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I Timothy
1 Ramsey
Sports
^Columnist
Overreaction
once again
toA-A
achievement
Recently America bore
witness to an African
American man finish sec
ond in the Daytona 500, the
most prestigious race on
the NASCAR circuit.
Darrell Wallace Jr. was the.
first black man to start the
Daytona 500 since Wendell
Scott in 1969. Ever since
his historic finish pundits
around the, nation are say
ing this may open the door
for more African-American
drivers in the sport, I beg to
differ.
Too often when an
African-American or
minortiy achieves some
thing monumental in a
sport outside of ones they
are normally associated
with, it creates a buzz.
Many times that starts a
conversation about the pos
sibility of more minorities
taking up that particular
sport, but that rarely hap
pens.
Take for instance Tiger
Woods. When Woods took
the golfing world by storm
in the late 1990s, it made
many African-American
youth look at the game in a
different light. I can
remember many people
saying that he will encour
age young minorities to
pick up the game of golf.
While Woods has pro
pelled many minority men
and wotnen to pick up the
game of golf, many of
them are just “weekend
golfers” who never have
the chance of making it to
the PGA Tour. There has
not been this mass partici
pation in the sport as many
have assumed it would.
Another example is the
emergence of P.K. Subban
of the Nashville Predators
in the NHL. Subban led
the Predators to the Stanley
Cup Finals last season and
once again people began
the discussion of more
African-Americans playing
the sport.
The problem with
many of these assertions is
that yes, African
Americans and other
minorities probably would
gravitate to sports such as
golf, hockey, soccer and
tennis, out uiey just do not
have access. If you go to
many urban neighbor
hoods, you can find a bas
ketball court or a field to
play football. Many times
you don't need an actual
field to play football.
But on the other hand, I
rarely find a golf course or
country club in urban com
munities. -There are also
not many hockey rinks or
tennis courts there, either.
If these children were
given access to these facili
ties, they would definitely
shine.
As the Williams sisters
in tennis have shown, they
do not need the top teach
ers or trainers to compete
in the sport. All it takes is
the necessary skill set and a
will to win.
I wish it were true that
Wallace’s win would cause
an influx of minorities to
auto racing, but in reality it
just will not. Until people
in those sports focus on
bringing more people of
color into the fold, the
dynamics of those sports
will not change.
Even baseball has seen
a precipitous dip in
African-American partici
pation over the last 30
years or so. Throughout
the 1990s, black, kids had
See Ramsey on B2
is
Semi-pro team reaches out to the community
• Photo by Timothy Ramsey
102-FM JAMZ radio station joined the Panthers Saturday afternoon as they
gave out snacks and drinks to community at the old Burger King on Martin
Luther King Jr. Dr.
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
THe Triad Panthers is a local semi-pro football team
who will play their games at Carver High School stadium
this year. Last Saturday, they held a community outreach
event where they gave out snacks and drinks to the people
of the eastern part of the city.
The Panthers were joined by 102 JAMZ radio station
along with a surprise visit from Council Member Denise
“D.D.” Adams. The event was held at the old Burger King
on the comer of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. and East Fifth
Street.
“We did this today just to give back to the community
and to also give the guys who never got a chance the hope
that you can still live your dream and maybe make it to the
next level,” said team president and player James
Summers.
Summers is a veteran of multiple semi-pro football
teams over the years. He says as his career winds down
he wanted to go out on his own terms so he and some
friends decided to put together their own team and the
Triad Panthers were bom.
“The vision is here now and' the people that were
selected for this team are from different backgrounds rep
resenting the entire Triad area,” Summers continued. “We
are going to go out there and put on a show for the people
in Winston-Salem.”
See Semi-pro team on B2
The ‘K-Cup’ decided
in classic fashion
Photos by Timothy Ramsey
(Above) Jeremiah Scales, player with hall, was a key contribu
tor to the Kernersville Middle School victory.
(Right) Julius Reese Jr., No. 2 in green, goes over two
Kernersville defenders for a layup in their game last week.
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE_
The annual matchup between
Kemersville and Southeast Middle Schools is
an event the entire city of Kemersville
embraces. This year’s game was so anticipat
ed it had to be held at East Forsyth High.
After the dust settled Kemersville Middle
. came away with a 45-44 victory in overtime.
The game is affectionately called the “K
Cup” because both schools are in the city of
Kemersville. This year’s game held extra
importance this year as the winner went on
the playoffs as conference champion.
Kemersville came into the game unde
feated. Southeast was also a highly rated
team in the county, so the game totally deliv
ered on the pre-game hype.
“We hung in there tough even though they
hit that three to send it into overtime but we
made our free throws and held onto the ball in
the end and pulled it out,” said Kemersville
head coach Craig Thompson.
The entire first half was a close game.
Both teams were able to lock in on the defen
sive side of the ball keeping the score close.
Southeast held a slim 16-13 lead at the break.
The first few minutes of the second half
really swung the momentum in favor of
Kemersville. While both teams were con
verting offensively Caleb Britt of the Hawks
hit all four of his three-point shots giving
them a comfortable lead throughout the third.
“We were down and coach took us in the
locker room and said we needed to get the
three points we were down back so I just
came out and was just feeling it with the first
three and from there on my shot felt great for
the rest of the game,” Britt said.
See K-Cup on B2
Submitted photo
Nickolas
Adams is only
in his second
year playing
lacrosse and
has already
become a force
on the field.
Atkins athlete finds
new love in lacrosse
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Since his freshman year, Nickolas
Adams has been a key contributor to the
Atkins Camel football and basketball
teams. After a conversation with class
mates he is now also a building block in
the; Camels up and coming lacrosse pro
gram.
According to Adams the idea of play
ing lacrosse came to him while speaking
with some friends about the sport. He says
he was very unfamiliar with the game and
with some urging decided to try out. As
his second season is about to kick off he is
looking to play a major role for the
Camels.
Set; Lacrosse on B2