when he discovered America with native Indians already occupying the land.

This was my fault I should have trademarked the name as I was advised from the very beginning.  I made it easy for him.  Guess who owns the trade mark to Inside Sports, how about News Week Magazine and the Washington Post newspaper?  When I changed my show title to The Original Inside Sports, Walsh changed the magazine’s title to The Original Inside Sports Magazine!  Walsh left a paper trail that Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could follow (http://www.espnmediazone.com/bios/Walsh_John.htm).  It is too bad it was not murder he committed in America what he did is called “White Collar Crime,” people like Walsh don’t have original ideas of their own so they take from others. 

Spencer, you had a front row seat as the NBA and Billy Hunter proved they could care less about your pioneering efforts.  There will be black brothers in media who will congratulate you on your pioneering efforts at NBA All-Star weekend.  The faces will look familiar so ask them “where have you been for the past 24 years?”  See if Billy Hunter can look you in your eyes and say “Spencer I tried.”  Keep it real!

Our history will be overlooked and made out to be a joke if we don’t take charge, for example; Mike & Mike celebrated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday recently on their morning show heard and seen on ESPN nationally.  Mike Greenberg in a discussion about Rev. King called him out of his name when he referred to him as “Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Coon King, Jr.”  The silence from blacks heard, seen and read at media outlets like PTI, FANHOUSE, AROUND THE HORN, WASHINGTON POST and USA TODAY was deafening.  Not a protested word was heard or read! 

Boxing promoter Don King says “Racism is the biggest business in the world.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB8aUCvjUnY).

Spencer, if we don’t keep our own history it won’t be kept.  Most will celebrate Black History Month the same way NBC television tried to do in New York City.  The cafeteria’s black chef made up a menu of fried chicken, collar greens, potato salad, chitlings, yams and cornbread and a drink of choice (no desert, watermelon was out of season).  The menu title “Black History Month Menu All You Can Eat.” 

What happen to food for thought with names on the menu like, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, William DuBoise, Paul Roberson and the list goes on and on? 

In 1993, Jill Nelson penned a book titled “Volunteer Slavery” as it related to black writers and employees of the Washington Post newspaper.  According, to her book when she joined the Washington Post in 1986 she became a Volunteer Slave.  Jill and Spencer have something in common, twenty-four years later little or nothing has changed. 

In all honesty and fairness we cannot continue to lay all the blame of racism at the doorstep of the NBA and the Washington Post.  We (Blacks) must take some responsible for not being able to see the forest for the trees!  

Check and see who owns and calls the shots at BET, Essence Magazine, Radio One and TV One.  Ebony Magazine recently sold their archives to the Internet giant Google.  This means in the future if we want information about our history we are going to have to buy it from Warner Brothers, Comcast and Google. 

In 2010, forty-two years after the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, I have to ask myself why is it we have not developed our own giants in media?  Where are our media outlets that can compare with or challenge, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, etc?    

Where are the voices in black media who we can compare with or challenge Larry King, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Russ Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Diane Sawyer, Barbra Waters and Katie Couric?   

The more things change the more they remain the same.  Mississippi and two-dollars a day are not as far away as we think! 

If you see my friend Spencer give him this message from Smokey Robinson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_KKyw8V-l0.

To learn more about Spencer Haywood, click here to buy his book, "Spencer Haywood's The Rise, The Fall, The Recovery."

You can read more articles by Harold Bell on our "Talkback Page."

 

 

New Book Release: He Came from Gouldtown, by Harold Gould with Bob Allen

Harold Gould was a right-handed pitcher who played for the Gouldtown (a town named after a family member) New Jersey baseball club from 1942 to 1946.

He went on to play with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro Leagues.  Harold Gould has just published an autobiography of his life, with special emphasis on his years as a pitcher during the Jim Crow years of America's pastime.

Born and raised in his native Gouldtown, New Jersey, Harold Gould had been scouted by and became an ace pitcher for the Philadelphia Stars in the latter part of the 1940's. He travelled the baseball routes of his day around the country and into Canada as well, pitching against Satchel Paige and playing with and against a host of other famous and less known baseball greats of his era.
 
His book, titled HE CAME FROM GOULDTOWN, released mid-December 2009 by Catawba Publishing, is an oral history of his life, conversations on his various careers, including baseball, with Dr. Bob Allen, formerly of Penn State and now teaching at Cumberland County College of NJ.

Harold Gould's book can be ordered directly by contacting Harold and Gwen Gould: gweneg@comcast.net.

For further press information contact Dr. Allen: lhadd@aol.com.

From left to right:  Stanley Glenn, Harold Gould, Mahlon Duckett, Bill Cash, the late Wilmer Harris.

 

Urban American Outdoors wins 2009 MIDI Award 

Wayne Hubbard of Urban American Sports

CLASSIC INTERVIEWS THAT ESPN WISH THEY COULD GET!

Only Legends Can Interview Legends

The Greatest--ALI and ME with Harold Bell

 THE LEGENDS OF INSIDE SPORTS NOW AVAILABLE ON CD & DVD

HAROLD BELL'S CLASSIC ONE OF A KIND 1975 HISTORY MAKING INTERVIEW WITH "THE GREATEST" MUHAMMAD ALI SEEN ON NBC'S WASHINGTON, DC AFFILIATE WRC-TV 4

PLUS: NEVER SEEN OR HEARD BEFORE INTERVIEWS WITH TENNIS GREAT ANDRE AGASSI, NBA LEGENDS RED AUERBACH, EARL MONROE, GEORGE GERVIN, BOXING LEGENDS, DON KING, ANGELO DUNDEE, GEORGE FOREMAN, SUGAR RAY LEONARD, COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S  "BIG HOUSE" GAINES AND GARY WILLIAMS, NFL LEGENDS JIM BROWN, JOHNNY SAMPLE, BILLY KILMER, WILLIE WOOD, ROY JEFFERSON, DOUG WILLIAMS, BOXING HISTORIAN BERT SUGAR AND MANY MORE.

Legends of Inside Sports Classic DVD's and Audio CD's

INTRODUCTION BY: JIM BROWN, GEORGE FOREMAN, GERALDO RIVERA and DON KING

Ali and Me with Harold Bell

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Don't miss your chance to own rare and classic interviews of sports legends with your host Harold Bell on DVD and CD.  You’ll get Harold's flagship interviews with Muhammad Ali and the legendary Red Auerbach.  You will also see other classic sports clips and behind the scenes interviews with people in the field of horse racing such as Hayes Brown, the first black racing official in the state of Maryland and NFL greats Roy Jefferson and Billy Kilmer.

Order your DVD today for only $11.99 (plus shipping and handling) and watch a part of history.

