The Historical Hypocrisy of the Black Student-Athlete

Race, Gender & Class:

V o lu m e 21, N u m b e r 1-2, 2 0 1 4 (2 2 0 -2 3 5 )

Gender & Class Website: www.rgc.uno.edu

T he H istorical Hypocrisy of the Black Student -Athlete M a r t in P . S m it h , L a n g s t o n D . C la r k ,

Louis Harrison, Jr. Department of Curriculum & Instruction University of Texas at Austin and

Abstract: In this paper, we argue that the dominant narrative situates Black collegiate athletes within a mind-body duality only valuing them for their athletic abilities and not their academic capabilities; however, historically this has not always been the case. Paul Robeson, William Henry Lewis and Duke Slater are exemplars of quintessential student athletes, but they are unknown. They are unknown because the master script silences them. Keywords: Black student athlete; African American history; Black history; academic identity; athletic identity Martin P. Smith received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from UC Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, he played point guard for four years on the basketball team. Martin is the epitome of a student athlete; he fused his passion and talent by starting his own business, Phil Smith Basketball Camps, and teaching at San Diego Community College after completing his master’s degree. He also has international experience running his own basketball clinics in China and the Philippines. Currently, he is a third year Doctoral Student in Cultural Studies in Education at UT Austin. His research interests include race in education and race in sport. At UT Austin he teaches his own course titled “Sociocultural Influences on Learning”. Address: The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, 1 University Station D5700, Austin, TX 78712. Ph.: (760) 703-3551, Email: [email protected] [email protected] Langston D. Clark is a fourth year PhD student in the Physical Education Teacher Education program at The University of Texas at Austin. His research interest include: the manifestation of social justice within historically Black colleges and universities’ physical education teacher education programs; the intersections of racial, athletic, and academic identity; and the history and impact of African American collegiate athletes.

The Historical Hypocrisy o f the Black Student-Athlete

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Address: Department o f Curriculum & Instruction, The University o f Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway Stop D5700, Austin, TX 78712-1293. Ph.: (512) 471 5942, Email: [email protected]

Louis Harrison, Jr. is a Professor in the Department o f Curriculum & Instruction at the University o f Texas at Austin. He is a native o f New Orleans and a graduate o f the University o f New Orleans, where he received his B.S. in 1979, and M.Ed. in 1987. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in Kinesiology in 1997 at Louisiana State University. Dr. Harrison has focused his academic research on the influences o f race and African American racial identity on sport and physical activity choices and performance. Additionally, he wishes to investigate ways to precipitate changes in the perception o f sport and physical activities in an effort to erase racial labels, and broaden the perceived physical activity choices o f all students. Dr. Harrison’s research articles appear in scholarly journals such as Quest, Research

Quarterly fo r Exercise and Sport, the Journal o f Black Psychology, and Race Ethnicity & Education. He is also co-author o f the book, Real Role Models: Success Black Americans Beyond Pop Culture. He is also on the editorial boards o f the Journal o f Teaching in Physical Education and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. He has also been awarded the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and D ance’s E.B. Henderson Award, the Charles D. Henry Award, and most recently inducted as a Fellow in the National Academy o f Kinesiology. Address: Department o f Curriculum & Instruction, The University o f Texas at Austin, 1912 Speedway Stop D5700, Austin, TX 78712-1293. Ph.: (512)-4715942, Fax: 512-471-8460, Email: [email protected]

For fifteen years we have had a race problem. We have raped a generation and a half of young Black athletes. We have taken kids and sold them on bouncing a ball and running with a football and that being able to do things athletically was going to be an end in itself. (Quoted in Edwards, 1984:9)

atem o’s aforementioned statement rocked the athletic world in 1983, surprisingly, not much has changed. “Only recently has American society been jolted into recognizing the extensive and tragic implications o f widespread educational mediocrity and failure among student athletes, and— no less importantly— that “dumb jocks” are not bom; they are being systematically created” (Edwards, 1984:8). Edwards describes dumb jocks as individuals who value and excel at sports at the expense o f their academic achievement. While the athletic system claims to compensate athletes by providing one year renewable scholarships, it hypocritically claims to value academics over athletics while it pays coaches, athletic directors, and administrator’s exorbitant salaries and profits billions o f dollars o ff merchandise sales, television contracts, endorsement deals, and corporate sponsorships, all under the guise o f amateur

