Daily Archive for January 21st, 2008

On MLK and the NBA

Published on January 21, 2008 in Thoughts. 0 Comments

I’ve been a Blazer fan since the 70′s. I haven’t always been thrilled with the guys they’ve had on the roster, but like a lot of people, I’m liking what I’m seeing these days.

Stories came out today about the coach and a group of Blazer players touring some MLK sites in Atlanta on Sunday. I like to read about this team whenever I can, but these articles caught my attention in a different way. They paint a picture of the players as people, and what they did on their day off.

To see the house where he was born, and to go to the gym where he played some hoop was kind of cool. It’s like you get to walk in his shoes for a minute, which is a great moment, especially for us being African American males. Because of a lot of the things we are able to do today are things he fought for.”—Brandon Roy

It’s not so much that the game means anything more (the Blazers play Atlanta on MLK Day), but the day itself means a lot. You get to reflect on some of the things that he did to make it easier for minorities in this nation. So just to be a part of that, and to know the history, it’s something special.”—Martell Webster

I think it is good for them to see that, it’s educational for them. Life is about opportunities, and for me, I ask, ‘Would I have had this opportunity (to coach) 40 or 50 years ago?’ No. So that’s what this is all about: In life, we hope for an opportunity to show what we are capable of doing, and he helped give us all that opportunity.”—Nate McMillan

I like to use it as a day of reflection. Just to look back and remember how people sacrificed their lives just to have us be able to have a chance or opportunity in life like this.”—Jarrett Jack

We all benefited by Mr. King’s efforts, but it is especially cool to see these particular guys making the effort to go back and honor the man that made it all possible.

You can read more in this Oregonian story, and here at ESPN. I like how the ESPN story mentions that that education and scripture were important in the King household. These are good foundations for everyone.