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About Your Host

Harold Bell is the Godfather of Sports Talk radio and television.  Throughout the mid-sixties, seventies and eighties, Harold embarked upon a relatively new medium--sports talk radio with classic interviews with athletes and sports celebrities.  The show and format became wildly popular. Who better than Harold Bell to put together classic interviews with his legendary celebrity friends.

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One-Legged Athlete Elected to Florida High School Hall of Fame

TALLAHASSEE,  FL – The Florida High School Athletic Association announced today that one-legged athlete Carl Joseph is among the eight former Florida prep stars chosen for induction into the FHSAA sports Hall of Fame.

Joseph, now 48 and living in Tallahassee, is believed to be the first disabled athlete to achieve this honor at the state or national level.

Born without a left leg, he transformed himself 
from the object of pity and ridicule as a child to one of respect and awe at Madison (FL) High School. Winning over dubious coaches along the way, he was a 3-sport standout, earning eight varsity letters and Big Bend Conference awards.

In high school, he was able to hold his own against two-legged athletes, usually getting the better of them despite playing -- or rather hopping -- on one leg. It was when he dropped his crutches (or propped his wooden leg against a tree) and hopped onto the playing field that he became an extraordinary athlete, seemingly defying the laws of physics and reason.

Captain of the varsity football team and starting noseguard, he couldn’t be blocked by only one offensive lineman, so he was double- and triple-teamed. He registered 11 solo tackles in one game. Career highlights include chasing down and sacking a quarterback, blocking a punt, recovering 15 fumbles, batting down numerous passes, and intercepting a pass. He could also punt if needed.

Joseph won three varsity letters in track. He could sail the discus 130 feet and the shot-put 40. He excelled in the high jump, winning the district championship at 5 feet 10 inches. In practice, he cleared 6-5.

The pace of basketball limited Carl’s playing time. He was the eighth man on the varsity his senior year, averaging four points and three rebounds a game. A tenacious defender and rebounder, he could dunk and swat shots into the stands.

During the tense early years of forced integration in Madison (Pop. 3,500), Joseph’s inspirational football exploits were credited with uniting the black and white communities. He created immense interest and renewed civic pride in a football team that had been drawing sparse crowds at home. By his senior year, bleachers were overflowing in Madison and on the road.

Former college football coach Jackie Sherrill, a mentor to Joseph, reacted to the announcement by saying, “Congratulations to the selection committee for recognizing a young man who is not in the record books for points, total yardage, sacks or tackles but rather for his ability to inspire the sports world and motivate us to believe we can do anything if we really never, ever give up.”

Frank Yanossy, Joseph’s high school football coach, said, “There is no one individual more worthy of this award.”

Joseph, now a special needs teacher and prep football coach, was elated by his selection. “I feel really blessed that after all these years an honor like this could happen to me,” he said. “When I was a little kid, I used to actually dream about playing varsity sports in high school. But now, to be among these great athletes, that’s something I never could’ve imagined.”

Joseph, who is a bishop in his church and a gospel singer, said his inclusion in the hall of fame gives hope to everyone, especially disabled people, “that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and never quit.”

Officials at the National Federation of State High School Associations in Indianapolis were not aware of any disabled athletes among the 350 inductees in their hall of fame. Personnel at several state high school sports shrines said they had no knowledge of any disabled inductees.

Florida-bred sports stars already in the FHSAA Hall of Fame  include Chris Evert, Emmitt Smith and Christ Collingsworth. 

The hall of fame induction ceremony and awards banquet will be held in Gainesville on April 26.

Links:  Carl's YouTube video, Carl's web page and FHSAA.

 

Harold Bell's Legend of Inside Sports

Bernie Chavis

BERNIE CHAVIS SHOWING LOVE-LOVE & LOVE:  BLACK HISTORY AT U. S. OPEN TENNIS!

By Harold Bell 

On September 3, 2008 a former hoop star turned amateur tennis player Bernie Chavis will make history as an author on the hollow grounds of the U. S. Tennis Open.  Bernie is a native Washingtonian who now lives in the suburb of Meadowbrook, Pa.  He will showcase and autograph his new book titled “The Games of Tennis-An African American Journey (Breaking Racial Cultural Barriers in Tennis and---Society).” 

His journey is far from his roots as an outstanding all-around athlete in the DC Public schools of Washington, DC.  Bernie was All-Met in football and basketball at Eastern High School.  He parlayed his athletic skills into a basketball scholarship to Villanova University in Philadelphia.  The city of brotherly love has been home ever since.   

High School hot shot Bernie Chavis and teammate Robert Cephas

His remarkable journey into the elitist World of tennis takes a hard an objective view of the not too friendly love affair between blacks and whites.  Despite the groundbreaking efforts of tennis greats Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe in the 50’s and 60’s “LOVE” has nothing to do with it.

Unlike most outstanding athletes who are born with that competitive spirit Bernie knew when to quit.  When he discovered he could no longer run and jump with the young boys on the talented rich basketball courts of Philadelphia he walked away.  His next court would be a tennis court.  It was there he could apply the same techniques that made him an outstanding basketball player to play at the highest level capable—foot work and hand and eye coordination.  He fell head over heels in love with the game.  The most enjoyable aspect of his new World, he could compete and play with men his own age.  Once on the tennis scene he discovered the many doors that were closed to people of color on the other side of the net.   

Bernie remembered growing up in a segregated Washington, DC (the Nation’s Capitol). He never forgot the second class citizenship experiences of his hometown.  He says, “One of my first recollections highlighting the impact racism concerned the Howard Theater, the most popular movie and entertainment center in Washington’s black community.” 

He had a difficult time trying to figure out why was it that white folks could flock to one of the busiest sections of the black community and have an All-Access Pass but he was forbidden from entering any of “their” establishments anywhere in the city. 

Bernie’s childhood friend and my high school teammate, the late Spotswood Bolling, Jr., was a part of a landmark decision handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1954.  He was a part of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.  The decision was Bolling vs. Sharpe and ruled upon on the same day by the same Supreme Court.   

 

Harold Bell and Spotswood Bolling Spingarn HS teammates 

There were two different decisions made because Brown vs Board of Education was national and Bolling vs Sharpe was to insure desegregation locally.  DC then as now had no Congressional Representation it is still called “the plantation on the Potomac.” 

In the early1980s shortly after turning to tennis as an alternate athletic outlet, Bernie discovered “The more things changed the more they remained the same.”  While playing tennis at the Garden Fair Tennis Club located near his home he developed a personal friendship with the manager of the facility, Bob Fossler.  One day Mr. Fossler indicated to Bernie that all the tennis boards he was involved had begun to seriously discuss the need to diversify the composition of their organizations and to engage people of color.  Remember this is almost 40 years after Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson made their professional debuts.   

Fossler then invited Bernie to be a member of one of those boards.  Upon his recommendation Bernie submitted his application and was accepted.  His membership placed him on the board of the United States Tennis Association Middle States Philadelphia Area Tennis District.  Thus began his roller coaster ride inside the sport of tennis’s dark and blind side. 