P

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Martin P. Smith, Langston D. Clark, Louis Harrison, Jr.

athletics (Harper, 2006; 2013). The only amateur aspect of NCAA revenue producing sports is that the players are not paid. Men’s basketball and football are considered revenue sports because in comparison to other intercollegiate sports they operate by making a profit and often subsidize the other sports’ teams (Meggyesy, 2000). In this paper, we argue that the dominant narrative situates Black collegiate athletes within a mind-body duality only valuing them for their athletic abilities and not their academic capabilities; however, historically this has not always been the case. Paul Robeson, William Henry Lewis and Duke Slater are exemplars of quintessential student athletes, but they are unknown. They are unknown because the master script silences them. The over-representation of Black athletes in revenue producing sports, combined with the commercialization, and increased pressure to perform on the field or court has come at the expense of academic achievement (Singer, 2008). This further implies the prevailing opinion that collegiate sport is a mere gateway to professional sports for Black athletes. Many in the general public believe not only that Blacks are naturally better at sports (Hodge et.al., 2008), but also that sports are the most viable route to success for these athletes (Harrison et al., 2011). However, this is only a recent phenomenon. The history of the Black athlete reveals a tale that is quite to the contrary. Unlike contemporary beliefs about Black athletes, in the early 1900s it was not uncommon for White Americans to believe that Blacks were not only inferior intellectually but also physically and athletically. However, these sentiments changed as Blacks began to excel in and dominate integrated sports like Olympic Track and Field, football, basketball and boxing. With the newly recognized success of Black sportsmen and women, new rationales emerged to explain and belittle Blacks, claiming that they were naturally physically superior and innately intellectually inferior. Edwards (1984) expounds on these notions of simultaneous superiority and inferiority. ... .there are implications of the myth of innate black athletic superiority, and the more blatantly racist stereotype of the dumb Negro condemned by racial heritage to intellectual inferiority. Under circumstances where there exists a pervasive belief in the mutual exclusivity of physical and intellectual capability, and where, furthermore, popular sentiment and even some claimed scientific evidence buttress notions of race-linked black proclivities for both athletic prowess and intellectual deficiency, it should come as no surprise that the shameful situation of the black student athlete has been for so long not only widely tolerated but expected and institutionally accommodated, (p. 8)

Edwards explains that notions of intellectual inferiority and athletic superiority are not aberrant rather they are embedded in peoples’ psyches and rooted in longstanding mythology and so-called “scientific evidence.” Edwards argues that sports’ media and collegiate coaches expect Black athletes to excel at high levels athletically and low levels academically. Since the athletic and academic identities are thought to be mutually exclusive, it is suggested that coaches create dumb jocks through negative stereotypes, low academic expectations and overemphasis on the


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development on athletic identity (Harrison, Sailes, Rotich, & Bimper, 2011). Making matters worse, the overrepresentation of Blacks in collegiate football and basketball is often coupled with media portrayals of these athletes as incompetent students.

Silencing the Past This paper utilizes the theoretical framework presented in Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s, (1997) Silencing the Past: Power and the Production o f History. Trouillot claims that silence is afforded according to the master script which exists in every discipline (Swartz, 1992). In the realm of sport, the master script claims that athletics are instrumental for Black students in obtaining education because it provides the primary avenue toward attainment of higher education and social status. It also portrays Black athletes as intellectually inferior. The silence the master script creates is significant because it popularizes the aforementioned story about intellectual inferiority and the opportunity for improving ones’ socioeconomic status while quieting all other accounts (Trouillot, 1997). This causes many people in higher education and the general public to believe that athletes should feel fortunate because they are intellectually inferior but still have the opportunity to receive a “free” education and supposedly make exorbitant amounts of money playing their sports as professionals. However, the media does not acknowledge and the general public often does not know that the education is not free, it is worked for. Also, many athletes play but do not graduate, and ironically, the athletic system that is assumed to enable academics often inhibits academics. Through analyzing this occurrence, it is evident that Eurocentrism is maintained through these dominant narratives reproduced through sports’ media (Swartz, 1992). Eurocentrism has been defined as: An ideology or body of myths, symbols, ideas, and practices that exclusively or predominantly values the worldview and cultural manifestations (e.g., history, politics art, language, music literature, technology, economics, etc.) of people of European origin, and denigrates and subordinates the cultural manifestations of people from all other lands of origin (Swartz, 1992:342).

