Editorials & Comments
Integrity And Character in Sports
As basketball mania, better
known as the NCAA Basketball
Tournament and its counterpart,
the National Invitation Tourna
ment (NIT), grab the sports and
news highlights in their annual
March rituals, there are many
lesser known unfolding human
stories that are affecting the
lives and welfare of both the
players and coaches who make
these extravaganzas what they
are.
Undoubtedly, the most visible
--■of-these human stories is in
-—prednminence of black players
on the largely white college and
university teams with white
head coaches and maybe one
black assistant. A second is the
r nearly consistent pattern of pre
r dominantly black schools being
defeated in the first round NCAA
(Tournament play, and usually by
big scores - N.C. A&T State lost
by 30 points, Alcorn by a respect
able 10 points. Consistent also is
' the very few apperances of
l - traditionally black institutions in
I the NIT.
■"—.Other stories relate, to allega
tions that relatively few black
basketball players at the largely
white schools are exploited for
the playing talent but not ade
quately educated and graduated.
Then too there are stories of
recruitings violations under
NCAA rules; the annual firing of
coaches at the white institutions
" who-dfm4- win ?n nr more games
and make the play-off, while
coaches at most black schools
* have fairly long tenure regard
less of their win-loss records.
Black Players
Finally, there are stories about
the personal tragedies confront
ing individual black players; and
the resentment and bitterness
that athletic directors coaches,
school administrators, alumni
; and students at some black
- schools may have toward the
: white schools for their successful
’ use of black basketball player
talent with few job opportunities
at such institutions for black
administrators, athletic direc
tors and coaches are made
available.
All these developments, which
are rooted in the history and ,
traditions of collegiate sports
and racial policies and attitudes,
are reinforced by the pressure to
win and earn large sums of
money for the schools in post
season tournament play. In the
absence—of—this—coaches -are
r publicly fired and hired primari
ly at the large white schools.
For example, one human story
tells us of the firing of head
basketball coach Mike Pratt at
UNCC. Pratt, after getting a
one-year extension on his con
tract, started the 1981-82 season
with an impressive 13-3 win-loss
and 3-1 Sun Belt Conference re
cord. The 49ers then tell apart
—losing, six straight conference
games and being eliminated in
the Sun Belt Tournament in the
first round. All this was re
flected too in low fan support,
this little money was earned for
the school’s athletic.program.
Jungle Survival ~
In commenting on this John
Kilgo wrote, “It is unfortunate...
sports fans don’t want just, a
winning record. They want all of
the spoils of winning. Their lust
for winning threatens the fiber
of intercollegiate athletics. It
drives some coaches to cheat...
College administrators are com
fortable (uttering) words about
keeping athletics in perspective
come without strain, living up to ,
that principle makes hypocrites
out of many of them.” Speaking
in the same context but specific
ally about coaches being fired,
UNC’s coach Dean Smith, (who
is also president of the college
coaches association), said “It
.is the law .of .jungle.survivaL I
don’t like it and wish I could do
something about it. But that’s
the way it is.”
Coach Abe Lemons of the
University of Texas had a simi
lar experience to that of UNCC’s
Mike Pratt. He started the sea
son with 13 straight wins, fell flat
after that and was fired. On the
other hand James Madison Uni
versity made it to the NCAA
- 'Tournament showcase. They
beat Ohio State, then played
UNC, the nation’s number one
team to the wire losing by only
two points. While the James
Madison fans returned home
with pride, the coach, Lou
Campanelli, sounded on televi
sion after coming within two
points of the year’s biggest as if
he would need to be finding other
employment.
Out of this environment of
frustration and competitive' pre
sure what too often is lost is the
opportunity or the commitment,
in the words of Johnson C.
Smith’s coach Bob Moore, “to
turn out some kids with inte
grity and character.” With that
statement from a coach at a
small school that can never hope
for an NCAA invitation, we begin
to see another dimension of the
world of college basketball.