Bernie joining the USTA was just appetizer, he has served as National President of the American Tennis Association (ATA), the oldest African American sports organization in America and President of the U. S. Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) in the Middles States section.  He would later be named the first black to serve as President of the USTA Philadelphia Area Tennis District (1994) and the first to referee a USTA national championship tournament, the Men’s Senior Grass Court Championships at the Germantown Cricket club in Philadelphia.  In 2005, he was named a “Living American History Maker” by the Berean Institute of Philadelphia.  Like Frank Sinatra, Bernie has taken the blows and did his way.  

I would love to be a book on the shelf to witness and capture the reactions of friends and foe during the signing.  The more interesting moments will be to see if any of today’s black tennis stars and future black stars show up to support his courageous effort to make their paths easier.  Richard Williams the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena will be the first in line and I am betting his daughters won’t be far behind.  On the other hand James Blake the bridesmaid of the men’s tour will distant himself until he sees the William sisters purchase their first book.  His advisors will caution him to keep his distant. 

The Games of Tennis-An African American Journey is a must read for every person of color who thinks that they have arrived and that includes parents, teachers, coaches and all advocates of children who claim they are making children first.   

The book reflects the thinking of America and how it really feels about people of color.  During Bernie’s journey he discovered that every black face he saw was not his brother and every white face was not the enemy.  He has never forgotten that it was all white men who made the decision of Brown vs. Board of Education and Bolling vs. Sharpe.  Their decision was based on Love-Love and Love. 

About the Author:  Harold Bell is a pioneer in sports talk radio in Washington, DC.

 

ART MONK PROVES NICE GUYS DON’T FINISH LAST:

WIDE OUT—FINALLY IN THE HALL OF FAME!

By Harold Bell 

Art Monk’s induction into the NFL Hall of Fame was a long time coming.  He is one of the best reasons why the players and coaches should decide who is worthy of entry.

Monk played 16 years in the NFL and should have entered the hall on his first year of eligibility.  He was denied entry because there were many in the sports media (writers, columnist and editors) who didn’t like his attitude when it came to the sporting press.  He learned early in his career the members of the media could not be trusted.  They ran hot and cold, especially those in the Nation’s Capitol, home of the Washington Redskins. 

He never thought he was obligated to give and interview and answer their stupid questions like “what were you thinking when you dropped that ball for a touchdown” or the classic question asked of QB Doug Williams by a reporter at the 1988 Super Bowl, “What does it feel like being a black QB playing in the Super Bowl?”  Monk never played their game during his entire NFL career.  He knew 90% of the idiots surrounding his locker after each practice and each game never played the game. 

One major league baseball manager was heard to say “The qualifications to be a sports writer in America all you need is a driver’s license.”  Art Monk could not have agreed more.

During his acceptance speech I think the most provocative statement he made was when he said, I was fine with the waiting game you guys were playing.  I am honored to finally be inducted into this sacred fraternity, but football does not define who I am.”

What was Art Monk on a football field?  On Sunday afternoons in football stadiums around the country he was Mr. Consistent, Mr. Clutch and Mr. Dependable.  Monk was drafted in the first round (18^th pick overall) of the NFL draft by the Washington Redskins in 1980 out of Syracuse University.  He was a running back at Syracuse but the Redskins immediately made him a wide receiver.  They have had a lot of success in turning running backs into great wide receivers.  Running backs like Bobby Mitchell and the greatest wide receiver in Redskin history, Charlie Taylor.  Taylor was an electrifying runner after the catch; he could entertain and thrill you with a short catch over the middle or a long catch down either sideline.  He was also a devastating downfield blocker.  In my opinion Art Monk is second only to Taylor on the All-Time great wide receivers who played for the burgundy and gold.

Roland ‘Bubba’ Grimes and Bryce Bevill are DC homegrown and Syracuse alumni.  They are the co-authors of a new book titled “TOTAL FOCUS of Character, Academy, Discipline, and Faith.”  Grimes says, “I remember the day the skins drafted Monk after trading away 12 years’ worth of first round picks under Coach George Allen.  None of us had heard of the guy but from day one he was an absolute stub on the football field and many of us tried to learn his game and follow his work effort.

Art Monk, Harold & Hattie

Click On Photo To Enlarge

Art Monk befuddles the sports media with his discipline and focus.  Not only has he excelled in football but he also is just as accomplished in his walk with Christ and leadership in his own home.  These are very difficult domains to balance in the NFL with all the travel and temptation at every NFL stop.  However, I think the guy’s life is truly just beginning now that he can invest more time into his family, community and his role as a trustee at our alma mater, Syracuse University.  Now is the time that he can be outspoken and advocate on any stage for anything that tugs at his heart.”

Art Monk’s 14 year career with the Washington Redskins was a highlight reel of consistency.  He once set an NFL record with a catch in 164 straight games.  When it was 3^rd down and five yards or longer we all knew who the quarterback would be looking for.  He wore number 81 Art Monk.  He was a quarterback’s best friend and cornerback’s worst enemy.  He was a nightmare to most cornerbacks who seldom stood taller then 6 foot and over 180 pounds.  Monk was 6’3 and 210 pounds.  To see him running in your direction was double jeopardy.  The cornerback was left thinking “Is he coming to knock my head off or to catch a pass?”  Advantage the wide receiver.  I will take a great wide receiver over a great cornerback on any given Sunday.  The wide receiver knows where he is going and the cornerback has to guess.  The cornerback on an NFL team is usually the team’s best athlete. The cornerback position is the most difficult on the field.  Congratulations to Darrell Green on his induction.  His NFL 20 year odyssey and tenure was unbelievable.

When Art Monk retired after the 1995 season he held the career record for receptions (940).  He was a three time Pro Bowl selection and a first team All-Pro in 1984.  Monk played on three Super Bowl Championship teams.  In 1984 he set an NFL record with 106 receptions in a season.  He was named to the All-Decade Team for the 1980s. 

He was never a controversial personality in the locker room or in the community.  There were never any whispers about drugs and he was never seen chasing skirts all over DC like many of his teammates.  The one thing that I admired about Art Monk, even though he was surrounded by flawed teammates who where pretending to be Christians, he never allowed their behavior to interrupt his walk with God.  Dexter Manley is his friend and not his leader.

Unlike most of the players you would usually see gathering at midfield to pray after the conclusion of a hard fought game, he was serious about God and his place in his life.  He was a model citizen. Art Monk was a great catch for the NFL Hall of Fame.

 

THE BOSTON CELTICS MAKE IT OFFICIAL:

PHIL JACKSON IS NOBODY’S RED AUERBACH! 

While the spirit of Red Auerbach was felt in the new TD Banknorth Garden the new “Big Three” dismantled and embarrassed the Los Angeles Lakers franchise in the NBA finals 131-92.  Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen reminded Celtic fans of dynasties past.  There was Bill Russell, Sam Jones and K. C. Jones or Larry Byrd, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish dynasties. 