The Eurocentric master script disregards the contributions of those outside of the European narrative, but includes small aspects of the legacies of non-Europeans at the same time creating half-truths (James, 1976;Diop & Cook, 1974). Not only does the master script facilitate Eurocentrism, but also it serves as the catalyst. The group that is in power creates the dominant narrative according to Apple (1991) legitimizing some knowledge while at the same time denying the knowledge of other groups. Examples of this can be found in the stories of Paul Robeson and several other athletes that counter the dominant narrative of “dumb jock” Black athletes. When Paul Robeson is mentioned, it is usually for unpatriotic political activities towards the US government. As a result of being labeled a political agitator, his passport

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was revoked, and he became the target of multiple FBI investigations (Perucci, 2012). Robeson challenged racism and fascism in America following World War II, and he criticized the American government for failing to produce equal rights for all citizens, causing him to be lambasted and currently seen as noble, yet mostly forgotten icon. The unparalleled and seemingly surreal accomplishments of Paul Robeson obliterate the intellectual and athletic accomplishments of any Black or White American athlete to date. Not only was Robeson an intellectual and athletic giant, he used his intellect and social platform to challenge racist practices, systems, and a master script that hindered the advancement of Blacks. His punishment for challenging an oppressive system is his relative removal from mainstream history. The master script is so powerful that it appears that Paul Robeson does not exist and never will. This manuscript also employs Critical Race Theory (CRT), a theoretical framework that aims to transform the relationship between race, racism and power, by questioning the very principles of law and their neutrality (Delgado, 2012). Sport serves as a conduit where racism and racist ideals are transmitted and embedded. When studying race and racism CRT can be used as an analytical tool to provide counter narratives, elucidating what the master script will not (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001; 2002). It can be applied to the various aspects of American life including athletics and education (Agyemang, 2010). CRT as a framework seeks to analyze and deconstruct how an ideology of white supremacy and the subordination of people of color have been created and maintained in the United States. Critical race theory is distinctive because it challenges race, gender and class inequity while at the same time creating equity in society through the knowledge bases and voices of people of color (Yosso, 2005). This paper will focus primarily on two tenets of CRT. The first is counter narratives to empower historically marginalized students. The other aspect is the interdisciplinary, historical and contextual model for analysis that incorporates multiple disciplines and does not rely solely on contemporary analyses but uses history to help us understand race (Hylton, 2009). Race, racism, and antiracism change over context and time; therefore, it is important to change our understanding and analysis over time, remaining cognizant of past permutations of race, racism and antiracism to contextualize today’s issues (Hylton, 2009). CRT challenges “ahistoricism” and insists on analyzing subjects in contextual and historical ways. It also assumes that racism historically has contributed to group disadvantage and advantage. CRT illuminates that it is not enough to look at historical and contemporary events independently, but to link them to each other and analyze how they contributed to societal and educational inequality (Yosso, 2005). Historically, mainstream sports media tells a story of uplift and integration, breaking down racial barriers and using sports to improve ones’ socioeconomic standing. Ladson-Billings (1995) states that inequality looked at out of context is difficult to understand, which is why we will look at student-athletes in a historical context beginning in the early 1900s.


