Black Representation Of Basketball By Jeff Greenfield

Aneka Happer

HIST 585

April 3, 2023

Black Liberation in Basketball: On and Off the Court

The 1960s brought racial change to the United States with political wins for African Americans as they sought to continue the fight for civil rights. Basketball was often considered a positive force in this movement, providing college scholarships and job opportunities for young Black men. The National Basketball Association (NBA), having desegregated in 1950, had Black athletes making up 13% of the players in 1955, 50% by 1970, and 75% by 1979. However, the increase of Black representation in professional basketball did not necessarily translate into integration for the entire African American population. By considering the experiences of the Black players

Journalist Jeff Greenfield encompasses this sentiment in his 1975 essay “The Black and White Truth about Basketball,” writing that, “‘black’ ball is the basketball of electric self-expression.” “Black ball,” as defined by Greenfield, is not necessarily dependent on the race of the basketball player, though frequently they do align. Rather, this style of basketball is characterized by “speed, mobility, quickness, acceleration” and “feeling the flow of the game…it is an instinctive quality” which makes the sport more personal, tying it to the identity of the players.6 Greenfield argues that, “when you jump in the air, fake a shot, bring the ball back to your body, and throw up a shot, all without coming back down, you have proven your worth in uncontested fashion.” He is recognizing that “black ball” is a game of dazzling skills like dunking and fake-outs, driven by a need to prove oneself as capable and powerful. Therefore these demonstrations of ability became reflections of the players themselves. While the NBA kept to the more traditional way of playing basketball, the ABA allowed players “a chance to cut loose,” and play “black ball” on the professional court. One example was the slam dunk contest which was held during the ABA’s All Star Game in 1976. It consisted of the best (Black) players in

In 1968, Jack Olsen wrote a Sports Illustrated Article article titled “In An Alien World.” Dave Lattin, one of the basketball players at UTEP, was interviewed in the piece and said, “‘it's a funny place…on the court you’re groovy people, but off the court you’re animals.’” Lattin recognized the same double standard that Russell and Alcindor did, the loss of individuality that players experienced because of their blackness. At UTEP, there were further issues such as alumni donations intended for athletes never reaching the Black players, and no support from coaches to find well paying jobs, although both these opportunities were provided to White players. These infringements were often recognized but the blame was always carefully redirected, like when it came to the players’ romantic lives. Olsen wrote, “the UTEP athletic department and coaches explain certain acts of prejudice, such as clamping down on Negroes who date white girls, in terms of the El Paso community,” despite businessmen in the community saying it “makes no difference whom the Negroes date.” In addition, they would call Black athletes by the [n-word]. White coaches using the [n-word] to refer to their (Black) players, as is often said in the sports world, holds a disturbing similarity to plantation owners addressing their slaves, a phenomenon called