The 2008 Boston Celtics went from worst to first in a hurry.  The new "Big Three" solidified their places in Boston Celtic lore.  Paul Pierce scored a double-double in points and assists and was named the MVP of the series.  Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and had 14 rebounds and Ray Allen tied an NBA finals record with seven 3 point shots while scoring 26 points.  The "Big Three" whether they like it or not had lived up to their name. 

The NBA’s Boston Celtics and Red Auerbach are the most successful team and coach in NBA history.  The franchise has won 17 World Championships; Red won 9 of those as the head coach. Number 17 came on Tuesday night June 18, 2008 in Boston Garden.  The man in charge was a man we call Doc and not Red.  

While America was seeing Black for the first time (Presidential nominee Barack Obama) the City of Boston was also seeing a familiar Red as in Auerbach.  It had been twenty-one years (1987) since these two teams last met in an NBA final.  The last thing the city, the team and the fans wanted to see was a Lakers’ win to move Jackson ahead of Auerbach.  The last time the Boston Celtics won an NBA Championship was 1987.  Red Auerbach was still the Godfather of the NBA and President of the franchise. 

Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson came into the series tied with Red and needed a win to move ahead of him in the championship finals win column.  The Lakers blew a 24 point lead to the Celtics in game four at home to go down 3-1 and a 39 point lost in the finals didn’t help his case.  He returned to Los Angeles hopefully never again to hear being compared to Red Auerbach. 

It is not by accident or coincident that Doc Rivers is the head coach of the Boston Celtics or Danny Ainge is the team’s General Manager.  Thanks to Red the Celtics were the first equal opportunity and keeping it in the family employer in the NBA. 

When Doc Rivers became the coach of the Celtics, Red’s advice to Doc, “Keep it simple.”  Red won 9 NBA Championships by keeping it simple and playing tough in your face defense, thanks to a man named Bill--as in Bill Russell. 

Make no mistake Doc Rivers is no Red Auerbach, DC's fearless talk show host Coach Butch McAdams said it best on a recent talk show.  He said, "Doc Rivers as a basketball coach makes a great television/basketball commentator." 

In defense of Rivers I have always thought that coaching a pro sports team was overrated.  If you got the "horses" and the respect of grown men anything is possible--meet Doc Rivers. 

This year’s team didn’t have a Bill Russell but their team defense was the best in the league.  In 2007 the Celtics had the worst team in the league and the media and fans were calling for Doc Rivers' dismissal.  In 2008 GM Danny Ainge pulled off an NBA heist that would have made Red Auerbach proud.  Kevin Garnett is one of the most gifted big men in the league.  He had been the face of the Minnesota Tmberwolves' franchise since leaving high school 12 years ago, but basketball success had not followed him to the NBA.  Garnett had become an unhappy camper and wanted out. 

The acquisition of Kevin Garnett and NBA sharp shooter Ray Allen was a stroke of genius.  You add holdover Paul Pierce and it brought back memories of Celtic pride with Auerbach, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, K. C. Jones, etc leading the charge against Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and the incomparable Wilt Chamberlain.  I am still trying to figure out how the Celtics pulled that one off. The answer could easily be---Red Auerbach. 

How and why did Minnesota trade Garnett to Boston?  It is rumored that the spirit of Red Auerbach contacted Minnesota GM Kevin McHale while he was in a deep sleep one night and said “Kevin you owe me one, trade Garnett to Boston and we are even.” The rest is team sports history. 

This final match up brought together one of the NBA’s most heated and hated basketball rivals.  The match-up lacked the marquee value of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain or Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, but it did not lack the mental and physical intensity that this rivalry has known for decades. The only other major sports franchises that comes close to this rivalry in intensity is the match-up of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. 

The World of sports lost a true giant when Red died on October 28, 2006.  He was born in Brooklyn, NY but he loved his adopted hometown of Washington, DC.  The finals championship left no doubt that Red Auerbach is the greatest coach in the history of the NBA. 

His won-lost record in Human and in Civil Rights was nothing to sneeze at----he was in a class by himself. 

In 1950 Chuck Cooper of Duquesne University and a second team All-American was drafted by coach Red Auerbach and owner Walter Brown. Cooper would become the first black player drafted and signed by an NBA team.  The NBA is now the most integrated pro sports organization in America.  The NBA plantation mentality is no longer implemented by whites it is now implemented by black men.  Red was not a big fan of NBA Commissioner David Stern or Wizard’s owner Abe Pollin, it had something to do with trust and integrity. 

Red was the first coach to play five black players at the same time.  He was first to hire the first black coach when he hired Bill Russell and the first to hire a black General Manager his name was also--Bill Russell. 

During the tenure of owner Walter Brown and Red Auerbach the Boston Garden was a “Racial Free Zone.”  The stifling racial strife in the city of Boston for the past several decades was not allowed in Boston Garden the home of the Boston Celtics.  When games were played in the garden the Redneck riff-raff had to check their KKK robes and hoods at the gate and replace them with shirt and tie, blue jeans and tee-shirts. 

When the basketball hall of fame had forgotten the contributions of Earl Lloyd the first player to ever play in an NBA game in 1950, Red reminded them.  Earl was finally inducted into the Naismith Basketball of Fame in 2001 fifty years later.  Thanks to Red Auerbach, better late than never. 

The Boston Celtics were the underdogs in this year’s series and were picked to lose to the Lakers in six games by the so-called experts.  The experts can be found sitting at NBA press tables around the league during the regular season.  Many would not know the difference from a left hook and a hook shot, but they are the experts never the less.  The Celtics won in six games---so much for the experts! 

This was the eleventh championship final between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.  The Celtics now lead the series 9-3.  The most important statistic was the one owned by the coaches, Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson.  Each had won nine NBA Championships.  A win by the Lakers would make Phil Jackson the outright leader.  Please don’t think this was lost on the city of Boston, the Celtic organization, the players or the coaches.  The city of Los Angeles, the Lakers organization, the players and their coach were also caught up in this historical footnote in NBA history, more than bragging rights were at stake. 

Did you see Bill Russell and Magic Johnson lurking in the stands, behind closed doors, in locker rooms and in bath rooms?  They were there to remind the players not to let them down and what was really at stake. 

Phil Jackson had not forgotten that when his record was compared to Red Auerbach’s, Red made it perfectly clear that Phil was an NBA opportunist. Red built his incredible record with just one team—the Boston Celtics and Phil was an NBA vagabond. Red said, “Phil Jackson is the television version of Bob Barker, if you got the players, Lets Make A Deal.”  In other words, 'I have sneakers and I will travel.' 

