One thing about it, when they come together to celebrate you in New York City, they leave nothing to half meastures. And this was certainly the case at the 50th Anniversary of the famed Rucker Games of Harlem.
The Celebration of Rucker Pro Legends Fiftieth Anniversary was awesome. New Yorkers, and former New Yorkers, came together from all over the globe to celebrate the efforts of one lone Black man, who, in the 1940's, after returning from World War II, saw a need for Black youth to have something of meaning to be involved in, and made it happen. It eventually became known as the Rucker Tournament, or the Rucker Games, or just "the Rucker." But, whether you lived in Harlem, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Westchester - or DC, or Philly, you knew about the Rucker games.
Holcombe and Mary Rucker
The Rucker Leagues was founded, Black in the day, in the 40's by a young Black man who saw a need to help the youth in his community stay out of the streets, and began putting together basketball teams and tournaments as a means of giving them something positive to do. Than was over 70 years ago. The Rucker Tournament, and Each One Teach One evolved from his dedicated efforts. There are very few photos of Holcombe Rucker. The one below is of him and his lovely wife, Mary - taken in the early 40's. Harlem youth and adults owe him a lifetime of gratitude for his efforts.
Whether you played basketball, or just sat on the sidelines and cheered, you felt the energy and benefited from the camaraderie of being in the vicinity when the games were being played at 148th Street and Eighth Ave (also known as Frederick Douglass Boulevard).
{Now, I want you to just imagine for a moment, what it was like during this reunion, me - being a mere 5'4" tall, around guys who were 6'4" and up - some as tall as 7'1" - it was like being around a bunch of giant walking trees - the most you see are waistlines - you can actually get neck strain trying to interview these guys, let alone take pictures of them. There's a lot to take in - that's for sure - especially when they're standing, towering over you. Well, that was me for the entire week. A couple of times I felt the need to wave a flag and say "yoohoo, I'm down here - can I ask you a question?"}
But seriously, it was a pleasure and a joy to see these brothers come together and relive a major portion of their youth - talk about the legends among them, some of whom are no longer with us; some who have suffered illnesses; and some who just could not be able to return because of prior commitments, but who were as sentimental and supportive as the ones who did return.
Bob McCullough is to be commended for bringing this whole thing together. As a youth, he was part of the Rucker League. He left to play professional basketball, and then returned shortly after Rucker's untimely death at age 39 from cancer, to keep the whole thing going. He has done a fantastic job. His work must have been inspiring and contagious, because his son and a partner put together one of the most fantastic documents on the Rucker League ever - suitable for PBS, definitely award worthy, riveting, informative, inspiring, and heartwarming. You can't see that and have a dry eye; or a feel of awe, respect and gratitude for Holcombe Rucker and what he did to change so many lives of so many youth.
L-R Bob McCullough, Sr., Dr. Dick Barnett, Bobby Hunter
Highlights of the week long celebration included
Dr. Dick Barnett, formerly of the New York Knicks giving a talk and signing his book, Athlete Negro: The Awakening at the Neiman Art Gallery; he spoke of the fact that when they retired his jersey, Neiman had done a portrait of him. Barnett used to travel up to Harlem for pick up games at Rucker part, or to watch the other locals play. His philosophy, now that he is champion emeritus of the famed NY Knicks - Jersey #12 - is that it is wonderful to find that so many of the Rucker team are still active; it would be great going forward to come up with means of ensuring their financial viability once their career on the basketball courts have come to an end. This is the premise of his book, which uses a combination of allegory and constructive instructions, and a lot of humor and intrigue, to get the point across.
Dr. Richard "Dick" Barnett at the Press Conference/Reception at Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine
Though he was absent for the festivities, Walt Clyde Frazier lent the site of Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine for the kick off gathering of the Rucker League - and what a gathering that was!!
Bobby Hunter who played in the Rucker Pro Tournaments getting ready to celebrate Harlem Globetrotters 90th Anniversary in 2016
Bob McCullough, who served as host, tried to keep the decorum to one of
professionalism, but they were so overjoyed at being together, most of the
announcements went over everyone's heads.
