Basketball, more than any sport played on a major scale in America, characterizes the plight of Blacks in their struggle to acquire equality as a race. Basketball has proven to be an area of society where Blacks have not only obtained equality but have managed to demonstrate a remarkable superiority. On the confines of a small competitive surface, Blacks have exhibited their talent, their creativity, and their physical energy.
In his essay, The Black and White Truth about Basketball, author Jeff Greenfield examines this phenomenon. Greenfield does so by basing many of comments on racial stereotypes but, nevertheless, his comments touch home on many levels. Written in 1975, many years before Blacks began to dominate the sport like they have today, Greenfield was prophetic in his comments and, thereby, demonstrating that the stereotypes that he utilized in making his points may not be stereotypes at all but definable facts.
Greenfield argues in the space of just a few short pages how Blacks, as a group, are more creative, more agile, and more determined than the whites that play the same game. In an article that is now dated, because it utilizes players that have long retired and moved on, Greenfield has demonstrated in a socially acceptable and sensitive manner the views that many people, Black and white, have felt for a long time.
Basketball, as a sport, parallels the life of Blacks in America. Developed as an urban sport, basketball has developed as Blacks have emerged from the confines of urban slums and begun to participate in the full American experience. Basketball was designed to be played on a small space and it required a minimum resources. A ball and a hoop, with or without a net, were all that was required. Contrast that with baseball and its need for wide open spaces; football with its fancy and expensive equipment; and hockey with its need for ice and a specialized building and it is easy to understand how basketball became the sport...
The Irish and Jewish people utilized boxing as a way of integrating themselves into the mainframe of American society when they first started immigrating to the United States and the Italians did the same in baseball. For Blacks, the sport of basketball represented their gateway to acceptance and the conditions under which basketball was played offered the perfect vehicle. Urban Blacks, for the most part, did not have access to the facilities, coaches, and equipment required to play other sports. The confined space and limited cost of participating blended well into the framework of the Black lifestyle: highly congested, concrete filled city neighborhoods.
The critics of Greenfield's article point out that he relied heavily upon the stereotypes of Blacks and whites who played the game of basketball. A criticism that may hold some merit, however, the passage of time has strengthened rather than weakened the arguments advanced by Greenfield in his article. Since 1975 when Greenfield's article was published in Esquire magazine, the percentage of Blacks playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has increased and their dominance as the stars in the game has increased as well (Leonard).
Greenfield argued in his article that the game of basketball has become ingrained in the culture of Black America. For Blacks in the major cities of America, achievement on the basketball court represents success in life. For inner city Blacks, becoming a doctor, lawyer, or successful businessman is not seen as a realistic goal but achieving some measure of success on the basketball court, even if it is only on the local playground, is realistic. Therefore, they pour their heart and soul into playing the game. As stated by William Ellerbee, a high school coach from…