Red Auerbach was a genius and one of a kind. If you are looking for the definition of coach in Webster’s Dictionary it is spelled, A-U-E-R-B-A-C-H. Red could X and O you to death (chalk and black board).  He was a psychiatrist, motivator, P. R. man and an intimidator. The league’s referees, coaches and players were often the target of his wit and sharp tongue.  He stood 5’7 inches tall and I still remember watching a game on television and Red challenging the 7 foot Wilt Chamberlain to a fist fight.  Red would later tell me on my talk show Inside Sports, “I should have gotten an Academy Award for that performance.”  Talking about getting under an opponent’s skin, when he was sure that victory was in hand he would light up his famous cigar on the bench.  There were several occasions when he would light the cigar up too soon and the opposition would make a comeback and got the last laugh.  Those laughs were far few and in-between. 

There were times when Red could be too smart for his own good. Boston Celtic great and Hall of Fame player Sam Jones once told me the story about Red having a curfew, something he very seldom did.  It was during a long winning streak, Red booked the team into a hotel.  It was the night before they would be playing the worst team in the league.  Red wanted to make sure everyone stayed focused and not take the losers for granted.  He ordered room service (sandwiches, chips, pretzels, sodas and beer) for everyone in a suite.  The players then retired to their rooms together.  The next day they lost to the worst team in the league by 20 points.  Red said, "That was my first curfew and my last curfew."  He learned, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Bill Russell took a page out of one of Red Auerbach’s chalk talks and promised Kevin Garnett one of his championship rings if he did not win a championship during his stay in Boston.  Bill was depending on the pride of Kevin being man enough to go out and earn his own ring.  Bill was right and Kevin finally took up residency under the basket in game six and it was no contest.  Paul Pierce can now find a quiet place to light up that special cigar Red gave him just before he died.  I can vision Red smiling and reaching for his cigar and the heavenly no-smoking sign turned off temporally for a celebration.

BLACK MAGIC: IN AND OUT OF FOCUS!

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

By Harold Bell

ESPN’s airing of “Black Magic” chronicling the rich history of black basketball in America was a buzzer beating jump shot to win and a controversial foul call at the end the game to lose.   It was also the most watched documentary in the history of ESPN television history.  The first segment aired in 1.2 million homes beating the old record of 1.1 million.

The four hour two-part television show carried black basketball from the playgrounds, high schools, colleges and on to its final destination---the NBA.  This brought full circle the hopes and dreams of most black athletes, a life in the fast lane of professional sports.  For some it was their only way out.

The show’s title, “Black Magic” was the footprints in the sand of the man who revolutionized offensive guard play in basketball---Earl Monroe.  He is also a part-time magician.  I found the show to be enlightening and educational even though I lived most of it.  I was a student/athlete and played football and basketball for the legendary Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines at Winston-Salem State.  During my era (59-63) I was the only athlete under 6’5 he permitted to play two sports.  Tim Autry and Emit Gil my football teammates could not chew bubble gum and dribble at the same time but they were tall.  He called Tim and Emit “My Special Effects.”  

My freshman year I scored 27 points in a losing effort in the annual Alumni vs. Varsity basketball game.  My friend and mentor the legendary Jack DeFares had returned to Winston-Salem to finish work on his degree.  He lobbied for me to play for the shorthanded alumni.  It was easy to see why Jack was a New York playground legend and an All-Time great at Winston-Salem.  He simply said, “Keep your eyes on me and follow my lead.”  His slick ball handling and moves to the basket was responsible for me leading both teams in scoring.  Bighouse knew I could do two things well, catch a football and score on a basketball court.   But he made it clear that he had only one basketball and it belonged to Cleo Hill.  Like it or not I had to wait my turn.  I satisfied my hunger for the game by playing at the local YMCA and on the Inter-Mural team.

I was in a unique position at Winston-Salem State I was there to compare three of the greatest players to ever play for “Bighouse,” Jack DeFares, Cleo Hill and Earl Monroe up close and personal.

I was there for the return of Jack DeFares, I was there for the departure of Cleo Hill and I was there to witness the arrival of Black Jesus better known as Earl “The Pearl” Monroe among other names. 

Black Magic participants Al Attles and Earl Lloyd were two dear friends and inspired me to be all that I could be.  I was in Landover, Maryland when Al and the Golden State Warriors upset and beat another close and dear friend K. C. Jones.  The Warriors beat the Washington Bullets in four straight games to win the NBA Championship.  Al and K. C. made pro sports history by becoming the first two Black Americans to face-off in a championship final. 

         Santa Helpers: H. Bell, Al Attles, Sam Jones, K. C. Jones and Roy Jefferson (NFL)

I was there also to encourage the late great legendary Red Auerbach to step in support Earl Lloyd’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.  The NBA had overlooked his career.  Thanks largely to Red the Basketball Hall of Fame finally inducted him in 2002 as a contributor. He was the first black to play in the NBA.  The CIAA barely beat the NBA.  Fifty years after graduating from West Virginia State they finally pulled his number for induction into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2000.

Hopefully, Mike Wise of the Washington Post was watching ESPN and received an education on who was the first and last word when it came to “The Improviser” of guard play in the NBA.  Mike and his colleagues are the best examples on why we need to celebrate Black History 365 days of the year.  If we don’t our youth would believe that “Pistol Pete” Maravich revolutionize guard play in the NBA.  Mike wrote those exact words in his column during the NBA All-Star Weekend last month.  Pete was a great player in his own right.  As Black Americans we must be careful of what we read and who we read.  I will be looking for his column saying “I made a mistake” but I am not holding my breath. 

The enlightening stories for me, started with Perry Wallace, Athletic Director at American University and the first black to play at Vanderbilt University, the perseverance of NBA player Bob “Butter Bean” Love and without a doubt the hidden story that Ben Jobes was one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.  Coach Jobes’ accomplishments and basketball success stayed under the radar of major media for decades.  ESPN’s Black Magic made it perfectly clear he could have easily been a success on any level, but was denied recognition because he was black.

The real story of the NBA lynching of Cleo Hill by the St. Louis Hawks was long overdue.  In Black Magic there was mention of Cleo being the greatest player of his era.  He could have been the greatest player of any area where he was allowed to play.

Cleo had every shot imaginable.  He is the greatest offensive basketball player I have ever seen with the exception of Washington, DC’s Elgin Baylor.  He was “Michael Jordan” in North Carolina long before Michael Jordan.  Jordan didn’t really blossom into a great offensive ball player until the pros.   Cleo was a basketball icon and legend on Tobacco Road long before his pro career.  To believe it you had to be there to see him.  When Cleo played you would have thought the ACC Tournament was being held on the campus of Winston-Salem State.  White folks traveled from all over the state to see him play.  Cleo Hill was worth the travel time and price of admission.  There were times when our own students could not get into the games.  There was nothing Cleo could not do on a basketball court.  His offensive arsenal consisted of left and right hand hook shots, set shots, a jump shot from any and everywhere, a great rebounder when he needed to be, he was fearless driving to the basket and he was an 80% foul shooter.  Cleo could dribble the ball up court to break the press.  He was no slough on defense either, when “Bighouse” needed someone to stop the other team’s hot shooter, he looked no further than Cleo or teammate Tommy Monterio.  

