News — Black Sports

All Nicole Pyles wanted to do on April 19 was to see her high school softball team win the final game against Jordan High School. However, the game turned sour for Pyles when she was asked to remove the beads in her braids in order to continue the game. The hustle of taking it off inevitably meant she had to cut her hair in the middle of the game in what seemed to be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

“My team, all of my friends were cutting out some of my beads. They snatched some of the beads out of my hair,” described Pyles. “I felt just so embarrassed and disrespected and just distraught at that point.”

The Durham, North Carolina native plays for her school, Hillside High School. She has used her braided hair with beads throughout all her games until that final home game of the season when the umpire said her hair obstructed him from seeing her name on her jersey.

The 16-year-old thought she could salvage the situation by tucking in her beaded braids into her shirt and sports bra to make her name visible but according to ABC News, that did not cut it either for the umpire.

The rule book of the game was pulled out and used as the basis for the second complaint. The umpire called Pyles out for violating the rules and the only way forward for her was to be compliant or risk the consequences that may befall her team.

“I felt disrespected and I felt humiliated,” Pyles said. “I truly felt like in my heart that it was not a choice … That’s my team, so I will stand by them no matter what,” she continued, adding, “Beads are not going to be the reason we don’t win a game.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) rules categorically state the required uniform for all athletes in high school across the nation. The rules ban student-athletes from wearing hair beads, plastic visors and bandanas on any softball field. “Further, according to NFHS Softball Rule 3-5-1, before the start of a contest, it is the responsibility of each coach to verify to the plate umpire that all his or her players are legally equipped and that players and equipment are in compliance with all NFHS rules,” a statement from the NHFS said.

Braids and their accessories are a part of Black culture and identity but Pyles was not ready to let that get in the way of her teams’ efforts throughout the season, especially in the final home game where they were in the lead. That is why she obliged and took them off, she said.

“My hair means a lot to me … I’m not going to let braids take away from who I am on the field and off the field, but it is a part of me and no, I don’t want that to be stripped away from me,” Pyles said.

According to the executive director of NFHS, Dr. Karissa Niehoff, the rules are not new as they are in place to ensure the safety of students during games. She however admits that the situation could have been handled better to eliminate the humiliation the teenager endured in front of her peers and audiences.

“The rule was never intended to address any kind of prohibition of a culture or ethnic group or even a hairstyle that might be most comfortable for a participant,” Niehoff said.

“It’s most unfortunate that her experience was one of the multiple games where it was okay, and now suddenly it’s not okay, and how that was communicated and then played out is just extremely unfortunate and that would never be our intention for that to happen,” Niehoff added.

Julius Pyles, the father of Pyles, is not having any of it because he believes authorities handled the situation abysmally, leaving his daughter distressed. To him, the rules are culturally insensitive and he is demanding a formal apology from the powers that be to his daughter and her teammates for the humiliation.

“I want the world to know how I feel as a Black man, and as a father that my child had to be ridiculed in order to play a simple game,” he said.

Durham Public Schools released a statement on Wednesday supporting Pyles and labeling the ban on hair beads “problematic” because the school district supports the CROWN Act, a legislation that bans hair discrimination, especially among Blacks. “DPS supports our student-athletes and their right to self-expression in a manner befitting their culture, consistent with safety in training and competition.”

“We believe the blanket ban on hair beads is culturally biased and problematic. We support our student, Nicole Pyles, and believe this rule should be amended. We frown on any rule or policy that promotes cultural insensitivity or does not reflect the ideals and principles of DPS and our employees,” the statement said.

In view of the recent happening, the NFHS Softball Rules Committee will meet in June to discuss and assess the guidelines pertaining to its athletes. Niehoff added that the committee will prioritize making the rules more inclusive so they become a true reflection of the diverse student-athletes nationwide.

“We would never intend for a young person to be feeling anything in the way of humiliation, embarrassment, certainly, an affront to their culture or their race or their ethnicity, their religious background,” Niehoff said.

In Detroit, Michigan, a group of girls from Cass Technical High School is braving the odds to be one of the best girls’ lacrosse teams in the state.

Cass Technical High school, a public magnet school in Detroit, has an elite list of alumni including former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Diana Ross, and Big Sean. The school, however, lacks sports options for girls.

Girls are disadvantaged to the point that there are only three sports for girls in a school with about 2,400 students. And when a lacrosse team was formed as recently as 2019, it was just for the boys.