Bob "Mack" McCullough who kept the Rucker Tournament alive (with mic) at Press Conference at Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine
Zach Husser at Press Conference and Reception at Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine
Cal Ramsay, Walter Scerbiak, Pee Wee Kirkland, Bill Willoughby, Bobby
Hunter, Sleepy Floyd, Bill Purcels, Joe Hammond, Bernard Harding,
Elnardo Webster, Santos Negron, Bob McCullough, Jr., Fred Crawford, Jr.,
Bob McCullough, Sr., Fred Crawford, Sr., Hawthorne Wingo, Kenny
Charles, Steve Burt, Artie Green, Rod Ivey, Jennifer Ivey, Carl
Campbell, Hosea Givan, Reggie Gardner,George Ball, Carl Petties, Emmett
Bryant, Bonnie Bryant, Sam Stith, Ivan Donovan, Tony Romain,Tony
Greer, Dr. Dick Barnett, Zach Husser, Darryl T. Downing, Dean Memminger, Jr. - among so many others. Those who were not physically there, but definitely not forgotten included Sonny Hill, Julius "Dr. Jay" Irving, Nate "Tiny" Archibald; and the late Dean "The Dream" Memminger, Sr.
Reception at the Harlem Hospital Pavilion
The following evening a reception was held at Harlem Hospital's auditorium, with Signature Rucker and Each One Teach One Tees being sold, along with Dick Barnett signing books, musical entertainment and great refreshments.
Darryl T. Downing Former Rucker Pro Tournament player
It was made even more memorable by the Documentary written, produced and directed by Robert McCullough, Jr. - it was a documentary worthy of an Emmy, Golden Globe and all other awards that can be attributed to the quality and volume of work he put into it. It was clearly a labor of love - and it definitely showed in the production values, intercuts between the various interviewees, the scenes - there is no way to adequately convey the magnitude of his work except to say if you haven't seen it, or if you, like myself, have seen it and want to see it again, get in touch with this brother and purchase a copy: Rucker 50th Anniversary Documentary, contact Mr. Bob McCullough, Jr. at Mccullough40@yahoo.com
Image from documentary on Rucker Tournament
I can't say enough about how fantastic this documentary was; it should be aired on BET, PBS, and shown in the schools throughout the US. In fact, I definitely think, if this is an example of Bob McCullough, Jr.'s work, this brother has a great future in film, TV, and media - hopefully he will continue to tell our story - we need so many more like him to catch the adults and our misguided youth up on our history and the contributions of those who have gone before us, as well as our contemporaries. On Saturday, August 15, a gala luncheon was held in their honor at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., State Office Building, at 125th and Malcolm X Boulevard (125th Street and 7th Ave for outsiders). Hosted by Bob McCullough, Sr., the catered event was attended by five generations of Rucker Tournament players, their spouses, children, grand children, and even great grand children! All had come together to share in the festivities and honor bestowed upon those key pro players who had become legends in their lifetimes, thus carrying forth and far exceeding the dreams Holcombe Rucker had for them. Rucker's grandson, now the principle of the school named in his grandfather's honor, was awarded a Gold Watch and a plaque - with one also being dedicated and designated for Holcombe Rucker's widow, Mary, now aged 83. Each pro ball awardee received a gold watch as well.
PEEWEE KIRKLAND WITH WIFE AND DAUGHTER
Peewee Kirkland, one of the recipients of the gold watch, brought his lovely wife of 27 years, and daughter, Princess, up to the podium. He declared that he would marry his wife all over again; and dedicated his Gold Watch to his daughter.
The Great Cal Ramsey, who received a Gold Watch for playing in the Rucker League
Former NY Knick, Cal Ramsey, after receiving his Gold Watch at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, spoke briefly:
Cal Ramsey stated, upon receiving his Gold Watch, "I'm so old now that y'all forgot that my team from the Harlem Y won the championship and I won the MVP. The team from Mt. Morris Park - me and Sach Sanders - won the championship and I won the MVP. My team in the Pro Tournament - I didn't win MVP or I don't remember it - but I do recall we had a great team: Walter ______, Freddy Crawford, Sach Sanders, Al Barton, Myself and Wilt Chamberlin. The Brooklyn team was our nemesis - they had Jackie Jackson, Connie Hawkins, The Tzar, Walt Bellamy, Bruce Brandeis. Let me tell you how durable Wilt Chamberlin was - besides being a great player, and holding all the records; did you know that he liked New York and Harlem so much that when he played with the 76'ers, he lived in Park West Village, he got up and drove every morning to practice in Philadelphia from Park West Village for a whole year, because he wanted to be in New York. He played with my team because we were both All Americans, so I got him to play in the Rucker Tournament. Then he bought a restaurant called Big Wilt's Small Paradise - y'all remember that, right? So I got Wilt to have jerseys made up; he wanted to play for us, play in Harlem and play in New York. And he did just that, and he just absolutely loved it! I want to thank these guys here - the legends - great basketball players, all! I watched all of them play - I guess I am that old (LOL) You guys did a great job, man."
