A Much Needed Response

While working in Central Florida (Orlando) at ESPN Radio, I had the pleasure of getting to know a fellow Washington metropolitan native named Grant Hill. At the time, he was playing for the Orlando Magic and dealing with injuries that had derailed his once promising pro basketball career.

He and I were scheduled to participate in a celebrity poker tournament and, since neither of us knew how to play, we were paired in a “beginners tutorial” session. During the session we talked about our affinity for D.C. and even bragged about which of our home counties was better: mine of Montgomery County, Md. or his of Fairfax, Va. I walked away from that particular night thinking what a class act and gentleman Grant Hill was. Some of his former teammates that, to this very day I consider close personal friends of mine conveyed the same thoughts about Hill: he is a great person.

I remember the day back in 1992 when the “Fab Five” of Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King came into Rec Hall and ran us (Penn State, Class of ‘94) out of the gym.  That was the closest thing in my life as player/journalist/broadcaster that I have ever seen to a rock concert at a college sporting event.  To actually have witnessed the “Fabulous Five” was special in its own right.  A person that I consider a friend and the agent of another close friend, Rob Pelinka, was on the Michigan bench during that time.  Now he is the Super Agent for a guy named Kobe Bryant and also represents my close friend, Milwaukee Bucks guard Keyon Dooling.

These stories are relevant to me right now because of what I have seen and heard over the last 3 days.

This past Sunday, ESPN aired a new episode of their esteemed show, “30/30.” This episode chronicled the time of the “Fab Five” at Michigan and did an excellent job of reminding the viewer of that magical time when this group captured the country’s imagination. The bald heads, black socks, and baggy shorts are things that all of us, as ball players at one time or another, have experimented with. Maybe Michael Jordan started the fad but the “Fab Five” made it cool to younger players and fans.

One of the things that caught my attention was the comment made by ESPN Analyst and former Michigan “Fab Five” player, Jalen Rose.  He was the catalyst in my opinion for that team’s greatness (although, for my money, Jimmy King was the best player and Ray Jackson was the most valuable, of those teams) and has now become a very good analyst, providing a player’s perspective of the game.  During the show, Rose made some disparaging comments, not said to be malicious, but rather describing the way he was thinking as an 18-year-old freshman.  He used the term “Uncle Tom,” which is like a dirty word in black culture.  To be called an “Uncle Tom” is like being called a traitor or saying something along the lines of: “You are not like me/us,” or “You are a sell-out.”  The term was used when Rose mentioned that Duke recruited black players that were “Uncle Toms.” I know this was his thinking as an 18-year-old and not that of an adult businessman and father. Nevertheless, the issue his comment opened up still exists in our society.

A lot of people – most notably African Americans – would ask, “What does this mean?”  In this case, I agree with Grant Hill in the rhetoric that was used.  Hill feels that Duke Players are stereo-typed because of the type of player that their basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski recruits.  To some, these players are “Uncle Toms” because they are articulate and well versed – not to mention extremely talented – basketball players.

In my opinion, this was – and is – the type of player and person I was raised to be by both of my parents.  I too at times, have had to defend myself to whites and blacks about my upbringing.  Both of my parents are African American. My mother, who has since passed, was a college graduate.  My father only had a high school education and yet, taught me more about being a man with pride than any book could have ever taught me. Growing up playing both basketball and football, I would come across others who were jealous of my having two parents. Not until moving to Montgomery County, where 85 – 90% of all of my black friends had both parents in their homes, did I realize that this was normal. The issue of “street cred” – because somehow having two parents makes you softer, less hungry or just plain old “nice” – is the issue-at-hand with a lot of today’s youth.  This documentary really touched a nerve with a lot of people and hopefully, more light will be shed on this important topic.

This type of stereo-typing has to stop in the black community and even the world, for that matter.  The “Fab Five” story should be celebrated but not at the cost of others.  I think the response from Grant Hill only cements what I found out personally a few years ago in Orlando.

Regardless of the outcome, I think Jalen Rose spoke from the heart with no ill will intended. He even reached out to Grant Hill to apologize.

