When it comes to honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, the NBA is far ahead of the other major sports franchises. Just about every team has planned special ceremonies in honor of the slain civil rights leader.
Black players dominate team's rosters like never before. A Black head coach has become commonplace and a team (than expansion Charlotte Bobcats) has Black ownership.
However, it hasn't always been that way in the NBA. There was a time when the league was a bastion of racism with only a handful of Black players and each team having an unwritten quota on the number of Black players. A Black head coach or general manger was unthinkable.
As a rookie with the Philadelphia (Golden State) Warriors in 1960, Al Attles remembers those days well.
"It hasn't always been a great league for Black players," Attles told the Defender. Now is in his 45th straight season in the Warrior organization, Attles serves as a team vice-president. "Once, this league was just as racist as one could imagine."
He recalls an exhibition trip to Jefferson City, Mo. in 1960, when he, along with Black teammates Guy Rodgers and the late, great Wilt Chamberlain were denied service at a diner.
White teammates were appalled at the treatment Rodgers, Chamberlain and Attles received and joined them in leaving the diner. "That was the start of the civil rights movement right there," says white teammate Joe Rulick. "I thought it was dignity personified what they did -- just like Dr. King."
Growing up in Newark, N.J., Attles had the reputation of a tough guy. As a youngster, he boxed in the Golden Gloves tournament. On the court, opposing players knew he wasn't a player you could mess with. However, Attles knew that fighting back physically against racism in the NBA wasn't the best way.
He knew the nonviolent method of protesting that Dr. King preached was the best way to force change in the league.
During games, Black players were victims of racist taunts, particularly in places like St. Louis and when we barnstormed through the south. "It wasn't an easy thing to take, but we knew that fighting back would have served no purpose," he says.
During his college days at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C., Attles took an active part in the movement. He once joined other students in a downtown lunch counter protest.
"The sit-ins were a direct result of what Dr. King was doing," Attles explains. "I don't think people realized how important he was because he was preaching non-violence. To influence people took a lot of courage. He exposed things people didn't want exposed."
While the NBA has progressed in racial equality, many feel the league still has a long way to go. "All the stars in this league are Black," says former Bull Norm Van Lier. "We have our share of Black head coaches, but we still need to do a better job of getting Blacks involved in upper management."
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
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