Dean Memminger, who spoke in behalf of his late father, shared how he was always about the youth, education and scholarship. He related how proud he was to have played in the Rucker Tournaments.
Many of the recipients spoke of having moved as children to Harlem with their families, and having never played basketball in their lives, but were recruited by Bob McCullough, who was keeping the spirit and energy of the Rucker Tournament alive.
Sunday, August 16, Mayor Bill DiBlasio dedicated Rucker Park in Harlem at 148th and Frederick
Douglass Boulevard (8th Ave for outsiders), culminating a week-long celebration of the 50 plus years of the Rucker Tournament.
As Wingo Hawkins stated, everybody has a favorite story about playing in the Rucker Tournament; everybody has fond memories of their youthful days on the basketball court, where the parents always knew where they were and what they were doing. Rucker himself made it possible for 700 youth to get scholarships before he died of cancer at the age of 39.
Bob McCullough Sr., picked up the mantel and has continued the legend and the legacy - even starting a women's league, which likewise set sterling records, on and off the courts. Parents you have youngsters coming up would do well to get them involved in the Tournaments, as well as becoming supporters themselves. It has more than proven its value and will continue to do so for the next fifty year.
Congratulations to all the members of the Rucker League - this is truly a gift that keeps on giving, benefiting not only the players, but the communities, the families, and People of African Heritage across the Globe.
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson Hello All: As promised, here is part two - I'm sure you got a great deal of information from part one and are ready to dive right in to part two on sports and what happens AFTER THE CHEERING STOPS. There was an unexpected hiccup in my plan to publish this within two weeks of part one, and that was the unexpected (and to me untimely) death of Anthony Mason, former New York Knick and a friend of long standing. So I just wanted to take a second to give him homage and then move forward with the balance of the article. I hope you don't mind:
ANTHONY MASON 1966-2015
When brother/friend Anthony "Mase" Mason, former New York Knick, succumbed to a massive
heart attack, I couldn't have been more devastated than if he was my
own brother. Those of us from Black in the Day at Perks
in Harlem counted Mase as a friend. And it was ever thus, regardless
of where you saw him, who he was with, what he was doing, he was always
there with a ready, friendly, sultry smile, that deep dimple, a big bear hug, and
something funny to say or share. Mase was so down to earth and affable that he was always welcome - at least in our little circle in uptown Harlem. Back
then we'd all gather to watch him, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Patrick
Ewing and the rest of the team dominate the court on TV - and if you weren't a Knick fan, you had to sit at the other end of the bar. It always seemed as if less than
20 minutes after the game had ended, Mase would be uptown at Perks trying to fit his long
legs under a table. We are devastated to know that we won't have the pleasure of his company; but are deeply thankful for all the wonderful times and memories we have to share. Condolences, Blessings, Peace and Love to his family, friends and fans. - GDW
AFTER THE CHEERING STOPS PART II
As I stated previously, Rev. Jackson's Wall
Street Summit is the gift that keeps on giving. The information is
vital regardless of whether you're an athlete, wanna be an athlete, have
a son, daughter, aunt, uncle, friend or significant other who was/is an
athlete. The great thing about it is that it is so significantly and
sufficiently out of the box that we can benefit greatly by doing some
research of our own and following some of the information shared by the
panelists. And during the final week of MARCH MADNESS 2015, is as good a time as any for future NBA stars to also plot out their career paths and beyond - After
the limelight is over, many athletes find themselves in a quandry as to
what to do with their lives. In a great many instances, there has been
little if any preparation for financial management, career goals, and
transitioning into a "normal" lifestyle. Some athletes have handled the
transition well, while others have unfortunately faced a life of
despair, poverty, depression, with some taking a wrong turn to drug
abuse and alcoholism. The members of this panel have been in the
throes of working collaboratively and individually to assist former
athletic superstars in making pivotal decisions about the next steps in
their lives. The information has not only helped them, but can also be
instrumental in helping those of us who never made it to that level plot
a track to success as well.
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR., National
Director, Rainbow/PUSH Sports, served as moderator for the ten member
panel, that included: Matt Gutierrez; Rodney Woods, Gerald Rogers, Dion
Southern, Dale Davis, Dana London, Carlton Gamberell II, Dr. David E.
Martin, Anthony Simmons, LaMarr Woodley.
MODERATOR
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR., David, you talk
about financing and can you talk a little about Your Space, Your
Place and Your Vision with what you and Rodney and others are about
to do now.
