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| "The Fab Five!" |
"I hated Duke and I hated everything Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms," Rose said in the documentary.
Hill, in the letter published on the Times website and signed "Grant Henry Hill, Duke '94," wrote that "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."
First of all, this is a matter of socioeconomics. Kids that grew up in the hood have a completely different view of the world than people that didn't. Rose, as a 17 year old kid, growing up in Detroit in poverty without his father, who I might add, was a professional athlete, that wasn't in his life, was bitter at the world and not Grant Hill. It's only natural for him to be jealous because his dad wasn't in his life and Grant's father was.
He's right, schools like Duke don't recruit kids like him, even if they are good enough to play for the Blue Devils. Places like Duke don't want to take the chance of bringing a kid in that may have some problems or make the school look bad. Which in my opinion is completely understandable. Don't get mad at me that's just the way it is.
So people like Rose use the rejection as motivation to prove that they belong. Every child in the ghetto that grows up without a father is resentful of any kid that looks like them that grows up with both parents and money. Eventually, that resentment turns into hate which breeds the passion to become better than those they have to compete with on the floor or field.
Kids in the suburbs many times don't have the same passion that kids in the ghetto have because they're comfortable. I see that with my own children. The poor players passion isn't just fueled by the need to play ball. It's fueled by all of the external factors that have caused them to grow up in the slums. Therefore, Jalen and kids like him, take offense to suburban kids that can play just as well as they do. Unfortunately for Jalen, his kids are going to be viewed by poor kids the same way he saw Grant, now that he has money and lives in those same suburbs that he once hated.
Does Jalen actually think Grant Hill is an Uncle Tom? No, but at 17 years old he did because he didn't see kids in his neighborhood with two parents that were college educated and successful. Jalen's reaction to the players at Duke when he was in high school was a normal reaction that kids have in the hood to players like them. So really the only people that were upset by his comments besides Grant were people that didn't grow up in the hood. However, people that have grown up and graduated from the ghetto now realize that you can be just as black when you're middle class or even wealthy.
When kids in the hood hear other black kids from the suburbs speak articulately, they typically say that they are "Acting White" because they haven't been exposed. Now my children are the ones that the poor kids think are acting white. When you're from the ghetto you've been brainwashed to believe that all black folks are poor and that's simply not the case. I was raised by two college educated parents and I'm quite sure there were kids that were resentful of me for that reason alone. Fortunately, I grew up in Gary, In. so I was able to live on both sides of the tracks. I was raised in a middle class home but I went to public school in the hood. My high school had two of the most notorious housing projects in town filter in. So I got a chance to see what most people in other cities that were middle class didn't see.
I'm not mad at Jalen for his comments, although he misused the term, because he was 17 years old and had never left Detroit when he made them. He was merely stating how he felt as a high school recruit. Just like I wasn't upset at a white kid that lived on my floor while I was in college that thought that black people had tails. He actually wanted to know what happened to mine and was dead serious. This kid was from a very small town in Indiana and had been taught that black folks had tails his entire life because he had never been around them. So if we were to find that same guy more than twenty years later and did a documentary on him and he repeated what he actually thought more than twenty years ago, would it be fair to hold him to it? What's your opinion?
Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
This is a very interesting situation I must say as I take a look at my own life. I grew up in the same situation as Jalen Rose, good athlete, dad no where around but financially well off. And I hated Duke and still do today. I have never seen any inner city kids play for Coach K or as we call them, kids from "the hood". As my cousin Jay did, I went to Gary Roosevelt which is smack dab in the middle of the ghetto with several notorious projects or hoods providing the student body..so I know what it was like for Jalen growing up. Glenn Robinson was our star athlete and if you look closely at the beginning of the Fab 5 documentary, he is listed right behind Chris Webber as the #2 prospect in the country, and he wasn't recruited by Duke either!! But as Jay says, Duke doesn't want that kind of basketball player and that's their choice, we can't be mad at that. Now, if you are from the hood, that ticks you off. You look at the list of names that Grant Hill ran off in his response, he basically played right into Jalen's comments..Duke doesn't recruit inner city kids, only those coming from a stable and docile background and that's a fact. Is Grant Hill a Uncle Tom, no way. His mom and dad did what they are supposed to do and provided for their family. Grant Hill is a phenomenal ball player and a great person by all accounts, however he can't relate to growing up in the hood just like Jalen couldn't relate to growing up in a economically stable environment. In the hood, we are not used to both parents being around and pushing us to seek a better situation, the drive to be better in life for kids like myself comes from wanting to have a better life. We push ourselves because we know what it is like to poor and don't want to live our entire life that way.