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A Forgotten History Historically, athletic teams have had a higher proportion of Black males than universities have had Black students. According to Siegel (1994), In 1948, 10% of college basketball teams had at least one black member, but by 1962, 45% had at least one Black and by 1975, 92% had at least one black member, (b) From 1882 to 1945, there were only four Black lettermen in football and none in basketball at the University of Michigan, but from 1945 to 1972 there were 71 black lettermen in football and 21 in basketball, (p. 208)

In 2012, at Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Black males represent 2.2% of the student body population. However, they comprise 45% of the entire football and basketball teams, a 42.8% difference (Harper, 2013). The University of Miami student body population is comprised of 3.3% Black undergraduates, but Black athletes on the basketball and football team makeup 75.7% of the teams’ population, a 72.4% difference. At the University of Texas at Austin, Black undergraduates make up 1.8% of the student body population, yet they make up 67.9% of the basketball and football teams, a 66.1% difference (Harper, 2013). In the early years, sports appeared to create a greater opportunity to attend college and achieve upward mobility for Blacks. In the 1960s, Black men who previously had been systematically denied access to universities for political, social and economic reasons were then actively recruited to attend White universities. As a result of appearances on sports’ teams and media portrayals, sports began to appear to provide a meaningful avenue for improved educational and socioeconomic attainment for Black men. Though sports are depicted as an opportunity for upward mobility and one arena that lacks racial discrimination, research shows that Blacks are not rewarded for equal performance when compared with Whites and that the opportunity for a “lucrative” career sports is bleak (Frey, 1991). Athletics as an avenue for upward mobility is a cultural myth that America pushes and many Black subcultures also reinforce (Edwards, 1984; Frey, 1991). This myth is also perpetuated by the overrepresentation of Black males in professional sports. For instance, in 2011, 67% of the players in the NFL were Black, and 78% of the players in the NBA were Black in 2011-2012 (Lapchick, 2012). However, in other sports such as golf, swimming, tennis, lacrosse, cycling, soccer, hockey and NCAA baseball, they are underrepresented (Frey, 1991). At the University of Texas 43% of all Black male student athletes graduate while 79% of the entire undergraduate population graduates. Black student athletes are significantly overrepresented within basketball and football teams, the revenue producing sports, yet they are underrepresented in other areas such as the student body and graduation rates. At UC Berkeley, only 1.2 percent of the student body is comprised of Black males while 50.6% of the players on the football and basketball team are Black. This is a 49.3% difference. Another alarming statistic at UC Berkeley is that only 40% of Black male student athletes graduate while 90% of all undergraduates. In addition, 72% of all student athletes graduate and 63% of

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all Black male undergraduates graduate (Harper, 2013). These examples reveal the large percentage of Blacks on the athletic fields compared to the minute number in classrooms. According to Harper (2013), admissions officers claim that it is extremely difficult to find academically qualified Black students, yet they have no problem finding Black male athletes. Black student athletes’ schedules today are very rigorous and comparable to full time jobs which require extreme physical and emotional exertion as well as pressure to perform consistently at a high level. In addition to the athletic arena, athletes must attend classes which are often perceived as secondary to their academic endeavors (Singer, 2008). At the turn of the twentieth century, many Black males lived in poverty and faced more racism politically, socially and economically than today’s athletes because the systems of oppression were overt and were actually written into law. The subtlety of racism changed the dynamics of race which impacted the academic and athletic identities of Blacks. This pressures athletes to overemphasize the athletic role and neglect their academic opportunities. Whenever anyone embodies and excels in both identities, particularly if the athlete is Black, they are rarely discussed or are seen as an anomaly. Anomalies are presented as those that strayed from the flock and are ostracized and presented as not fulfilling their part of the bargain by using racially coded language, as in the example of Myron Rolle. Rolle defied the master script, and he was verbally ridiculed for taking a break from college and professional football to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University (Mahr, 2012). Another example is Alterraun Vemer who was a student-athlete at UCLA and is currently in NFL player. While playing in his rookie season, he recorded the most tackles among NFL comerbacks; he also started 12 of 16 games. In an article featured on ESPN, Vemer is shown returning to UCLA to finish his degree during the NFL lockout. However, his football accomplishments receive much more media attention than his academic endeavors. The ESPN article revolved around his unassuming nature and him living in the dorms during the lockout (Yoon, 2011). Very little information was devoted to his academic identity which is very strong. Vemer held a 4.17 GPA and a 1740 SAT score in high school. In college he majored in mathematics and applied science while playing an integral role on UCLA’s football team (Alterraun, 2013). Garrett Johnson, a shot putter, won multiple shot put state championships in high school, and in college he won the NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put championship in 2006. Johnson was a finalist in the 2008 Olympic Trials but did not qualify (Garrett, 2013). Johnson is relatively unheard of yet his athletic accomplishments are stellar. However, his academic achievements are even more impressive. Johnson was his high school’s salutatorian. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in three years with a 4.0 GPA and double majored in Political Science and English. He also was a two time academic All American in 2005 and 2006. He was also a Rhodes Scholar in 2008 and completed a master’s degree in Migration Studies at Oxford University (Ray, 2005). These and other Black athletes who embrace both their academic and athletic identities often have their academic achievements reduced while their athletic achievements are highlighted. Bimper (2011) explains that a solid athletic identity often contributes to a