Cleo was drafted No. 1 by the St. Louis Hawks in 1961 and everything was uphill from there.  When he arrived in St. Louis the KKK better known as “The Nest” was waiting for him.   The “Nest” consisted of players Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan and Clyde Lovellet.  They did everything but string him up by his neck.  When Coach Paul Seymour took a stand against “The Nest” the owner Ben Kerner fired him.  When Cleo returned to campus to finish up his classes to graduate after his rookie year he was a beaten man.  He would come around to our room and sit and talk with Barney and me for hours about life with the St. Louis Hawks.  His story was something out of the 1800’s.   In 2008 little has changed black men are still having their ideas and goods stolen and are asked to go in the backdoor and side doors to re-claim them.  Spooks are still sitting by the door opening it for some and closing it for others. 

When we start to talk about the injustices of the sports establishment you have to look no further than Coach John McLendon.  White coaches led by the legendary Dean Smith stole his ideas and made them their own.  The basketball establishment led by the white media had fans believing for years that Coach Smith invented “The Four Corners.”  A strategy devised by Coach Mac to take time off of the clock in the closing moments of a game while sitting on a lead.  

How can you vote one of the greatest innovators of the game into the hall of fame as a contributor?   Check the records and see if Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith have Contributor before or after their names.  In all fairness if Coach Mac is a Contributor than every coach who followed James Nasmith into the hall of fame is also a Contributor.   The word “Contributor” needs to be changed, as it relates to Coach Mac and Earl Lloyd.  If history is the judge “Brothers and Sisters” in media will see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and write no evil.  

Johnny McLendon was definitely “An Officer and a Gentleman” he was in a class by himself when it came to having a compassion for helping others.  Johnny Mac was a pleasure to be around.   He is one of the best examples on how one can be a class-act and black folks will Player Hate on you anyway.   Barney Hood and I would often talk about Coach Mac and how he would always be uplifting when talking about his friends and former players.  Fairness is a lesson that never seemed to have rubbed off on some of his colleagues. 

The man many of us called “Big Daddy” when others called him Bighouse would some times forget we were watching him.   He could be very selfish and self serving.  Bighouse had a big heart but he could also be heartless.  He went ballistic when his friend and colleague Coach Tom “Tricky” Harris of Virginia Union hired a white coach, Dave Robbins (in-focus).  Coach Gaines and Harris were poker pals and shared a lot of basketball history.  When his buddy hired a white coach he felt betrayed.  Bighouse slowly burned when CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry (out of focus) and his cohorts hijacked the conference right before his eyes.  Some of the things he said about his colleagues and student/athletes made many us wonder whether he really liked himself.  None of us escaped his wrath including me, Cleo and Black Jesus.  

In many ways we have taken on the characteristics of the establishment.  When it comes to fairness it is becoming a lost art in the black community.   We have also become more exclusive instead of inclusive.  Black Magic for example; How were the contributions of icons Sam Jones (It is rumored he wanted to get paid), Spencer Haywood, Curly Neal and last but not least Red Auerbach and Walter Brown of the Boston Celtics overlooked?  

      The late NBA Godfather Red Auerbach and his classy wife Dotie visit Inside Sports

Sam Jones is in the NBA Hall of Fame and voted as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest, he could have easily added more insight.  His mentors were two of the greatest coaches of all time, Johnny Mac and Red Auerbach.  Without Red’s contributions “Black Magic” would still be out of focus and a dream deferred.  Spencer Haywood’s contribution turned the plantation mentality of college basketball and the NBA into a “Pay Day Heaven” for today’s NBA players. 

In a landmark decision Spencer successfully challenged in court and won his case to enter the NBA draft before graduation.  He became the first ever NBA Hardship case.  Every NBA player making over $5,000 owes him a debt of gratitude.  He should be in the NBA Hall of Fame and a member of The 50 Greatest Players ever, for his play on the court and his legal battles in court.  He was working in the community long before the NBA CARED and he put the POWER in Power Forward.   He is being Black Balled by the NBA for standing up to be a man in America and for his alleged drug use.  If drug use is one of the measuring rods used for his induction, than the hall should be almost vacant.  One of the show’s characters, drug dealer Pee Wee Kirkland is a New York Playground basketball legend and former Norfolk State player.  I saw some his best customers in “Black Magic.”  Curly Neal is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University and his name is synonymous with the internationally known Harlem Globetrotters, he was also out of focus in Black Magic! 

How could Black Magic forget New York basketball icons Pop Gates, Jack DeFares and Carl Green? 

Sound bites we could have done without:  Some things are better left unsaid, playground and NBA Broadcast legend Sonny Hill describing former Tennessee State and New York Knicks’ guard Dick Barnett was definitely out of focus.  He said “Dick Barnett was a functional illiterate.”  Dr. Dick Barnett graduated from Tennessee State and now holds a PHD Degree. 

ESPN NBA studio analyst and Winston-Salem State alumnus Stephen A. Smith and basketball scrub was blackballed from the show for stepping on “Superman’s Cape.”  “Bighouse” was having trouble winning games at the end of his career (828 wins) Smith writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer made the mistake of calling for his firing.  He has been out of bounds and out of focus ever since.  What is my excuse for being out of focus?  I walk and march to a different drum beat.  

Harold Bell---is a former student/athlete at Winston-Salem State and a radio and television sports talk show pioneer.  You can learn more about Harold and other sports legends by visiting his web site www.hbsportslegends.com.  You can contact also contact Harold at  hkbell@comcast.net.

 

The Souls of Black Baseball by an Oral History Project by Dr. Bob Allen

The Souls of Black Baseball:
 

Voices from the Field of Dreams Deferred
An Oral History Project by Dr. Bob Allen

Veteran of the Negro League Baseball era, catcher for the Philadelphia Stars, Bill "Ready" Cash can spin out a story that takes away your own breath as he tells it. Like the one about the 28 day bus trip the team took in the late 40's: going through towns 75-80 miles an hour because they had to make the schedule; blowing out motors and getting speeding tickets in the bargain; playing games along the way from Philadelphia, winding south 1900 miles away to Tyler, Texas.

 

On the field, in 105 degree weather, ready for the dressing rooms, but not allowed to use them. Had to go under the stands to dress. Only allowed a short run around the field for warm-up as an old guy hollered from the stands, "nigger, I'm gonna shoot you." Says Bill: "We still had to play ball. Out of those 28 days we were away from home, we was in bed four hours. All the rest of the time we slept in the bus, traveling."