DAVID MARTIN: I've just got to warn
you that my father was a minister and his father was a minister, and
on ten generations back were ministers, so I'm warning you – you
were warned. It's actually interesting because you know one of the
things that, if you go back, my father was involved in the
intercollegiate peace fellowship from Dr. King, up to Chicago and
places across the north. Very early on.
DR. DAVID E. MARTIN
And so I grew up in a very
interesting house and actually got very passionate about my father's
passion. And what I found was that there was a generation where
minority owned businesses were accessing capital and accessing
business opportunities through the glass floor and not a glass
ceiling. You actually could get up to a limit, but you couldn't get
over that limit; and it turns out that the way the rules were written
for accessing capital got you to a place where you had the ability to
get up to a set aside, inside a procurement or inside business
development; or inside all these other things. Getting beyond that
the hurdle to get across was either to give up your minority
underships in the business, or actually give yourself into a
situation where you had to diversify laterally across the businesses.
But there was actually no ability to get a real transition. And
so what we decided to do was to put together a platform that allowed
capital to allow diversity businesses to go to scale. And the reason
why that's important in the context of sports is because there is a
game theory problem with athletes. The game theory problem is you're
getting paid in a short game, and the owners and by that I mean
media, distribution, and owners of franchises are playing the long
game. And so we can talk about all the ten million dollar, fifteen
million dollar, twenty million dollar contracts, but the problem is
after tax, after distribution, after all of the things, what is
actually being brought home to communities, brought back to the
places where the people have passion is not the number you hear on
the press release. And so what we wanted to do is to get into a
situation where that balance sheet could be used to support minority
owned businesses – not from an equity investment, not from a
diluted standpoint, but from a letter of credit standpoint. It turns
out – and this is a fundamental piece of economics that is missing
from these conferences – the ability to match
with an investment grade credit – so that if I have a diversity
supplier and that's supplier is supplying to a GM or Ford, or Toyota,
their investment grade counterpart is bankable assets; but
unfortunately investment advisers are telling athletes to go buy
bonds issued by majority owned bond issuers and they're not lining
the investor capital next to the business opportunities that are
diversity owned. It is a segregated market with a fixed income and
capital space, so what we've done is we've changed that game. We've
brought long duration, high quality credit assets, forward, so that
diversity businesses now can buy through that glass floor and can
start going to scale. And to do that required phenomenal amounts of
education. And you've heard this several times, already – it's not
just good enough to go to a person who looks like they're carrying a
business card from Goldman Sachs or from a Bank of America, or
something else. You actually have to be taught what the different
structures of capital are, how to deploy those capital structures,
and what real risk is. And for those of you not familiar with real
risk, if somebody charges you a fee before they give you advice,
that's risk number one. Risk number two is that the only products
they sell you are the products they're getting commissions on. And
if you actually look at most of that statistic, that 82% going
bankrupt or whatever that statistic is – you look at where most of
those things are, it's not athletes living wrong, it's advisers
robbing people blind. And so what we've done is we've instituted a
technology platform that goes across the arc of education, and then
bring the game theory back so that when we sit down with athletes,
like the NBA program that we're doing at the University of Miami now,
our objective is to make sure that every pre investor athlete has a
portfolio exposure that matches the entertainment company that
distributes media, and the owners of the franchise. We're making
sure that we have the ability to grow individual athletes to the
point where, in that future, it's going to be the athlete that owns
the media; it's going to be the athlete that owns their franchise,
and it's going to be the athlete one day that buys their ESPN.
That's what we're all about.
MODERATOR
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR.: LaMarr you're spending a
lot of time in locker rooms and you're spending a lot of time talking
about coverages, 4334 defenses, and being the sack master that you've
been. We haven't forgotten about the Superbowl where you knocked
Kirby Warner down a couple of times to secure that lead – we didn't
forget about that; but the reality is that you're all preparing for
the game; you're doing the things that you do from the field, do you
ever hear conversations, ever? I mean are guys in the locker room
talking about business on any level at all? That's including going
out to dinner, after the game or any thing – you know games, one of
the practice games? Are they going out and talking about business
and that amount of development and community work – any of the
things that have been part of the conversation.
LAMARR WOODLEY: No not really. But you know,
you don't hear it in locker rooms. It's like if you were talking
about financial advisers ripping people off, then yeah, you might get
ripped off being that we didn't have that conversation. I get ripped
off, you get ripped off – we could have six or seven people get
ripped off in the lockeroom, because there's no communication about
business and about money.