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deflated academic identity. This is extremely problematic because of the temporal nature of athletic participation. Elevated athletic identities make it difficult to transition into other career opportunities and move away from the athletic identity (Bimper, 2011). According to Singer (2008), participation in Division I athletics more often than not has a negative impact on the academic achievements and academic identity of Black males. Singer states that in the high profile sports of basketball and football, Black athletes face academic challenges that their White counterparts do not. The most common perception of Black athletes portrayed in the media is that athletics provides an educational and career opportunity for poor and academically ill-prepared Black athletes. In contrast to this often stated circumstance is the reality that Singer (2008) exposes which shows that student athletes are truly athletes first and students second, which exploits their athletic skills while neglecting their academic and social development. Singer (2008) explains that athletes do not like or agree with the term student athlete because they felt like it was an inaccurate portrayal of who they were. They felt that with the overemphasis and time devoted to sports they were athletes first and students second. When one of the athletes in the study compares himself to non-athlete students attending the university, he begins: They don’t put in the time that we put in. I’ll say that if most student-athletes had a scholarship and was just a student they would have a 3.0 and 4.0 (be)cause they know what it takes ... from all that time they do with athletics,.... If we took maybe half the time for athletics and put that more into the school work then guys, the graduation rate would be higher,... I feel like a lot of (student)-athletes, even if we didn’t play sports, you know, we could be better than, I think anybody because sports is so time demanding.... Where you know, regular students all they got to do is worry about books and you know learning what they need to learn. But we have to, we got all this time on our sport and then we have to come back to education, to learn, you know. (Singer, 2008:404)

Student athletes have rigorous schedules that often begin with strength and conditioning workouts in the morning followed by class. After class athletes have practice, team meetings and film. In a typical day student athletes put in over 6 hours a day into their sport. This is in addition to attending to class, completing assignments and studying for tests. With such a time intensive schedule, athletes struggle to focus on much more than sports. There are also benefits that come with athletics. Sports provide an educational opportunity for some who normally would not have it or would be unable to afford, but the opportunity is negated if the athletes cannot take full advantage of that opportunity. Athletes also mention that football provided them an opportunity to travel across the country and world (Singer, 2008). The often told story of an inner city child traveling the country and world as well as being exposed to diverse people is an aspect of the master script often publicized in the popular media. However, the exploitation and time constraints college athletes face that take them away from their studies are rarely, if ever, discussed in the same popular media. These accounts reveal that sports do not enhance ones’ academic or social ability but operate to the detriment thereof. Cases

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such as Myron Rolle illustrate this concept. Myron Rolle was both a phenomenal athlete and student. Although he was an All-American in football in college and high school, the professional coaches wanted him to devote more time to football and neglect academics. Rolle explains his situation, My athletic career did take a little bit of a hit by going to Oxford. I got that label of not being seriously committed like some other players. People around the league were saying, “We like guys that have no other option.”.... It can make sense if you look at it from a narrow perspective, but if you look at it from my perspective, I’ve shown commitment my whole life. Why can’t I show commitment to being a great NFL player? (Mahr, 2013:1) The expectations for Myron Rolle in professional football are not much different than collegiate football. Professional coaches are more explicit about their expectations, whereas, college coaches’ rhetoric claims academics come before athletics but their actions, expectations and practice schedules demonstrate they believe otherwise.

