We Matter

by Etan Thomas

  On another trip to a Wizards game, I showed the guys Finding Forrester. I absolutely love this movie because it mirrors so many of my experiences in school. I had teachers like Professor Crawford, the teacher of the main character, Jamal, who doesn’t think the kid deserves to be in his classroom because he plays basketball. Professor Crawford also accuses Jamal of plagiarism because he doesn’t think a kid from the Bronx could produce the quality of work that he produces.

  I shared my experiences with the guys—how my sixth grade teacher, Ms. Stewart, accused me of cheating because she didn’t think that I could do so well on a test. I also told them about how my ninth grade English teacher, Ms. Ennox, accused me of plagiarism because she didn’t believe that I wrote a paper that I had handed in to her. Malcolm, who has heard all of these stories before, asked me to tell them about my elementary school teacher Ms. Scalet. I said, “Okay, sure, well, Ms. Scalet was my fifth grade teacher and she told my mother that I would never be able to write in complete paragraph form because my brain developed slowly and I had a problem focusing.” Josh, another one of our centers, said, “That’s really messed up.” I said, “Yeah, it is, but I didn’t let her low expectations stop me. And as I got older and started writing articles and books, my mother would always send them to her.” They all started laughing, and Jaden, one of our guards, said, “Ooooooh, crack her face all over the pavement.” I hadn’t heard that expression before but I could put together what it meant.

  I explained that people are going to have low academic expectations for them as athletes. I told them about the hardest class I have ever taken in my life, calculus. I was a business major and calculus was a required course. I was never someone who loved math, but I wanted to learn business, investing, and real estate. That way, if I did turn professional, I would know how to manage money. The first day of class, I walked into a big lecture hall filled with hundreds of people. As the professor was telling everyone to get seated, he looked right at me and said, “Hey, aren’t you Etan Thomas?” I replied yes. He said, “The basketball player?” Again I replied yes, now with a bit of skepticism as to where exactly this was going. And the professor’s next words are ones that I will tell my grandchildren about. He said, “What are you doing in my classroom? Shouldn’t you be in ‘Rocks for Jocks’ or something?” I just stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds. I didn’t know if it was a bad joke or if he was trying to put me down. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter. I took my seat, shell-shocked.

  I paused the story and looked at the guys, and they were hanging on my every word. Roman, one of our power forwards, asked, “What happened next? Did you cuss him out, go off on him?” Red, one of our other guards, said, “I would’ve lost it.” I told them that I didn’t lose it. I just told myself that I wasn’t going to let this cat defeat me and that I was going to prove him wrong and be successful in his class. Now, anyone who has taken calculus knows that it’s a rather challenging class—ridiculously hard. There were many times it crossed my mind to quit. This class was really, really hard and taking up all of my time. I had no time for anything but calculus. I had a tutor and a study group that I met with two times a week. I remember all of the coaches coming to me at different times saying basically, “Why are you killing yourself with this hard class?” They didn’t tell me to drop the class or take something easier per se, but they did stress that I needed to work on my game as much as I was studying. It was a subtle suggestion that I shouldn’t forget why I was there.

  I remember explaining to Coach Orr what had happened and that I couldn’t let this cat win, that if I didn’t study like this I would fail. Coach Orr understood completely and turned it into an entire lesson for me. He said, “Oh, you definitely can’t quit now.” He went off about how we are supposed to be student-athletes and not athlete-students. He told me to make sure I was successful in this class and that he would meet with me after my study group and do some extra drills. And that nobody would question my commitment ever again. I thanked him for having my back.

  I ended up making it through the class, and of course the teacher never apologized to me, nor did I expect him to.

  I told my players that they need to have the courage to never let anyone in life defeat them, and that I wanted all of them to grow up to be athlete-activists in their own right. See, I use AAU and coaching as a way to build young men. It’s not about running a basketball factory. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have talent, and although we are a church team, we have a list of elite teams that we are determined to beat. But we are teaching the players life lessons, which is why I take them to panel discussions and field trips to museums, plays, and lectures. Teaching young athletes about the types of people they should aspire to become is crucial, especially when you want to fully prepare the future generation to carry the torch of athlete activism.

  Interview with Scoop Jackson

  I wanted to conduct an experiment, so I asked my team if they believed that if they wore Steph Curry’s shoes, they could shoot like him. Some of them said that they honestly thought it would help. I asked if they truly believed that if they wore an arm sleeve like Russell Westbrook, it would help them with their jump shots. A few of them said, “Well, yeah, probably.” So I turned this into a lesson. I told them that they needed to watch what guys do off the court to see how they become successful after basketball is finished. Michel Jordan makes more money after basketball than he did while he was playing. Most people can’t make that claim. LeBron James is setting himself up to be in the same boat as Jordan, but it takes proper planning, education, dedication, and discipline in order for that to happen.