LaMARR WOODLEY
On pay day you hear how much – oh yeah
that check came today. You can hear guys talking about that, but
there's really no conversation – I mean unless you get with an
older guy and see that he handled his business, then those
conversations will come up. Like when I was in Pittsburgh, I watched
Charlie Bench, because he did a lot of great things in the community.
He had a great foundation. I'd seen him on TV doing TV shows. So I
got with him. He educated me on that. But a lot of other guys –
they there in the spotlight. It's not like high school and college.
You know you go to school everyday and you're around each other all
the time; you're from the same city; the guys come into the
facilities, do their job and they go home. Because everybody has a
family. So you don't really hear about the financials. And the
other financial advisers they don't know anything about it. They
don't know where their money's going, or anything. A lot of guys
think about it, but they don't have ownership. They don't own –
you know so you make a lot of money while you're in the league.
You've got a car. I've got this house, I'm going to South Beach; I
doing this – but you don't own it! You know when you've got the big
checks coming in, it doesn't look like much is going out; but when
the checks stop coming in – now you got “wow!” That's why you
get a lot of guys foreclosed because they're upside down- and they
owe more money than they actually have in the bank, which don't make
sense. We've taken the approach as “I know this game is going to
be shorter. In football I'm old; 30 years old – football you're
old; I'm not old, I'm healthy. So my goal is when I leave the game,
I don't want to owe anybody. I want to be debt free. I own my
house, I own my car; I got my stuff, so when I go to sell it, I don't
have to call my bank. I have my own. And what you were saying about
financial advisers, they'll say 'go take this loan out right here to
build your credit up. As a young man you're banking, I don't need to
build my credit up right now. But if you're not banking, you can
just buy that if you want to – but you're not thinking right now –
so you take the advice to go build your credit up but you're not
building your credit up when you actually can buy this; and now you
go take this loan from this bank, and he gets his kick back in
commissions. You know, you don't know that. You find that was
happening. So it's all about guys – I don't think the NFL has done
a good job of putting those types of things.
We wonder, but they ain't talking about
it. There's a sign that hangs up in the locker room but you don't
have anybody pushing it like they're pushing drugs. They push that
hard. Trust me you got the guy in there waiting on you to come in
there and pee in the cup. Now he's looking! But they ain't really
pushing the financial part. A lot of guys don't know that they can
go back to school for free. They don't push that type of stuff. Then
we talk about certain guys in the NFL – doesn't the NFL have the calls – a lot of them are afraid to call because they might
work for the team. So a lot of guys might take a chance and get
behind the wheel because if the report comes in that LaMarr's out
drinking – they feel that the guy is giving them a ___ by reporting
them. So there are a lot of things in the NFL – where they talk
about “we have this; but they're always pushing. It just hangs up.
It hangs right there in the locker room and you walk passed it
everyday and you don't even notice it. You're out the league, and
you're out for three or four years, to go back and get your degree
for free. You don't know that though because the NFL doesn't push
that.
MODERATOR
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR.: These things are very
serious and he and I have been talking the past few months about
learning now some things that are going to help him reach the dreams
that he still has. He'll be young when he comes out of the game,
means something because you still have a lot of life in you – let's
just talk a little bit about what difference it has been, and what
Rev. Jackson has provided with his Wall Street Summit and how its
really meant to you. Because you're always talking about this and
school. But how is all this taking shape for where you want to take
your life now?
MATT GUTIERREZ: just want to clarify
one thing LaMarr said I had recently retired; and that's true, but I
can't speak for the rest of the guys on the panel, but I think for
most NFL players, it's not really a choice.
MATT GUTIERREZ
A lot of times you get
hurt, or you get cut too many times, and it's just time to move on.
Like I think I've reached my age, my full potential. I'm going to
hang them up. That's what it was for me. The phone wasn't ringing
any more. And after a tough reality, there's a space when you're
two, three, four years old, that's all you think about doing; that's
all you really put your energy into. So, I'm not sad about it any
more. I'm actually excited. I'm excited to be here, because I feel
like I'm a part of the real world now. And I'm realizing that
sports, and my time as an athlete, although it was a phenomenal
experience, something I wouldn't trade for anything, was also a
limited experience. And now, as I step out into the real world, and
meet people in many different lines of business, there's endless
possibilities, for all of us. And it's intimidating in some ways,
but it's also very exciting. And sitting here today I've been in as
many panels as I could catch from this morning, and it's just a
confirmation for me that you see people from all different walks of
life; they're from many, many different industries, and I'll just
speak candidly, I look different in this room. This conference is
about minorities, women included, and it's no secret that minorities
already have a strike against them in our country. And so to sit in
the audience and to look at some of these business leaders and to
listen to what they had to say, it inspires me and encourages me. I
feel like, man these guys are up against it or they had been up
against it, and they found a way to compete, and build a successful
career; build a successful life. And so from where I'm sitting,
like, hey, there's no excuse. If they can do it, I need to go ahead
and attack this thing and I can do it too. Hopefully, maybe the
Reverend will have me back one day and I'll be sitting on one of the
business panels.