ReplyDeleteNow that I am older and have seen a different way of life, this brings a new issue. I am from the hood, can definitely relate to it, but now I am on the Grant Hill side of the fence. My wife and I both are well educated with good paying jobs and we live in the suburbs. My kids will not grow up in the hood and probably be look upon as the privaleged. Does that make them the Uncle Tom type? No, but it is my responsibility to educate them on both sides of the equation so they can know that there is another side to the story and that not all African Americans are doing as well as we are. That's my responsibility...that's what Thomas Hill should have done for Grant Hill and that's what Jalen's mom should have done for him. Jalen should have been taught, that not all black people are poor and uneducated, and Grant should know that not all black families have both parents around. We as a race need to be accepting of both sides!
Just something to think about when we look at Duke Basketball. Academically it is very tough to get into Duke and to maintain your academics once you are there is even more difficult. I have taught in some inner-city schools and some of our best students would have a hard time staying in school. I have recruited for highly academic schools and I have seen kids at the top of the inner-city high school struggle to stay in school at these types of colleges. So, before we judge Duke understand what it takes to play basketball in college and compete in the classroom. We all know that we are just as smart but sometime we are not just as prepared.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Grant Hill felt the need to respond to Jalen's statement shows his own insecurities. Jalen was a 17 year old kid when he made the "Uncle Tom" comment. Why even bother responding to comments made by a 17 year old kid? He was so quick to point out how many championships they won in his rebuttal; however, I go back and agree with Jalen when he said...while it may take some serious thought to remember who won the national championship 2 years ago...you don't have to give ANY thought to knowing who the Fab 5 is. That team is infamous and will always be.
ReplyDeleteI hate Duke TODAY for the exact same reason Jalen mentioned and I'm an almost 40 year old man.
Honestly, for that matter, I looked at Alan Henderson the same way I look at Duke, but that's another conversation. :)
I love the Alan Henderson comment. Love it!
ReplyDeleteHasani Adams Nice! And accurate. I was just telling Chris Artis the same thing.
ReplyDeleteGio Cockerham Can we just take race out of it for a minute-isnt always about the haves and the have nots?? I think that it can be blamed on race because you see a kid that looks like you and has the same talent as you, but came from the 'right' neighborh...ood, the 'right' background and you wonder why them and why not you? Its jealousy plain and simple. Maybe I'm naive, but seeing it from my own experiences being too white for the Mexicans and too Mexican for the whites and having to protect Graysen from it because she's mixed as well I just want to make some kind of sense out of it and not have to deal with reverse racism as well as the normal racist bs that goes on.