 

Cash continues the story, taking you on the northbound loop back home; like always, stopping now and then after games, at places that were open to get food, sandwiches, mayonnaise, meat, sodas, to eat on the way. Games along the way, night and day. Cash recalls: "One Sunday we played in Birmingham. They had a little kid 16 years old and his father didn't allow him to play, goin away with the team. He only played on Sundays. He was battin' third. Piper Davis was the manager. I said, Piper, you've got this kid hittin' third?' He said, you'll find out.' We were tied 6-6 in the seventh inning and he came up. Boy, I just knew we were gonna throw a ball by him. He got 4 for 5 against us that day. I hit a double off the scoreboard. The next guy hit a long fly to center field, he went back against the fence and caught it. I tagged up and went to third base. When I got there, the ball was waitin' on me. That little 16 year old kid was Willie Mays. Boy, he could hit, he could ...of course you know all about him...he could do it."

 

This and many other stories, some tragic and sad, others side-splitting hilarious, are part of and emerging from an oral history project by Dr. Bob Allen, a free lance writer and researcher, and former teacher at the Pennsylvania State University. Allen's travel throughout the northeast in the last six years, and his intention to visit and interview on film every surviving player from the Negro Leagues, was based on a three part goal: to preserve, promote, and promulgate the history and stories of Negro League Baseball.

 

To date, the project has collected 366.75 hours of film footage of Negro Leagues histories. Yet, there is more to be done and further support to continue the project is needed. A detailed description of the project is available to all interested. In summarizing the project, Allen notes:

 

... without such histories being recorded, getting the actors to recall the play, and enabling future generations to see and understand the scene of the past "In time, we forget who we are." As players from the old baseball Negro Leagues probe the scars and remember the joys of their finest hours amidst the apartheid at the heart of the nation's pastime, this project will memorialize who they were so that we can better understand who we might be. Hopefully, it will make a special contribution to this important history of sport and American society; be of help and of use to veteran historians of the sport; and bring to life and keep alive the lessons and challenges we can all take up from this fascinating history.

For further information, enquiries, and suggested contacts to help Dr. Allen locate and interview players, or to provide needed support to continue the project, please be in touch with:

 

Bob Allen
1007 Golfview Ave. #24
State College, Pa. 16801

814-237-9471
LHADD@aol.com

 

 

In The Spotlight

Laila Ali

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 Black Sports Online

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“Sports Video Highlights, LLC”

 

 

Robert Littal is the brainchild behind Black Sports Online (BSO).  His story is one of hard work and turning your dreams into reality.  The thing that I like the most about BSO is Robert’s style of writing.  This brother is “freed up.”  He has a “tell it as I see it” style of writing that I find to be refreshing.  I hope you enjoy my interview with Robert Littal. 

Gary Johnson

 

The Robert Littal Interview 

BMIA.com:  Hey Robert, thanks for taking the time to do this interview.  I want to jump right into the interview.  You have some of the most intriguing and interesting articles on your web site, Black Sports Online (BSO).  Tell us about BSO. 

Robert Littal:  The idea has always been in the back of my mind.  I have a journalism degree from The Ohio State University, so I did a lot of writing, radio and TV while I was in college, even going back to high school I was the head of my audio/visual department.  I always had my own style of doing things, my professors would say I had a unique way of doing presenting my opinions which I believe was a nice way of saying that I didn’t do things the way they wanted me to.  After college I was more focused on my music career than doing anything with my degree.  I had my heart set on being the next Jay-Z, Nelly or Ludacris.  That all changed while I was watching the NFC Wild Card Game in December of 2004 Green Bay vs. Minnesota.  Some people remember it as the Randy Moss fake mooning incident.  I remember it as the most bias representation of the sports media I have ever seen.  I was so disgusted by the broadcast team of Joe Buck and Chris Collingsworth (Troy Aikman was cool) and their favoritism toward the Packers and Bret Favre and their obvious bias against Randy Moss that I literally wanted to jump through the TV and punch Buck in the mouth.  After the game while chatting on a message board I found that I wasn’t the only one who felt that the announce team and the media in general had become a parody of itself and weren’t being unbias in their opinions.  While continuing to complain to a very special person in my life, I was told by her that instead of complaining about it like I always did, why don’t I do something about it.  It was the best advice that I ever got, BlackSportsOnline was launched 3 months later in March of 2005. 

BMIA.com:  In addition to current sports headlines and features you have some other articles that are extremely interesting such as The Top 50 Athletes Wives, Darth Kobe and Exposed: Confessions of a Groupie.  Where do you get your story ideas? 

Robert Littal:  When I am thinking of story ideas I try to think outside of the box.  I try to think of topics that people talk about while they are just hanging out and relaxing, but from an angle they never thought of before.  I never want to be the 100^th person to hit the same topic I want to be the first, that way my name is associated with it from the beginning.  When someone says Darth Kobe it is going to be traced back to me.  You type in “athlete’s wives” in a search engine BSO comes up first.  While I wasn’t the first to do an article on groupies, but who else have been able get groupies, wives, girlfriends and a professional athlete on the record in a 3-part series? 

I like to think of myself as a Forensic Scientist when it comes to sports. While most people are concentrating on what is right in front of them I am digging a little deeper.  I am not just looking at the gun shot wound I am looking at the angle it came from and how that angle turns an apparent suicide into a homicide.  Because sometimes things that look to be obvious are more complex than you think.  After you read one of my articles I am going to force your mind to think about things you never thought of before. 

BMIA.com:  You used to work in the music industry.  Is that correct?  How did you get into sports? 

Robert Littal:  For a period of time between my freshman year in college, till about 2 1/2 years ago I was deep in the music industry as a rapper and a producer.  I had a couple of local hits, but never got that big break that I was hoping for.  Way before the music though I was consider a sports fanatic.  When they had all the elementary kids do a report on what they wanted to do when they grew up everyone else wanted to be a policeman or astronaut, my report was on being an anchor on SportsCenter.  This was when it was only one ESPN, not 1500 versions of ESPN.  My mom says when I was a toddler I would sit and watch full football games without interruption.  It has been in my blood for a long time. 

BMIA.com:  Do you see any similarities to musicians and athletes?  

Robert Littal:  The lifestyle of an athlete and a musician are similar in the fact that the fame makes them bigger than life to most people and in turn their egos are out of control.  There is a reason that athletes want to be musicians and musicians want to be athletes, they share a common bond.  They understand what each other goes through on a daily basis.  There isn’t much difference between 50 Cent and say Terrell Owens. 

There are more similarities between how business is being done.  The music business and professional sports are both cut-throat professions where when you are not “hot” anymore or you get “exposed” you are tossed aside without a second thought, no matter how big in the profession you are.  Once again there isn’t much difference between Rafael Palmeiro and JA Rule. 

BMIA.com:  Tell us about your background.  (Where did you grow up?  What’s your family background?  Did you play sports? 

