After watching the NCAA pregame show about the first all black team in Indiana state basketball history to win a state title, I feel that I have grasped a deeper understanding of, not why Africans Americans are dominant physically, but mentally.
Crispus Attucks was an all black school that was set up in Indiana around the 1950's. Many said, because of the lack of societal support and many other reasons, that this school was set up to fail. The 1956 boys basketball team proved all skeptics wrong. Led by NBA Hall of Fame inductee Oscar Robertson, the Crispus Attucks team made history and won a state championship.
It is not easy to put ourselves into the lifestyle and situations that these players had to overcome, but after the pregame biographical show I feel I have a better understanding. These players, every time on the court, had to play against the five apposing players and the"opposing referees." Coach Ray Crowe, repeatedly made sure that his players did not give into everybody's expectations of getting upset and deterred. These guys had to fight for everything that they earned, and a lot of the time did not get respect for what they had earned. It says a lot about a group of guys, and in this case a group of people, that they have historically faced so many bumps in the road and athletically came out on top due to the mental capability to overcome these great obstacles.
Through centuries of segregation, discrimination, and inferiority African Americans have survived. Through their survival they have understood what discrimination feels like and how to overcome it. And when placed into sports which entails skills of overcoming adversity, African Americans can historically say that they have gone through more and are mentally equipped for such situations.
No comments:
Post a Comment