ReplyDeleteLanderos Reid i talk about this all the time. it's not about sports all tht time and how good u r in it. i think that most black people still dont get it. whites get it and they know it's all about education. education is the key to having a good successfull life and is key to support a healthy fam.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion of who is or who isn't an Uncle Tom has brought me to voice an opinion on this topic over the past few days. As a matter of full disclosure, I do not and have never liked Duke! My harsh feelings and reasons for despising Duke are the same reasons Jalen, Jimmy, and a host of other sports fans do not like Duke.....most of whom are Black. My reasons for speaking out in defense of Jalen and Jimmy are because I feel as though they have not adequately explained their position. In fact, from what I've heard on the radio and TV, everyone seems to just continue to reiterate the same position over and over again and has ultimately led us nowhere.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was college, very late 80's, my somewhat naive observation of Duke was that the only Black players they recruited were all light skinned Blacks. Right or wrong, that’s what I saw, i.e. Grant Hill and Carlos Boozer. But as grew older and wiser I began to see their recruiting practices for what they were....and for what they are perceived to be today. True or not, Jalen and many others see Duke University recruit only Black players from "Good Families". That is to say that these players need to have two parents in the home, financially stable and flourishing, and "well connected". With that said, I think we as Black people perceive someone to be an "Uncle Tom" or Sellout to be someone that has abandoned their heritage and who they are to “get ahead” and gather riches and stature so that they will be accepted by White America. For clarification, I DO NOT feel or think that you are an "Uncle Tom" if you speak with proper grammar, or if you have both parents in your home, or if you aspire to have a lucrative career. Now here's the rub, you are a Certified Uncle Tom if you step on the backs or put down your fellow Black man to get ahead. Furthermore, you may be an Uncle Tom if you join a company, organization, or University that puts down or thinks very little of your race and you are willing to abandon who you are and not admit that you occasionally enjoy a good piece of fried chicken or watermelon. Please forgive my humor but I think we all know what I mean whether your Black, White, or Green.
On a serious note, you are likely a Sellout if you are someone who chooses not to stand up or say something when your fellow teammates or co-workers make derogatory or stereotypical statements or comments about your race because you want to remain in their good graces. Now there are very few of us that have first-hand knowledge like a Jalen Rose about Duke's program, but for many of us, it gives an appearance of “Uncle Tomism” if someone who chooses to attend a school or play for a coach that does not respect and accept their race as a whole. On a much smaller scale, would we as a parent accept or allow one of our children to attend a classmate’s birthday party if our other child wasn't invited because they were not in the "In Crowd or Popular Group"? My first recollection of disdain for Duke was when underclassman William Avery dared to be one of the first of a few Coach K recruits to dare to leave his program early for the NBA. There were substantiated reports of Coach K berating threatening Avery’s parents and letting them know just how lost they would have been without his assistance guidance. That arrogance and bullying has always bothered me.
Jay, another great, insightful posting. Another example of how the use of pejorative phrases can be so hurtful and open a person to a lot of different inferences to his intended meaning.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree a little with the generalization of the term "Duke" when it comes to recruiting. Let me go on record, like most around here, of not liking Duke for the same reason I don't like the Dallas Cowboys. That being said, you have to keep in mind what an incredible record their coach has and how he has accomplished that. I recently read an article about Coach K and why he was selected by the US national team to coach in the last Olympics. He was selected to return the USA basketball team to it's rightful position as best in the world. Keep in mind Coach K graduated from West Point Academy and played for Bobby Knight. He apparently bleeds red, white and blue and was able to get that across to his national team. He asked them if they weren't going to dive on the floor for a loose ball while they were wearing USA on their shirts that they could check out any time. Everyone of the NBA players were amazed at his loyalty to them and how he covered their backs at every opportunity. Coach K has expectations that include discipline, hard work and a team first attitude. Is it any wonder he would be disappointed in a recruit leaving early for the NBA? He was leaving his TEAM. That would be like the prodigal son asking for his inheritance before his father died and leaving for the far country. There are a lot of coaches who select recruits based on an individuals character and whether they will contribute to a team chemistry. I don't recall anyone dissing on John Wooden for putting character above ability. What coach wants to have to deal with kicking players off a team at the beginning of the NCAA tournament. There will always be coaches like Jerry Tarkanian and Kelvin Samson who are looking to pull a fast one and recruit based on raw talent and discount character values. I prefer watching teams with team chemistry and team loyalty led by juniors and seniors who have made decisions to stay and lead by example. E'Twaun Moore and Jajuan Johnson are prime examples of outstanding STUDENT/athletes who have been committed to their teammates and their program. Mackey Arena was packed for their final game and 90% of the people stayed after the game past 10 o'clock to see them get recognized along with their families. They both professed their faith and gave thanks to God for their abilities and recognized the sacrifice and care of their families. Those are the kind of players any coach would dream about having play for them.
I Love Duke!!!...Don't take it personal...
ReplyDeleteVincent Goods
All the talent that came out of Gary you never heard of Duke recruitng anyone from the City. You do the math.
ReplyDelete