MODERATOR
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR.: That's what's up. One of
the things we talked about Matt Gutierrez was the ____ could you tell
us just a little bit – is that we're trying to help athletes
translate what learned to be successful in the field, and how they
can apply that to be successful in business. That's what you said to
me, and I thought that wasmost I've heard anyone say that. Dana.
talk about that mindset, and how guys don't even see how they can
apply that to getting up, having the discipline that they have and
putting it into something real positive.
DANA LONDON : One of the things –
I've taken athletes out to job fairs and have had connections with
companies, you know guys that I think can do a particular position –
but in tying in with the business initially we'll be done, you know.
I said, do you realize that when you play professional sports there
decisions, leadership – things that are highly desired, that are
translatable to any line of business.
DANA LONDON
Any Fortune 500 company can
use a person with a mindset of having that that diligence. The fact
that only less than 1% of kids who are in organized sports will
actually go on and play professionally. So when you take that into
consideration it's 1% - so you've got this 1% who have actually made
that. And so there's a tremendous amount. And just so you know
Matt, Reverend would have you on the sports and the business panel.
I've been fortunate to work with Rainbow sports for 19 years now –
so you'd be on both. But it's highly translatable and so you have to
be able to communicate that to different companies. But more
importantly, to communicate that to the athletes to help them to
understand that what you have and what you possess on the inside is
so marketable; but you have to believe it first. So that's the
challenge.
MODERATOR
REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR.,You and I were
talking about this last night and this somebody who was a baseball
player – we got a baseball player in the house – you talked about
this last night, about how that path got cut short sooner than you
expected, and you had to immediately begin looking at it. It wasn't
so much a Plan B, it was a plan because you saw that athletics was
not going to be exactly the way you imagined as a child. Tell me a
little about that and how you moved into where you are now.
CARLTON GAMBRELL II, I just want to
thank Pastor Bryant for having myself and my business partners Gerald
Rogers on the panel, as well as Rev. Jackson. A tremendous leader –
always, most of my life I've admired everything that he's done.
GERALD ROGERS
He
probably doesn't remember when he came to Columbia University in 1984
when he was running for President, and I was on the Black Student
Organization that was kind of escorting him around the campus; but
that was a tremendous experience, that he's known as a civil rights
leader, but from my perspective, you're an economic equity leader.
And that next stage of development. And definitely my path is
totally different from most of the people on the panel. I'm in that
99% that they're talking about that did not make it to the
professional level. I played baseball starting in Little League and
the heights and down to Tampa, FLA with our next door neighbors Gary
Sheffield and Floyd Gelman and all these individuals that played out
of that league, which is something that people don't understand about
this particular league. It is the most successful little league in
the history of the United States. Well Chicago Champs, I love that
because it was an inspiration – but the thing about this particular
league is that between 1970 and 1983 they were in the Little League
World Series Championship Games three times. They also won the
Southern U regional several times; and have put a tremendous amount
of professional ball in the major leagues out of that one community
in Tampa, FLA, so the genesis of where I come out from, as it relates
to where I was going up through the ranks. You know I started my
first year playing – I was a scrub. They used to call me the bunt
king. And if you knew anything about baseball, if you bunt every
time, you go to bat that's a problem, right. But by the time I got
to Columbia University, it's documented I could hit a 95 mile per
hour ball.
CARLTON GAMBRELL II
But I made a decision in that situation that I really
wanted to just pursue the degree and go into the job force. I lost
the love of the game, and I was recruited out of high school. I
decided to get the education because it ingrained in me from
childhood by my father (who was in the audience, Mr. Carlton Gambrell
I). So as we were coming through, he talked about education in the
context relating the sports, he would say you have to have an A
average, or you will not be playing the next season. So that type of
structure my business partner and I, we kind of laid a foundation of
this concept of knowledge transfer, information exchange for youth,
as well as young adults as they're in their college days; and even
the adults after they have finished college. We have several
business partners – Dominick Ross, who's with Dallas Cowboys, J.T.