Recovering the Silenced Histories of Black Scholar Athletes There is a generation of Black scholar athletes whose history has not only been left out of the history books but also forgotten. The majority of them attended college for academic purposes and paid their own tuition. Others received academic scholarships and played sports on the side. Interestingly, in the late 1800s and early 1900s Blacks were poorer but did not see athletics as an opportunity for upward mobility, and Blacks were not always overrepresented in professional and collegiate sports. There was a ubiquitous belief that Blacks were athletically inferior. This contrasts with today’s athletic system where student athletes are first recruited to perform athletically and academics are secondary even though the rhetoric of coaches often suggests otherwise. It is evident that the system has changed and as a result so has the players. For this matter, it is crucial for scholars of race and sports to uncover and recover the histories of Black scholar athletes that have been erased from the history of collegiate and professional sports. Recovering these histories might contribute to aspiring Black student athletes forming an identity that renders both academic and athletic identities compatible and supportive of each other.

Lawyers William Henry Lewis: William Henry Lewis was bom in 1868 to former slaves in Berkley, Virginia. He enrolled in the state’s Black college, the Virginia Normal Institute, at the age of 15. After completing his studies at the Virginia Normal Institute, he transferred to Amherst College. In the fall of 1888, Lewis enrolled at Amherst College where he thrived academically and played football his senior year and served as captain. He paid his tuition by working as a waiter. He and another teammate were the first Blacks to integrate a football team at a predominately white institution. Upon graduating, Lewis was chosen to be the orator for his commencement ceremony (Albright, 2005).


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After graduating from Amherst, Lewis enrolled in Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he also played 2 years of football and was named an All-American each year. In addition to being the first ever Black All-American, he was chosen to be the captain of the All-American team in 1892. After his playing days ended, he coached at Harvard and authored a seminal work on college football titled: A Primer o f College Football in 1896; he was considered a football expert. To lessen the violence and viciousness of football, Lewis proposed the neutral zone rule at the line of scrimmage which still exists today. He utilized his resources from becoming the first paid assistant coach at Harvard from 1895-1906 to support his family, orphaned kids and start his own law practice (Albright, 2005). His economic, social and political endeavors were outstanding. From 18991902 he served as Council for Cambridge City, and later within the Massachusetts Legislature in 1903, both were elected positions. He was the fourth Black to graduate from Harvard Law. He passed the bar in Massachusetts and set up his own practice in 1895. In 1911, he became the first Black assistant attorney general after being selected by president William Taft. Lewis became a member of the American Bar Association in 1911, but when members realized his race they tried unsuccessfully to remove him. After becoming assistant attorney general, he became a very successful criminal defense attorney (William, 2012).

Duke Slater Duke Slater was a phenomenal college football player at the University of Iowa. In 1918, he was named All-Iowa as a freshman and as a sophomore he was named All-Big Ten and second team All-American (Sports in Iowa, 2013). He became the first Black in Iowa history and the sixth in the nation to earn such honors. During Duke’s senior year he led his team to a 7-0 record defeating the Notre Dame squad coached by Knute Rockne that had not lost in 20 games. This led to the beginning of a 20 win streak for Iowa and Slater earned All-Big Ten honors three years in a row and contributed to Iowa winning a national championship. Slater also was selected as an All-American his senior year. In 1946, he was named to the all-time college All-American team. In 1951, he was voted into the College Hall of Fame becoming the first Black to do so (Rozendaal, 2012).

Duke Slater also played ten years in the NFL. For the majority of the 1920s, Slater was the only Black in the NFL due to an informal ban. As the only Black in the NFL in 1927 and 1929, he made the Pro Bowl twice. In Slater’s ten seasons, he started 96 out of 99 career games. After his retirement from professional football a color ban came into effect that lasted 12 years (Daly, 2006). Many believe the ban would have occurred earlier but his presence in the league postponed it because his team refused to endorse the ban while he was playing for fear of losing him. He retired in 1931 and was selected All-Pro 6 out of his 10 years playing (Rozendaal, 2012). During his NFL playing days, he returned to Iowa in the off season to earn a law degree which he completed in the summer of 1928. He began practicing law during his last 3 years of professional football. He