Next week we shall explain in
depth something about these
human stories hidden from the
glitter and gold of NCAA and
NIT tournament play and offer a
perspective and philosophy that
might benefit black youth who
are so much a part of the passing
screen in collegiate basketball.
Among such youth may be your
kid who you would hope might be
taught to keep basketball in its
proper perspective while devel
oping “integrity and character.”
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MUTUAL
AID
COOPERATION
WMENJ
Blacks Destiny In Own H«.nffe
Tony Brown’s Comments
-----J
Buang Hurts Hacks - Whv We Need k?
On the same day, articles
on busing appeared on the
editorial pages of The
Washington Post and the
New. York Times. Both
were written by African
Americans and both
analyzed the U.S. Senate’s
recent 57 to 37 vote which
bars Federal Courts from
using busing to achieve
raciaLquotas,___
William Raspberry cor
rectly argued in The Wash
ington Post that the issue
that everyone misses in the
argument for or against
busing to mix the races is
the education of Black
children. In The Times,
Jesse Jackson attempted to
make a case in favor of
transportation for racial
assimilation.
uidmeu, mere is scam
evidence to support Jack
son's position and granted
the majority of Blacks and
Whites oppose busing,
Jackson’s reasoning as a
consequence opened up a
new avenue of “logical"
thought. And in doing so, he
made a brilliant case
against himself and busing.
His logic for busing: It
will help Blacks, but it is
not good for Blacks. There
fore, his argument con
cludes, any White who
opposes busing does so for
racist motives arid anyone
Black who opposes it,
should do so because
busing harms the Black
community. If the ideas
sound confusing, it's be
cause they are.
And in support of this
convoluted logic, he cited a
study conducted by Dr.
Nancy L. Arnez, Chairman
of the Department of Edu
cational Leadership and
Community Services at
Howard University, which
proves him wrong beyond a
shadow of a doubt. In it, she
documents the disastrous
effects of so-called dese
gregation on the Black
community:
1. The loss of teaching
and administrative jobs by
Blacks through dismissals
and demotions.
2. The joss of millions of
dollars in projected earned
income.
3. The loss of racial role
models, heroes and author
ity figures for Black
children.
4. The loss by Black
children of cherished
school symbols, colors, em
blems and names of
schools when their schools
are closed and they are
shifted to White schools.
5. In the new setting,
subjection to desegregated
classes and buses, and ex
clusion from extracurricu
lar activities.
6. A disproportionate
number of Black students
suspended, expelled, and
pushed out of school.
7. Exposure of Black
children to hostile attitudes
and behavior by White
teachers and parents.
8. Forced one-way busing
policies and the uprooting
of Black children for place
ment in hostile school en
vironments without any
support systems:
9. Missclassification of
Blacks into special educa
tion classes and tracking
systems.
, 10 Unfair disciplinary
practices and arbitrary
school rules and regula
tions.
11. Ignorance of Black
learning styles, culture,
social, educational and
psychological needs.
The evidence Jackson
presented for busing is ir
refutable proof that busing
has proven only that we
have sacrificed a genera
tion of Black children to the
myth of integration.
Jackson’s slogan: "It’s
Not The Bus. It’s Us.” has
a deeper meanihg than
what he intended. It really
means that the advocates
the “us"--of busing have
confused being with White
people with being free.
Thev are onlv concerned
about the 3 6 percent of stu
dents who are bused for
racial mixing and have
substituted the racial
assimilation of African
descended children into
European-clones with a
“quality education:— —
They have never offered
any plan to educate the 96.4
percent of Black youth who
remain in maioritv Black
non segregated-schools.
"The civil rights leader
ship, for all its emphasis on
desegregating schools has
done very little to improve
them," William Raspberry
wrote in The Washington
Post.
Dr. Chancellor Williams,
wise-man author of “The
Destruction of the Black
Civilization,” said that
there are Blacks who be
lieve “their very salvation
depend? upon being some
where near White people,
as though they were near
the throne of God himself."
"Tony Brown's Journal," -
the television series, can be
seen on public television,
on Channel 42 at 8 p.m. It
can also be seen on Channel
58, Tues, at 7:30 p.m.