  Nobody will ever list Jordan with the great athlete-activists of the past. He’s wasn’t Muhammad Ali, he wasn’t Bill Russell. He is typically regarded just as Bill Rhoden describes him in Forty Million Dollar Slaves:

  Michael Jordan is one of the most intriguing athletes of the twentieth century, a sports icon like Babe Ruth but not a paragon of principal like Muhammad Ali. Jordan was a marketing maven who never capitalized on his potential to mobilize African American athletes. Had he said, “Jump,” they would have jumped. Instead, he chose to remain publicly neutral in all matters political and racial. The essence of Jordan’s legacy is what he accomplished; the tragedy is what he could have done.

  It is important to note that Jordan has evolved. Yes, he is alleged to have once defended his decision to not publicly support Black Democrat Harvey Gantt by saying, “Republicans buy sneakers too” (though Jordan denies having said this). That will probably haunt Jordan for the rest of his days.

  Michael Jordan actively supported President Obama in both the ’08 and ’12 elections. I actually attended a huge fund-raising event that Jordan hosted called the “Obama Classic.” Almost fifty different NBA and WNBA athletes joined him in this.

  The fact that so many athletes wanted to be involved in President Obama’s reelection campaign ran contrary to the popular image of professional basketball players. The reason for our stance? Many of us come from humble beginnings. And we have not forgotten where we come from. Personally, I don’t need a tax break, and I think many of us share this view. Teachers, firemen, construction workers, receptionists, farmers, Joe the plumbers—those are the ones we need to help along. It’s that mentality that caused all of these athletes to lend their names, time, and effort to help reelect President Obama—spearheaded by none other than Michael Jordan.

  In the following interview, weekly columnist for ESPN and ESPN the Magazine Scoop Jackson offers a different perspective on Michael Jordan. It’s one that is very rarely presented—that Jordan’s form of Black Power has been a lot more revolutionary than many people think.

  Etan: I want to go back to the article you wrote about me back in 2006 called “Etan Thomas’ Voice Is One Worth Listening To,” where you were calling on other athletes, especially the main top-tier athletes, to really be that voice. You brought up a lot of good points.

  Scoop Jackson: I think that this ar
ticle in particular still resonates today because it seems like things have changed and there is a lot more visibility in athletes taking stances, and I think that has come with the social climate that we are currently in . . . There are so many other players that had much more probably to lose than you did that were taking less of a stance than you were. And we are seeing a shift in that now, which is good . . . And I’ve always looked at you as being a symbol. But I still don’t see athletes doing the work nonstop that I saw you doing while you were with the Wizards and that I see you still doing. There seems to be more visibility to the symbolic gestures, but I still don’t see as much of the consistency that I would like to see.

  Etan: But people like LeBron and Carmelo and D Wade and Chris Paul and Steph Curry have been doing a lot, and those are the top athletes of today.

  Jackson: I’ll put it this way—to me, you are a protest person and they are statement people. There is a difference to making a statement and a protest . . . I always looked at you as a protest athlete. What LeBron and D Wade and all of them were doing, I look at as statement athletes . . . Now, I don’t want to start splitting hairs, but to me, Carmelo seems to be more of a protest athlete. He seems to be the athlete that is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s out on Front Street in Baltimore in the rallies on the street with the people speaking with his mouth, marching with his feet, representing Muhammad Ali 24/7 and what he stood for . . . He leads the town hall meetings that go on after the ESPYs thing he did with D Wade and LeBron and Chris Paul. Then he has the courage to show up on the cover of ESPN Magazine dressed as a Black Panther. That’s protest. So therein lies the difference. I see what everybody else is doing and they are making statements, which are great statements and very much needed in this day and age, especially with everything that is going on in present-day society . . . Now we just need some more protest athletes. And there is a place for everyone. There is a place for the Michael Jordans, who never gets mentioned in these conversations, but there is a definite value to the role that the Michael Jordans play as well.

  Etan: Interesting, Jordan’s name always comes up in these conversations. You wrote a piece for ESPN.com called “Michael Jordan’s Contribution to Black Issues Greater Than Perceived,” which you begin by quoting Roland Lazenby, the author of Michael Jordan: The Life: “I say that M.J.’s story is a black power story, not the black power of protest and politics, but the black power of economics.” Talk to me more about Jordan’s role in this discussion.

  Jackson: I think that we become really monolithic in how we judge people who are involved in that. We look for the Jim Browns, the Muhammad Alis, the John Carloses and Tommie Smiths. We look for those athletes who were very vocal about their protests and about their views and ideologies . . . And I understand that, but we are doing ourselves a disservice when we adopt the philosophy that everybody needs to look the same or have the same method of fighting, because there are different fights . . . It’s not strategic if you have too many of one and not enough or none of the other . . . Universal freedom for us in this country is us fighting to get freedom, justice, and equality in many fields, not just socially, not just politically, but also economically. America, if anything else, is rooted in and based in economics. We can break down the entire slavery movement and see that it’s strictly about economics . . .

