I have been a little busy with fantasy baseball and March Madness brackets and even a little work. I did want to throw up a post and voice my feelings about the aftermath that resulted after the Fab Five Documentary that aired this past Sunday night.
In the movie Jalen Rose made some comments about the way he viewed Duke and members of that team, at that time, specifically Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. Rose stated that as a 19-year-old he “hated” Duke, he felt as if they only recruited “Uncle Tom” black players like Grant Hill who came from a more affluent two parent house hold, the opposite of the broken single parent upbringing Jalen was accustomed too. Hill would eventually write an open letter to the New York Times addressing the comments as “pathetic” and displaying not only his intelligence but also his love for his family and loyalty for Duke University.
Thanks Mr. Hill but let’s take the emotion out of it for a second and look at this a little more clearly.
Jalen was speaking in the documentary on behalf of a young, immature 19-year-old Rose. As to whether or not Jalen still feels that way is up for debate, but I can honestly say I understood and identified with his mindset as I often shared the same sentiments growing up in a very modest household and when I faced an opponent on the schoolyard basketball court or open gym games or WHEREVER I was playing. I would mentally convince myself that I had a valid reason to have a disdain for this individual and as a result would often fail to have any respect for the individual or the team. But as one grows older you develop and understanding that, for one, it’s not that kid’s fault that their foundation laid was affluent. Also, that doesn’t mean that they can’t compete with the “tough black kids of the inner city.” As for Grant Hill I can understand his need to defend his family name and University but I found it interesting that he pointed out that Jalen reached out to him prior to the release of the documentary to issue an apology and that he also stated that he was a “fan and friend” of the Fab 5. So what’s the point in this dialogue? Not much although it was healthy and much needed. For years blacks have been divided on issues of class and skin tone. While the thought of it alone may be pathetic the truth is just that. I understand where both Jalen and Grant stand but I didn’t think that a constant back and forth through the media is needed. When the two spoke prior to the documentary that should have been all that needed to be done.
Then, there’s the WHAT IFS…? Society is full of Monday Morning Quarter Backs that’s NEVER thrown a pass. As a result of the documentary many questions were posed in sports talk radio. Anything from, “does Chris Webber have a gag order Kevin?” Has the Fab 5 forced him out the “circle”? Enough with the foolishness people, let me ask you a question…What If…We could rewind time? What if the FAB 5 didn’t wear baggy shorts? What if they played the game the “right” way and never talked trash? What if they responded to EVERY piece of Hate Mail they received, they way Grant Hill responded to Jalen Rose? Hmmmm. What if CWebb chose to go to Duke over Michigan? What if Coach Steve Fischer didn’t have the cahonies to start five freshmen, when decade’s earlier freshmen weren’t eligible to play? What if Chris Webber didn’t call a TIMEOUT? What If? The world is full of those questions but the reality is that it did happen. The FAB 5 did wear baggy shorts and The University and Nike amongst others capitalized off their trend setting ways. Webber did choose Michigan where he teamed up with a childhood friend in Jalen Rose. The biggest what if has always been “What If Chris didn’t call that Timeout?” What if the Michigan Wolverines defeated North Carolina or What if Webber never called that timeout and was known as Champions as opposed to trendsetters…The answer is simple. There’d be no 2-hour documentary for ESPN to air. And if all those things never happened you wouldn’t be sitting in front of your computer trying to answer all the "What Ifs" that face you in your every day walk of life. Remember this, in Sports and in Life there’s nothing wrong with calling a Timeout, we all need time to reflect and make the proper adjustments in order to succeed at this game called life. So stop asking so many questions and start seeking more answers.
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