Please consult listings.
By Rev. John Perkins ==
— Walk
Your
Talk
Shamg In Christ’s Sufferings
As Christians we are to follow Christ andr
his example. But we too often overlook one I
aspect of following Christ: Following Him ij
His suffering.
The prophet Isaiah foretold of Jesus
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried:!
oui* Sorrows...he was wounded for ouJ
transgressions, he was bruised for oJH
iniquities; upon him was the chastisemehoj
that made us whole, and with his stripes wm:
are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
Jesus’ suffering was necessary to atom
for the sins of this world. In Old Testa
ment times, God’s people had to sacrifice at
animal on the temple altar to atone for their
sins. But part of the animal was considerec
unfit to be burned upon the altar. This par
had to be taken outside the city gates ant
burned there upon the garbage pit.
Hebrews 13:12 shows how Jesus’ deatl
fulfilled this Old Testament rite. “Jesui
also suffered outside the city gate to makt
the people holy through his own blood.” In
being crucified, Jesus became.God’s sacri
fice for our sins. He was also crucifiet
outside the gates of the city as one con
sidered unfit for the temple. By being
rejected in this way and suffering outside
the gates, Jesus identified Himself with the
outcasts of society.
When we call ourselves “Christians”
what we are doing is identifying ourselves
with Christ. If we are to truly identify with
Him, though, we must live as He did, be
willing to suffer as He did, and place
ourselves as He did on the side of society’s
outcasts--the poor and the-eppcessed.
“Let us, then, go to him outside the camp,
bearing the disgrace he bore.” (Hebrew
13:13). We must begin by going outside the
gates of our comfortable churches, bringing
the good news and healing actions of Jesus
Christ to those who dwell outside the gates
of comfort and outside the knowledge of
Christ. Our rituals and fellowship will not be
pleasing to God without such actions, “...do
not forget to do good and to share with
others, for with such sacrifices God i&j
pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16). ♦
No one likes the idea of sacrifice or!
suffering. But we need to be willing to suffer
for Christ. Otherwise, we will suffer without
Christ. The problems that our society faces
today are already bringing misery upon
thousands of people. One reason the pro
blems have become so huge is that too many
Christian people have been unwilling to
commit themselves to addressing the
needs.
The problems we face today, especially in
the black Community y-pequireajresponse by
Christians who are willing to pay a cost of
suffering for the sake of others. And when
we suffer for others, we suffer for Christ.
If we commit ourselves to being truly His
people, His suffering becomes our lot, but so
does His joy and final victory.
“We are co-heirs with Christ if indeed we
share in his sufferings in order that we may
also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17) We
who love Jesus must make this sacrifice to
follow Him, to forsake our own desires and
preferences, and commit ourselves to
struggling along side Him to bring justice
and righteousness to this world.
From Capitol Hill
Senate Takes Step To Return To Post CM War Pe^ 1
By Alfreds L. Madison
Special To The Post
Media heralded the news
that the United States
senate passed an anti
busing bill. The vote was 52
to 37 with both Senator
Howard Baker. Majority
Leader and Robert Byrd,
Minority Leader voting in
the affirmative. Senate
committee chairmen
generally wield a lot of
power Those who voted for
the amendment were:
Strom Thurmond. Chair
man of the Judiciary.
Jesse Helms, Agriculture,,
Orren Hatch, Education
and Human Resources,
Robert Doles. Finance,
John Towers, Armed Ser
vices, Jake Garns. Bank
ing. Housing and Urban
Affairs, Pete Dominici,
Budget and William Roth,
Governmental Affairs.
While one is strained to
find members of this group
who show some inclination
for support of any legisla
tion that favors justice and
equality for Blacks, cer
tainly three of the greatest
advocates against civil
rights measures as Strom
Thurmond, Jesse Helms
and Orren Hatch Besides
taking stands against
busing, they are pulling out
.tlfrala I.. Madisofl~
all stops against affirm
ative action and a strong
Voting Rights Bill.
