UK players used to be too ‘young and scared’ to call out racism. It was ‘impossible.’
When he played basketball for Kentucky in the late 1980s, Rex Chapman experienced racist attitudes and actions. Unlike today’s players, he did not call attention to inequity.
“Impossible 30 years ago,” he said. “Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. And by some measure that’s progress. But it took 30 f-ing years.”
Why impossible?
“We were all young and scared to say anything,” he said. “And, now, we’re not. And when I say ‘we,’ I do mean ‘we.’”
Chapman said he was repeatedly told he would do harm to his “image” if he called out racism. “And that’s racist,” he said. “It’s wrong.”
During a recent interview in which he repeatedly paused to stifle tears and compose himself, Chapman recalled as a UK player having at least four meetings with coaches on the topic of his Black girlfriend.
“I was told, you know, (pause), if you want to date somebody other than a white girl, you probably should hide it,” he said. “Not probably. You should hide it.
“It makes me want to cry. I was just a kid, man.”
Ex-Cat Dwane Casey, then an assistant coach for UK, came to his rescue with words of support after these meetings. “Dwane got me through two years of college,” Chapman said.
Casey likened his advice and encouragement to parenting.
“Rex was like a son,” he said. “He was young and in love, and that’s a difficult time, especially in an interracial couple like that. They meant nobody harm.”
Chapman also recalled three times going with a Black teammate as he met the parents of his white girlfriend. He pretended to be the boyfriend.
“This is heartbreaking,” he said before pausing to control sniffles. “We were just doing it because that’s what you had to do.”
Casey said that today’s players, even college players, are entitled to voice opinions.
“It’d be hard to say, you know, shut up and dribble,” he said. “Just as long as they’re responsible and educated on the topic. Whether you agree with it or not, they’re American citizens. We have a right to speak: freedom of speech.”
Chapman stressed that he was speaking for himself and not for UK basketball. He said he was “privileged” to have learned over the years about the effects of racism. Family, friends and former teammates make inequity and bigotry hit home for him.
“I’m (pause) at a bit of a loss,” he said. “My biracial niece, my family, my friends, they wake up Black every day. Every day. And they experience it.
“I know my opinion on it is going to be more of a lightning rod. Also I feel that people are looking at me to speak up for them. My family (pause to suppress sniffles). I want us to do better.”
Proud of UK
Dwane Casey applauded the current Wildcats and John Calipari for the video they tweeted Monday that was a collective call for a greater effort in dealing with systemic racism and police brutality.
In acknowledging the mixed reaction to the video, Casey said, “These are not political issues. It’s a humanity issue. . . . Unfortunately, a lot of players have experienced police brutality and social injustice in their families. We all have.”
Now coach of the Detroit Pistons, Casey said the UK video sent a message that can be helpful in recruiting.
“For Coach Calipari to be able to walk into an African-American kid’s home and to rightfully talk about Kentucky as the right place to come to play basketball, you’ve got to let them know that, ‘Hey, we stand for the right things,’” Casey said.
“I thought it was a very tasteful and well done video. And I’m proud of Coach Cal and his team.”
‘Zoom exhaustion’
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas recently shared his feelings about the pandemic-induced need for online meetings via Zoom.
“I can’t think of anything I enjoy less right now than Zoom meetings,” he said. “That’s become the bane of all our existences.”
When asked why he disliked video meetings, Bilas said, “They’re exhausting. They’re absolutely exhausting. And I don’t really need to see someone sitting in their bedroom while we’re having a discussion.”
Bilas noted that the term “Zoom exhaustion” has been coined. “And I’ve had it several times,” he said.
‘Big John’
For many people, probably the first thought that came to mind when learning of former Georgetown Coach John Thompson’s death was his intimidating presence.
Or as Esquire’s Charles Pierce wrote, Thompson had “a glare that could melt concrete.”
Thompson, who was affectionately known as “Big John,” died last Sunday, three days before his 79th birthday.
Gary Parrish of CBS Sports saluted Thompson as someone who shattered racist assumptions and showed that Black coaches could achieve at the highest levels.
“The list of Black coaches who got jobs because of Thompson, who are wealthy because of Thompson, still isn’t long enough,” Parrish wrote. “But it is long.”
Personal note
Two memories of John Thompson come to mind.
The first involved the 1984 Final Four in Seattle. Georgetown won the national championship, beating Kentucky in the semifinals and Houston in the finals. Thompson became the first Black coach to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament championship.
Among the first to congratulate Thompson was Hall of Famer Bill Russell, who came onto the court shortly after the championship game ended and gave the Georgetown coach a hug. Thompson had been Russell’s backup with the Boston Celtics in the mid-1960s.
The other memory came in the 1995 NCAA Tournament Southeast Region in Birmingham, Ala. UK beat Arizona State in one Sweet 16 game while Georgetown lost to North Carolina in the other.
In those less formal days, reporters could engage coaches. The day before those Sweet 16 games, I approached Thompson warily. When I mentioned the architect of the Celtics’ dynasty, Red Auerbach, Thompson’s facial expression softened and a warm smile of remembrance crossed his face.
Top five
John Thompson ranks second in Division I career victories by a Black coach.
The winningest Division I Black coach? Tubby Smith, who has led teams for Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis and High Point in addition to Kentucky.
Former UK assistant Leonard Hamilton (Oklahoma State, Miami and the last 18 seasons for Florida State) ranks third.
Rounding out the top five are John Chaney (Temple) and Nolan Richardson (Tulsa and then 17 seasons for Arkansas).
The rankings are courtesy of Sports-reference.com/CBB.
15 percent
Earlier this year, ESPN pro basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski said the NBA was considering allowing fans to attend games in the 2020-21 season. But seating could be limited to as little as 15 percent of capacity.
If college basketball were to follow the NBA’s lead, how many fans could attend Kentucky games in Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) in a 2020-21 season?
Fifteen percent of Rupp Arena’s capacity would be 3,082 (rounding upward).
Why the delay?
The NCAA announced staff layoffs on Wednesday, but that’s not expected to delay rulings on transfers seeking eligibility waivers. Of course, UK has made such an appeal on behalf of Olivier Sarr, who transferred from Wake Forest.
Earlier, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas dismissed the notion that planning on how to deal with COVID-19 might delay such a ruling.
“It’s not like making a decision on Olivier Sarr is taking them away from finding a vaccine,” he said.
Happy birthday
To Bo Lanter. He turned 61 on Friday. . . . To Julius Mays. He turned 31 on Friday. . . . To Nazr Mohammed. He turned 43 on Saturday. . . . To Terrence Clarke. He turns 19 on Sunday (today). . . . To Dale Brown (the former UK guard). He turns 52 on Sunday (today). . . . To John Wall. He turns 30 on Sunday (today). . . . To Alex Poythress. He turns 27 on Sunday (today). . . . To Oak Hill Academy coach (and Asbury University grad) Steve Smith. He turns 65 on Monday. . . . To former Ole Miss coach Rob Evans. He turns 74 on Monday.
