I went to a high school called John Marshall. It was a tough place back in the mid 70’s with about a 50/50 ratio of black and white. I was a three sport kid entering 10th grade. I was the starting third baseman on back to back AAU state championship teams in junior high. I was the starting two guard on my 9th grade team. And a safety in football on the JV team. After my first semester in the 10th grade when I came back with a robust 2.8 grade average my parents told me I had to drop a sport. It was basketball because I knew at best I’d never be anything beyond the 11th or 12th guy even by senior season. Baseball was different. I was always one of the three or four best players on any team I played for…and that continued all the way thru high school.
But the thing I really loved about John Marshall was that sports assimilated me to the world we live in today…black, brown and white. Sports are that way. They bring people together because the goal is to win regardless of the color of your skin. Just win, baby—even if your name is Michael Jackson and you’re white. Just win.
Maybe Trump would have turned out differently if he’d gone to John Marshall and had a dog at some point in his to this point worthless miserable life. I think back to those days in the parking lot when all of us were dancing to this as one after a big win. I thought of myself as black because the black girls just thought I was it with the Michael Jackson shit.
People who have played sports understand what I’m writing here. It’s one of the reasons I believe sports are so integral in establishing relationships regardless of the color of your skin.