Robert Littal:  I am from Saint Louis, Missouri, that is where I reside now.  I went to college at The Ohio State University.  I tell people I am the Al Bundy of Sportswriters.  I was a Wide Receiver in High School and in my last game I caught 7 catches for 150 yards and 2 TDs, unfortunately we lost that game, but it wasn’t my fault.  The QB threw an INT (interception) on the last play of the game.  Pass was intended for me, but it was overthrown.  That still haunts me to this day.  I have been blessed with a wonderful family who have supported me in everything I have done since day one.  I am a very lucky man. 

BMIA.com:  For your feature Exposed: Confessions of a Groupie, you interviewed over 50 women about their relationships with professional athletes.  Did you learn anything significant or surprising about these women? 

Robert Littal:  The most surprising thing to me was how many women wanted to speak to me.  All I did was put out feelers around the internet and next thing I knew my email box was full.  I was shocked at how forthcoming these young ladies were and how willing they were to validate their stories with pictures, voicemails, hotel receipts etc etc.  What I have learned from interviewing them is that there are two types of women when it comes to dealing with professional athletes.  Those who accept the lifestyle and are willing to deal with it because of the advantages it gives them in life and those who are in denial about the lifestyle because of the advantages of being involved with an athlete.  Because of this outpouring we are actually devoting columns to women who want to share their stories with the world, but didn’t have the avenue to do so before. 

BMIA.com:  The women that you interviewed come across as very forthcoming.  What was the wildest incident or story that surfaced as a result of your interviews? 

Robert Littal:  The most interesting by far was Candy from Part 1 of the story.  She was the one who claimed to have slept with over 100 athletes, musicians or just famous people in general.  She provided me with some much information that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  She even sent me a video of her with someone that if I told you was in the video you wouldn’t believe it.  I have already been threatened to be sued by a couple of athletes who I assume connected the dots and realized the young ladies were talking about them.  But it isn’t a big deal people threaten to sue me at least once a week. 

BMIA.com:  What lessons are there to be learned for women who date athletes and for men who date groupies? 

Robert Littal:  I would say for women who date any celebrities just realize that there is a trade off for being involved in the lifestyle and don’t be naïve to the situation you are getting yourself into.  For the fellas they just need to be real careful who they are dealing with because you never know who is going the next person to be exposed. 

BMIA.com:  Of the athletes that you’ve interviewed, are there any that standout or considered special? 

Robert Littal:  Almost all the athletes I have talk to both on and off record seem to respect what I am trying to do.  Even though some may think I am harsh in my evaluation of pro athletes I have a great respect and admiration for what they do in the playing field and I try my best to get that across in my writing. 

BMIA.com:  What do you want people to “get or learn” as a result of reading your articles. 

Robert Littal:  I am like Morpheus in The Matrix; my main goal is to get people to open their eyes to what is really going on in the world of sports.  The mainstream sports media are like Agent Smith in the fact they have created this mythical world where they dictate who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, who we should cheer for and who we should boo against and who we should hate and who we should love.  One by one I am taking people out of The Matrix and into the reality of sports.  The reality sometimes isn’t pretty but it is the truth.  When I write an article it is not to try to convince people to agree with me, it is to get people to at least open up their minds to a different perspective that will lead to discussions.  I am not a shock jock who is just going to say things to stir up the pot if I write about something I am going to have logical reasons for it. I am unlocking minds one reader at a time. 

BMIA.com:  What’s the best thing about being Robert Littal? 

Robert Littal:  If you haven’t noticed by now I am big on using analogies and metaphors to describe how I feel about things I think it is a part of the rapper that is still inside of me.  But right now I feel like Jay Z after he dropped “Reasonable Doubt.”  What you are getting right now is the rawest form of writing from me because I have no limitations and I have no fear.  I am the boss, so at this point I have the freedom to do whatever I like.  It is that freedom that is the best thing about being me right now.  I think there are many in the media that would probably like to speak their minds the way I do, but they can’t because they are puppets to the corporate office.  If the big man upstairs says to go do an interview with Ray Lewis and be sure to kiss his ass while you are doing it that is what you have to do.  Seeing that I am the big man upstairs I don’t have that problem. 

In a little over a year I have taken a site that was getting maybe 100 hits a day to where we are on pace for over 300,000 unique hits and over 1 million page views in July.  We are making an impact; we are making a difference which was my goal from the beginning.  Now the goal is from going from “Reasonable Doubt” to President of Def Jam if you feel what I am saying. 

BMIA.com:  I know what you’re saying.  Who do you admire? 

Robert Littal:  You know who I admire, I admire single parents.  Doesn’t matter if they are single moms or dads it is difficult to raise a child and having to do it alone you have to be a real special person.  I was fortunate enough to have my Dad in my life, but for the majority of my life he has lived out of state and my mom and grandmothers raised me.  I only understood how much they sacrificed for me when I got older. I wouldn’t be half the person I am without them.  I am not big on idolizing celebrities; I admire everyday people who are out there doing things that don’t get recognize. 

BMIA.com:  What’s the biggest challenges facing the black athlete? 

Robert Littal:  The biggest challenge for the black athlete is an understanding whether they like it or not that are the role models for kids.  White kids, black kids, Latino kids it doesn’t matter they are shaping young minds.  I am proponent of parents being the role models for their kids, but the reality is such that athletes, musicians and actors are who these kids are looking up to.  What that means is that these black athletes have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in these kids’ lives.  So instead of going on MTV Cribs and basically saying happiness is gauged on how many pools you have in your back yard, how about going to a school and preach how you are blessed to have so much because you can shoot a basketball or run on the football.  Explain to kids how they admire doctors, teachers, lawyers, architects, etc etc for the hard work they do.  Explain that the only way out of the hood isn’t a “wicked jump shot or slanging crack rock” as Biggie once rhymed. 

BMIA.com:  How can people reading this article support you? 

Robert Littal:  The best way to support me is keep coming to the site, keep disagreeing with me, keep arguing about my points, keep telling people about www.blacksportsonline.com and keep letting people know that if they are interested in the reality of sports this is the place to be. 

Remember than analogy about me feeling like Jay Z after he did “Reasonable Doubt” I am now ready to drop “In My Lifetime Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life”.  It is time to branch out and reach a bigger and wider audience and anyone who is interested in helping me do that I will always have my ear out to listen. 

As for final words, I definitely want to thank Black Men in America.com for an opportunity to tell my story.  I would also like to thank all the people who have made BSO such a huge success because I could not have done it without each and every one of you.  This is just the beginning, I am not stopping now, and I am hungry and motivated to be the top in the profession.  Right now we are still David in our fight with Goliath, but as Pimp C of UGK once said “I have a pocket full of stones” and I am ready to go to work.  I will continue to bring the truth the question as it has been from the beginning is “Can You Handle It?”

 

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