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became an assistant district attorney. In 1948, Slater was elected to the Chicago Municipal Court; he was only the 2nd Black to hold that position. In 1960, he became the first Black member of the Chicago Superior Court where he served as a model and mentor (Rozendaal, 2012). As an ex-football star, lawyer and judge he remained in the Black community and was able to provide a much needed Black perspective and face in Cook County courtrooms. Lewis and Slater played sports at extremely high levels. Slater even played ten years in the NFL, however, his law career lasted over 30 years. His impact outside of sports trumped his phenomenal athletic career. His story is amazing yet unknown. A six time Pro Bowler who serves as a trailblazing lawyer for over 30 years is unheard of today. Lewis’ intellectual career is arguably more impressive than Slater’s but he is unknown. He was a collegiate All-American football player and revolutionary coach who was appointed the assistant attorney general by the president but he is unknown.

Ph.D. Jerome “Brud” Holland: Jerome Holland was a two time All-American football player in the late 1930s at Cornell. He was one of five Blacks in the first half of the 20th century to be named an All-American. Had Holland been bom in a different epoch, he would have been a professional football player. However, racial segregation kept him out of the NFL. He was also denied several jobs due to his race (Marteney, 2007). He was a member of the Sphinx Society the oldest honor society at Cornell for leaders who exude character. He decided to further his education by earning a master’s degree at Cornell and a doctorate from University of Pennsylvania. He taught sociology and physical education at Lincoln University prior to earning his Ph.D. He began his career as an educator and eventually became the president of both Delaware State University from 1953-1959 and Hampton Institute from 1960-1970 (Holland, 2010). He was a scholar, educator and diplomat. Holland was appointed the ambassador to Sweden by President Richard Nixon from 1970-1972, only the second Black to serve in this capacity as an ambassador to a European country. He was the first Black board member on the New York Stock Exchange from 19721980. He also served as a board member for AT&T, General Motors and 7 other major U.S. companies. From 1980 to 1985 he served as a chairman for the Red Cross Board of Government. Finally, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan posthumously (Marteney, 2007). Meredith Gourdine: Meredith Gourdine competed as a track and field athlete at Cornell University. At Cornell, he won long jump and multiple 220 yard dash titles. He competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and won a silver medal. Gourdine was a member of Quill and Dagger, a non-scholastic secret society for those who embody leadership, character and dedication. While studying at Cornell, he paid his way for the first two years and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1952 in engineering (Meredith, 2013). He later became an officer in the Navy and attended California Institute of Technology, where he earned a doctorate in engineering in 1960, on a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame in Engineering and Science in Dayton, Ohio (Faces, 2013). As a physicist,


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he developed research in the field of electrogasdynamics. One of his major contributions was that he developed the technique, Incineraid, to remove smoke from buildings. He also discovered how to remove fog from airport runways. His job titles included senior research scientist, lab director and chief scientist. He established Gourdine Laboratories in Livingston, New Jersey with a staff of over 150, where he worked to purify air, convert coal into inexpensive transportable energy, develop an air pollution deterrent and create a high powered paint spray. Gourdine held over 30 patents in his lifetime (Meredith, 2013). Gourdine and Holland rose to the highest athletic levels possible in their respective eras, and both earned doctorate degrees. Gourdine was a world renowned physicist, and Holland an internationally known educator, businessman and diplomat. Sadly, it is difficult to imagine Black athletes with this level of education today who have the same level of international impact.