  So while Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali and John Carlos and Tommie Smith were standing on the front lines screaming for our equality on one end, for us not to have anybody in the economic field trying to find us leverage isn’t helping at all. Now, Jim Brown was in fact trying to do that in the entertainment business after he retired from football, and that was needed. And bringing it to the present . . . we are screaming on Michael Jordan to do the exact same thing when we really should be paying attention to the financial and business power moves he is making that we could tremendously benefit from.

  Etan: That’s a very good point and one that is often completely left out of this conversation, so talk to me about the particular financial power moves that you are referring to.

  Jackson: Okay, but I don’t want you to think that this means that there isn’t room for criticism of Michael Jordan even in the business world. I have written about how I felt that the first thing that Michael Jordan should have done when he retired was divest from all his other business ventures and focus on buying out Jordan from Nike and take that company under his name . . . and have it be a self-containing business where he is the principle owner of it . . . I’ve always wanted him to do that. And I have always been critical of him for not doing it. But I didn’t understand what his long-term goal and vision was. Nike would’ve looked at him as direct competition and they would’ve eventually folded Brand Jordan, because Nike was that powerful to do so at that time. He actually played it smarter and forecasted that he would benefit more if he did it this way . . . He has been able to turn that into a billion-dollar business. He now has Black people and executives who have been hired and put in place, and that still has not been matched by any corporation, any Fortune 500 company in America.

  And then for him to become the only primary African American owner in America of a sports franchise . . . nobody across all the sports in America has an employment staff with as many Black people working for them in top management positions. From the janitors to the presidents of basketball operations of the Charlotte Hornets, it’s like Chocolate City. These are two companies—Brand Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets—that Black folks have been put in power to be able to create gateways and leverage in this playing field. Nobody else is doing it.

  Etan: Is the statement, “Republicans buy sneakers too,” going to haunt him for the rest of his days, even though he denies saying it?

  Jackson: No question. There will always be someone who brings it up whenever this discussion of athletes and activism takes place. A lot of individuals have shortsighted vision, and that’s why I am glad you are including this . . . I’ve read a lot of good books about this topic; none of them have recognized this point. I’ll give you a classic example . . . It’s interesting to me how nobody brings up the name of Denzel Washington and how he has subtly, over the course of his career, been the most powerful Black person in Hollywood that we have ever had. If you look at what he’s done and how he’s done it . . . Everything he has done has been Black. Like Black Black. Real Black. And Denzel isn’t out there talking about it, he is moving in silence. Do you know how many Black people have found places and gotten opportunities in Hollywood because he is the one who is in front of these films? . . . He is making things happen for us. And is quiet about it.

  Etan: So now you have LeBron, and he has been one of the most high-profile “statement athletes,” to use your phrase, who we have had in this generation. He didn’t go the apolitical route, and he still leads just about all athletes in endorsements.

  Jackson: Yeah, but let’s see what happens when the ball stops bouncing. I do believe he comes up in a generation that has a little more freedom to be vocal without feeling the immediate repercussions financially, and I do think that LeBron has put himself in a position where it would be a natural transition for him to remain vocal once he stops playing basketball and he is able to solely concentrate on the economic power and opportunities he can create for Black folks. I love what he is doing on both sides, as the social activist and the economic activist, but I still hold reservations.

  Etan: The moves that he’s made off the court have kind of forced mainstream America to deal with him on a different level already.

  Jackson: I hear exactly what you’re saying. But I still say that from a perception standpoint, he’s still looked at as a basketball player, and I’m saying once that is removed completely, it’s going to be interesting to see . . . When he becomes bigger than just a basketball player and he is still making noise vocally, that’s when I think we will be better equipped to answer that question.

  Etan: Going back to M.J., right after the Alton Sterling murder and the Philando Castil
e murder and the policemen in Dallas were murdered, M.J. wrote a letter. Bemoaning both the deaths of the police officers and the injustice felt by Black people at the hands of law enforcement, he called for unity and problem-solving while also offering to donate one million dollars to both the Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Some people complained that it felt so carefully worded that they would rather he hadn’t said anything at all. I didn’t take that stance. I was happy that he even said anything. What was your response?

  Jackson: Of course, the one that was given to the Undefeated, I know it very well . . . I’m just happy that he wasn’t silent again. So I am exactly with you on this: at least he said something. And let me also point out, M.J. deliberately chose the Undefeated as the site that he put this letter out on. He didn’t go to ESPN or USA Today or any other white publication that would have gladly put out his statement and even paid to put out his statement . . . but he purposely chose the Undefeated. Why? He picked the one who prides itself on being the premiere platform for examining race and sports and culture. He picked the only major news organization that has a Black editor in chief. He didn’t have to say that’s what he deliberately did, we gotta be able to put two and two together.