This is the response that was posted in the New York Times:

Grant Hill’s Response to Jalen Rose

By GRANT HILL

“The Fab Five,” an ESPN film about the Michigan basketball careers of Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson from 1991 to 1993, was broadcast for the first time Sunday night. In the show, Rose, the show’s executive producer, stated that Duke recruited only black players he considered to be “Uncle Toms.” Grant Hill, a player on the Duke team that beat Michigan in the 1992 Final Four, reflected on Rose’s comments.

I am a fan, friend and longtime competitor of the Fab Five. I have competed against Jalen Rose and Chris Webber since the age of 13. At Michigan, the Fab Five represented a cultural phenomenon that impacted the country in a permanent and positive way. The very idea of the Fab Five elicited pride and promise in much the same way the Georgetown teams did in the mid-1980s when I was in high school and idolized them. Their journey from youthful icons to successful men today is a road map for so many young, black men (and women) who saw their journey through the powerful documentary, “The Fab Five.”

It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends narrating this interesting documentary about their moment in time and calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke “Uncle Toms” and, to some degree, disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic and commitment to each other and to me. I should have guessed there was something regrettable in the documentary when I received a Twitter apology from Jalen before its premiere. I am aware Jalen has gone to some length to explain his remarks about my family in numerous interviews, so I believe he has some admiration for them.

In his garbled but sweeping comment that Duke recruits only “black players that were ‘Uncle Toms,’ ” Jalen seems to change the usual meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two-parent, middle-class families. He leaves us all guessing exactly what he believes today.

I am beyond fortunate to have two parents who are still working well into their 60s. They received great educations and use them every day. My parents taught me a personal ethic I try to live by and pass on to my children.

I come from a strong legacy of black Americans. My namesake, Henry Hill, my father’s father, was a day laborer in Baltimore. He could not read or write until he was taught to do so by my grandmother. His first present to my dad was a set of encyclopedias, which I now have. He wanted his only child, my father, to have a good education, so he made numerous sacrifices to see that he got an education, including attending Yale.

This is part of our great tradition as black Americans. We aspire for the best or better for our children and work hard to make that happen for them. Jalen’s mother is part of our great black tradition and made the same sacrifices for him.

My teammates at Duke — all of them, black and white — were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. I know most of the black players who preceded and followed me at Duke. They all contribute to our tradition of excellence on the court.

It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men like Johnny Dawkins (coach at Stanford), Tommy Amaker (coach at Harvard), Billy King (general manager of the Nets), Tony Lang (coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan), Thomas Hill (small-business owner in Texas), Jeff Capel (former coach at Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth), Kenny Blakeney (assistant coach at Harvard), Jay Williams (ESPN analyst), Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) and Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) ever sold out their race.

To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous. All of us are extremely proud of the current Duke team, especially Nolan Smith. He was raised by his mother, plays in memory of his late father and carries himself with the pride and confidence that they instilled in him.

The sacrifice, the effort, the education and the friendships I experienced in my four years are cherished. The many Duke graduates I have met around the world are also my “family,” and they are a special group of people. A good education is a privilege.

Just as Jalen has founded a charter school in Michigan, we are expected to use our education to help others, to improve life for those who need our assistance and to use the excellent education we have received to better the world.

A highlight of my time at Duke was getting to know the great John Hope Franklin, John B. Duke Professor of History and the leading scholar of the last century on the total history of African-Americans in this country. His insights and perspectives contributed significantly to my overall development and helped me understand myself, my forefathers and my place in the world.

Ad ingenium faciendum, toward the building of character, is a phrase I recently heard. To me, it is the essence of an educational experience. Struggling, succeeding, trying again and having fun within a nurturing but competitive environment built character in all of us, including every black graduate of Duke.

My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words. Adulthood is nothing but a series of choices: you can say yes or no, but you cannot avoid saying one or the other. In the end, those who are successful are those who adjust and adapt to the decisions they have made and make the best of them.

I caution my fabulous five friends to avoid stereotyping me and others they do not know in much the same way so many people stereotyped them back then for their appearance and swagger. I wish for you the restoration of the bond that made you friends, brothers and icons.

I am proud of my family. I am proud of my Duke championships and all my Duke teammates. And, I am proud I never lost a game against the Fab Five.

Grant Henry Hill
Phoenix Suns
Duke ‘94