Thompson who played for the NY Giants. So we have that spectrum that
we're talking about as it relates to – it's one thing if you're in
the NBA, and there's only going to be 48 people drafted next year or
the next draft. There over 1.5 million kids playing those sports in
that same year, and most of them have an aspiration to get to get to
that 48 number – that 1%. But really what happens when, after the
cheering stops, could be an end point, right? Some people don't make
the junior high school teams; some don't make the high school teams;
some don't make the college – or to professional because of
injuries. So the cheering can stop at any time. So we can talk
about the statistics. I understand statistics, but I don't
necessarily want to listen to them because if you're talking about
the 82% of people that are bankrupt, what about that 20% - what are
they doing right that could benefit that number going forward? And
when you're talking about 82% of a number that's small what if it was
82% of the 1.5 million? That's a different statistic. So as we look
at the initiative that we are undertaking as it relates to knowledge
transfer/information exchange, what we're talking about is putting in
an infrastructure that takes a holistic approach in the whole person.
The book that we wrote is entitled SUCCESS ON GOD'S TERMS, and has a
foundation for a business model that's supported by scripture. So
we're saying that we can take that fundamental, common little
blueprint that's been given to us, and lay that as a foundation that
we can build upon. Because it's not just about business, we're
talking about team business; so it has to be a holistic approach:
spiritual, mental, emotional, with financial, as well as physical.
And our platforms allow that type of mechanism to take place so the
education is not just with the athletes after the finish their
career, but it's with the 12 year old that needs to understand some
things, as they're being scouted as I was. As a 12 year old I was
being scouted by high school coaches asking me where did I live. So
they could make sure, if I had a relative in their district, they
wanted to use that address so that I could go play at that high
school. At the age of 12!!! So it starts early. And, you know, I
felt good about that, but I didn't really understand what was going
on. But there were people around me that were in a position where
they were able to help along the way. So the infrastructures that we
put in are designed to do that from that young sports figure, all the
way to the individuals that have the long careers.
REVEREND JESSE LOUIS JACKSON: I
thank you for being here today, and I congratulate you on your work
and your careers. This idea that we have, I really hope that we will
think about coming together, not just at these annual events - we
are so blessed for being able to hop, skip, run, jump and be the best
in the world in what you do.
REV. JESSE L. JACKSON
And Biblically speaking, whether it
was the role that David played with Goliath; or Samson – of
athletes knew that they were that because of gifts of God – meaning
that you can't just decide to run and be a champ; you can't decide to
jump up over fences; God is a big part of that, and there are some
special obligations. On the other hand there is this need for
athletes to appreciate just how powerful you are in changing our
culture. It's hard to describe, hard to describe – it was illegal
to put Black people – the terms that white people used. You could
be arrested for wreckless eyeballing or looking at a white woman.
That Jack Johnson can knock a white man down, and when he knocked him
down, there were race riots. Just the power of the Black Athlete
breaking through the color barriers. Schmelling was more or less the
prototype for Hitler's Aryan superiority. And even though Schmelling
was not a part of Hitler he was being used as the symbol of the
superior strength. And there's nobody in the country, no
congressman, no president, nobody that would step in the ring with
Max Schmelling, except Joe Louis. It meant he was a hero now, not
just a champion. You are standing on the shoulders of athletes –
of Jackie Robinson who had to go and break through the barriers so
that you could play in Wrigley Field. The reason I want to say this,
is because you have to work together more closely. All athletes
around the world – whether they're in America, London, or wherever
they are, you're created because of Chris Flood. Because Chris Flood
sacrificed his home at the height of slavery and said you can't sell
me. And all of those in that bargain, he had a total of 12, all of
them.
REV. JESSE JACKSON
There's Chester Avery, when Wilt
Chamberlin came out he couldn't play for the NBA – he couldn't play
because he wasn't eligible to play. Well it took one lawsuit – are
you with me so far? - I cannot tell you what it meant when Lou
Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) – went to the Basketball League, and they changed the
rules and you couldn't dunk any more. They've got that kind of
power, and yet with that power comes a special kind of duty. For
those who admire you and follow you to keep high and stepping. The
one that we want to do for example, LaMarr, is for all of our
children in first grade to learn to play the Stock Market Game. The
game takes about 6 weeks religiously. They're beginning to get STEM
programs into our schools. Every once in a while we'll take a group
of athletes down to the New York Stock Exchange. Just to walk the
floor – spend a day, just spend a day in the Stock Exchange.
Remember we only have Silicon Valley 180 board members, 6 white
women, one Black no Latino. We can't wait to get to Apple, but no
Blacks were on the board.