Civil Rights’ Activists Fritz Pollard: In high school, Pollard was a talented high school baseball, football and track athlete. He played football at Brown University in 1915 where he led his team to an 8-1 record and the Rose Bowl. Fritz Pollard majored in chemistry at Brown and played halfback. He was the first ever Black Walter Camp All-American. In 1920, he signed to play for the Akron Pros and that same year he led them to an undefeated season and championship. At 150 pounds he faced brutality on the field where opposing players tried to maim him. He led the Akron Pros in rushing, receiving, scoring and punt returns (Carroll, 1992). In 1921, he was named the head coach of the Pros, and he competed as a player-coach. Contrary to popular opinion, Art Shell was not the first Black head coach in the NFL, that honor was held by Fritz Pollard. Pollard also coached in Indiana and Milwaukee until the 1926 racial segregation ban removed all Black players and coaches (Brown, 2013). In 1954, he was selected to the College Hall of Fame (Brown, 2013). He was a major proponent of bringing Black talent to the NFL and reintegrating the league by advocating for equality. He also organized and coached Black teams to barnstorm during segregation. He was similar to Jackie Robinson as the first Black pro in football. He faced racism, isolation, and loneliness as he was forced to eat, travel and live alone (Coyle, 2003). Paul Robeson: Paul Robeson, the son of a runaway slave, was given an academic scholarship at the age of 17 to attend Rutgers University where he was a two time football All-American, valedictorian, prized orator and member of Phi Beta Kappa. He majored in chemistry. At Rutgers, he played football, basketball, baseball and track earning 15 varsity letters (Paul, 2013). He won all four oratorical contests he entered at Rutgers. Later, he taught Latin and played professional football to pay for his Columbia law degree from 1920-1923 (Perucci, 2012). After law school, he worked as a lawyer briefly but encountered severe racism and changed careers. He eventually made his career living, acting and singing on Broadway (Robeson, 1988). Pollard and Robeson were both trailblazers. Pollard was the first black NFL coach, however, many people believe Art Shell was. Like Pollard, Robeson is forgotten and his legacy tarnished because of misinformation. Both of these

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individuals fought to improve the lives of other Black people and suffered because of it. Unfortunately, and probably a result of civil rights activism are relatively unknown. In Paul Robeson’s case this is tragic considering he is arguably the most accomplished and dynamic intellectual athlete in the history of America. Today’s athletes seem a far cry from the Paul Robeson’s and Henry Lewis’. The landscape has changed so that it is difficult to embody both identities, and when athletes do, the media highlights their athletic contributions and not their academic contributions. The system and portrayal of Black athletes makes being a scholar seem impossible but the athletes are more than capable, which is evident by the list of historical scholar athletes who did succeed and embody both identities in the midst of racism and political turmoil. Some did it without athletic funding. The notion and principles of athletic funding should be explored. This dynamic has changed the nature of athletics, because coaches now try to control players with funding. How, at the turn of the 20th century in the face of such racism and discrimination, did these scholar athletes exist? These narratives and historical analysis of individuals’ accomplishments are omitted from the history books. These phenomenal athletes’ stories are not told and forgotten. Their accomplishments seem unfathomable. These athletes merged their athletic and academic endeavors. They did not choose one over the other. The system of one and done scholarships, intense practice schedules, media coverage, the billion dollar industry of high revenue NCAA athletics and stereotypes are a confluence of interests that create a culture of incompatibility between athletics and academics for Black athletes. It is disheartening to know that many Americans believe this, but more so that Black athletes believe this as well. The intense, athletic practice schedule causes athletes to focus solely on sports, which is detrimental to their academics. The NCAA is not set up to put Black athletes in a position to succeed. The general school of thought at this level is that student athletes are replaceable. The pressure and reality of being replaced is unique to college basketball and football because the economic stakes of the university, media and coaches is so high putting the athletes in a unique predicament. Essentially, how a Black teenager dribbles or carries a ball dictates the typically White coach’s, athletic director’s or member of the sports’ staffs million dollar lifestyle.

Progressive Solution The progressive solution is to expose the counter narrative which will challenge the master script that claims Black men need sports and that sport enhances their education. It is an ideological battle that hinges on a billion dollar industry of sports, the NCAA system that does not pay athletes but profits exorbitant amounts of money. There are often documentaries and special programming on television about athletes making it from “rags to riches” and athletics saving their lives, but never any televised specials on the Paul Robesons and others. The athletic system in its current state will not change because the stakes are way too high; however,


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one possible solution is to challenge the dominant narrative by informing the public of the aforementioned scholar-athletes. For example, some universities have Sports’ history courses to inform athletes and students on the historical and ideological issues affecting Black athletes. These courses should be a requirement on all campuses with NCAA Division I revenue producing sports’ teams.

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