The Johnston-Helms
anti-busing bill limits bus
ing of school, children to
not more than a five-mile
ride or 15 minutes past the
nearest school and it would
prevent the courts from
ordering busing as an equal
education remedy and it
also requires school sys
tems where integration is
working advantageously
and well to dismantle their
busing They completely
disregarded the United
States Supreme Court’s de
cision in Swann vs. Meck
lenburg County, North
Carolina, that busing can
be used as a remedy since
the Mth Amendment re
quires equal education op
portunities for all citizens.
The Courts have the duty to
see that Constitutionally
protective rights are not
violated Every single evi
dence in Mecklenburg
County proves that school
integration has improved
the education in that
county and that it is work
ing well
Many of those who voted
for this bill appeared to
have grave doubts that it
would even pass the House
or that the Supreme Court
will rule in favor of it. It is
highly likely that the pro
ponents hope to get politic
al mileages out of it and cf
course Blacks are used as
their political football
They can return to their
home communities, dis
regarding to inform their
constituents of the time anc
waste of taxpayers’ money
spent on getting this highly
doubtful bill passed, cou
pled with compensation tc
the most anti-Black ele
ments in the nation They
can say, "I voted against
busing Therefore, return
me to the Senate." They
will leave unexplained
their doubts about the bill's
constitutionality.
Senators DeConcini and
John Warner s offices in
formed me that they did
have some trouble with the
constitutionality of the bill,
but that they would leave
that matter to the Supreme
Court. They wdre not elect
ed to legislate matters and
depend on the Courts to
decide whether or not they
are right
senator specter, called
the Senate's action, “no
thing less than an assault
on the Constitution. If
Congress uses its power to
remove the Jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court, a pre
cedent will be set up that
whenever the majority is
against an individual’s
legal rights, Court Juris
diction to enforce such
basic rights as freedom of
speech, press, religion,
equal protection, due pro
cess and the entire Con
stitution itself may be
removed.”
Senator Dale Bumpers
said the Senate’s action
represented the beginning
of the end of Constitutional
guarantees in this nation.
He stated that many people
do not favor busing, - but
that the "real issues of the
Helms-Johnston Amend
ment, is not busing. It is the
United States Constitution
I dod t believe the founding
fathers intended for Con
gress, by a simple major
ity, to deny the Courts'
jurisdiction over cases
where a Constitutional gua
rantee is the issue.”
Bumpers said that if this
amendment is upheld, the
Constitution can be used
for a dart board.” He
stated that only 3.5 per
cent of the Arkansas bused
children are bused for
racial balance He called
attention to the fact that
while busing is a legiti
mate concern, Congress
should be facing the Issim
in a responsible manner
and not the dangerous cha
rade that the Senate prac
ticed in passing the Helms
Johnston Amendment.
Senator Jesse Heims, one
of the most outstanding op
ponents of justice and
equality for Blacks, said he
hopes if the bill comes
before the Supreme Court,
it will use the good sense to
declare itteConstitution
ality. So Jwe Helms has
become the great deter
miner of common sense
His Senator’s office in
formed me that Senators
often make Judgements on
a person’s common sense.
He said that busing is not
working well in Mecklen
burg County and that the
majority M Blacks are
against billing. For proof
of the Black sentiment he
gave Sowell’s opposition.
What he falls to recognize
is that Sowell is only one
Black and there are around
30 million Slacks i “the
country. Sovell has no I
Black following. His follow-(
ers are whites who are
naive enough to bellevel
that he speaks for alii
Blacks. W. .J
Some important Senatfl
commitee chairmen whfl
voted against Hrfms-Johifl
ston were: Mark Hatfield!
Senate Appropriations; |
Charles Mathias,*RuIes|
and Administration;"
Charles Percy, Foi
Relations and Bob
wood, Commerce,
and Transportation.
Pack wood said net
"The GOP has just atfoutl
written off women in 'the I
market place, Blacks, ftls ]
panics and Jews. j