My point is that half this room of
adults need to sit together and think through what you're going to
do. We've gone from picking cotton to picking footballs,
basketballs – there is just one little change, and I want you to
think about when you get together is why can't athletes – you're
smart people – why can't you invest your money in the industry of
basketball itself? I can see if you're a Bull, you can't invest in
the Bulls – and can't invest in the Knicks - but why can't you
invest in NBA Inc? Why can't an athlete invest in NFL Inc? That is
not going to go down. It's going to keep riding. But it's illegal
to invest your money – it's not illegal, it's a culture; it's a
decision that was made. Use what your culture gave you. WE're grown
men, we can sit together and come up with a way to invest in the NBA
Inc, and have what the marketing, TV, radio, China, Australia – and
not when you retire, I mean right now! Because it's NBA, it's not a
specific team – so you're above conflict of interest. Why would
you have 10 thousand people, 60 times a year and not be able to
invest in that. So just as athletes pushed back the bar on on
dunking, we must also be able to push back the bar. It still does
not make sense to me that you can make millions of dollars and tell
you can't spend your money – and you can't spend it where you
generate the money. Am I by my self? (AUDIENCE – NO!!)
I'm anxious to take it outside the box;
back in the day when they said football's for square,
The lessons learned on the field and on
the court are long, lifetime learned lessons. The reasons why we're
so good on the ballfield, on the ball court, the reason why we're the
best on earth and on the court is that WHENEVER THE PLAYING FIELD IS
EQUAL, RULES FOR PUBLIC GOALS CLEAR, REFEREE'S FAIR, SCORE'S
TRANSPARENT, WE CAN MAKE IT. (New Jesse Jackson Mantra - repeat loud and often)
MODERATOR REV. DR. JOSEPH BRYANT, JR.: Thank Reverend Jackson for
having the vision for the Athlete's Forum – he was a former
quarterback; and just as a bragging point, Reverend went to college
on a football scholarship – so that was his way in, and he took
advantage of that education. The moderator asked ANTHONY to explain
what happens once athletes finish playing, how they need to begin
doing what will shape their destiny - A lot of what we do is teach
the athlete how to learn how to do that, because it's one thing to
say let's do it; it's another thing to learn how to do it. We talk
about guys that are open to learning how to invest. How to develop
economic plans, financial things that Dave was talking about. I
found that you have a whole group of guys who are interested in that
kind of thing.
ANTHONY SIMMONS: Well the first thing we have
to do is to get them to the event. Once we get them to the event
they will be able to see what's there.
ANTHONY SIMMONS
We have a lot of athletes who
are there who have made it through; and those who didn't make it
through. The ones who did make it through, I want them to be there
to brand themselves. You once had a name when you played, you have a
name now. So why would you brand you name with the companies that
are there? We bring in 25 different companies to the event, and
these are legitimate companies that come. I won't bring in companies
that are not federally reserved. What we are asking the guys to do
is just come, sit and learn. You try existing from one situation to
another, and it's hard out there. The last thing I want to see – I
want to see, you know there are guys out there who were just like me.
I was depressed, suicidal ideation, I had it all. I'm not the only
one, I'm not the last one, cause they're out there. And this is why
I get these guys in, I bring them in to the center and just give them
opportunity. Well, I want to go back on one thing that one of the
gentlemen had said earlier. {When he played for the San Diego
Chargers with fifty-two players on the team, and the coach had a
lady who came to talk to us about investments. About you investing
in your family and your futures.} Well we were all clear – there
were five people that came to that room; I was one of them. So it
goes to show the mindset of the athlete. We want to get out there
and have fun, do what we have to do after practice. You know, like
it was stated earlier, what do we talk about when we're in the camp?
What do we talk about when we're in the locker room? We never talked
about business. We talked about going out there having a good time."
The numbers of lives Simmons has been able to impact, however, is on the rise as they become more aware of the fact that the skills don't last forever. In addition to Simmons, other athletes have begun forming their own charitable and tax exempt organizations and an effort to give back to the fans and communities that have supported them. Greats such as Alonzo Mourning are focused on having an impact in the world. I will be bringing that interview to you in the near future.
In the interim Birthday Wishes to Walter Clyde Frazier who turns 70 this Sunday, March 29. The great thing about being an Aries is that we're forever young and forever active - He's been celebrating since the 21st, which begins the sign - if you're interested in finding out about the activities leading up to the big day, check him out on FaceBook. I can't wait to see which suit wins the Favorite Suit Contest.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLYDE FRAZIER
Now that you know, What are you going to do about it? Stay Blessed & ECLECTICALLY BLACK Gloria
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