Two girls, Deja Crenshaw and Alexia Carroll-Williams decided to advocate for an all-girls lacrosse team but that did not come on a silver platter. First, lacrosse is not a game that most Blacks would naturally opt to play, let alone Black girls. But that did not stop them from putting up a fight.

Only about 3% of women in college play in the predominantly White game, which is traditionally a Native American game, just like hockey.

“Lacrosse is something that you don’t usually hear about in urban cities. It’s really important that we give people the opportunity to play a sport that they may not have ever heard of,” Crenshaw said.

Thanks to Crenshaw and her colleagues, school authorities allowed the coach, Summer Aldred, to start a girls’ team in 2020. More than 30 girls turned up for the first practice. The odds were stacked against the girls’ team from inception as the school did not provide funding.

Aldred used her local connections to rake in some donations. A Cass Tech alumnus also donated $10,000, which set the ball rolling for the team’s first tryouts. 55 girls turned up and the team was optimistic about what was to come for them, but COVID-19 struck the world.

Everything the girls and Aldred had planned froze when schools were shut down. A year later, in March 2021, only 15 girls came for practice when schools started opening. Some parents were hesitant to let their girls out in public because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, recruitment was slow.

When things finally picked up for the girls’ lacrosse team at Cass Tech, the 18-member group, with 14 of them being Black, lost their first six games. The team regrouped and re-strategized and won against Avondale High School with a scoreline of 13-6.

All that the girl’s lacrosse team at Cass Technical High School wants now is an opportunity to play a sport they have grown to love and to bridge the diversity gap. Assistant coach Christianne Malone, who has played lacrosse since the 6th grade as one of a few Black girls, said the game has still not attained the level of diversity she would expect, The Guardian reported.

“It’s still not nearly as diverse as it could be by this point in time. Twenty years later, it’s almost the same demographics as it was when I was first playing,” Malone said.

For Zahria Liggans, the senior captain and team goalie, “It’s OK to step into these spaces where there might not be a lot of you because you can open up a channel for somebody else, for people who look like you.”

Master P has shown his versatility when it comes to music and wealth accumulation. He is carrying his son, Hercy Miller, along with him.

The rapper and entrepreneur has reportedly landed a $2.5 million endorsement deal for Miller, who will be attending Tennessee State University, a Historically Black University College. The deal will make him the highest-paid college basketball in U.S. history.

However, before the deal could materialize, they have to wait until the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) overhaul its rules to make student players to be paid for their name, image, or likeness, according to REVOLT TV.

“In August, the league is changing, the NCAA. You’ll be able to make money off your likeness [and] you’ll be able to do marketing deals,” Master P tells TMZ Sports. “I told Hercy he’ll probably be the highest-paid college player in college basketball history if he do this deal. Guys that are going to the G League, they’re not even getting that type of money.”

Master P continues: “So, right now I have a deal on the table for Hercy for $2.5 million. He never even played a lick of [college] basketball.”

NCAA in November 2020 announced a series of reforms to allow student-athletes to make money beginning in August, according to REVOLT TV. Master P is convinced the new NCAA rule will not only be a “game-changer,” but “it’s going to make kids want to stay in college too.”

Master P’s son is said to have chosen Tennessee State University over Division I college programs like LSU, Vanderbilt, UCLA, and the University of Southern California. “I feel like if I go to an HBCU, I can put a spotlight on for all the HBCUs around so that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a change. I want to make a difference,” Hercy previously told TMZ Sports. 

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound three-star helped his Minnehaha Academy RedHawks win the 2021 Minnesota Boys Basketball Class AAA State Championship in April. He also led his team with 24 points in the championship game. His brother Mercy scored 15 points.

“Like my dad’s saying for me, I work hard. I want to be able to make money off my own name,” Hercy said.

When Darryl Sharpton first joined the National Football League (NFL) in 2010, he was tipped as one of the promising stars to look out for. Unfortunately, injuries got in his way and he had to end his career in 2015. 

“I was miserable,” he said of his series of injuries that derailed his career in an interview. “I couldn’t take it.” He finished his career playing 47 games for the Texans recording 176 tackles and one sack. 

After quitting the NFL, Sharpton went into entrepreneurship, establishing e-commerce furniture companies Edloe Finch in 2017 and Albany Park in 2019 with his wife Jessica. He told CNBC that his companies have Amazon and Wayfair as wholesale buyers.

According to Sharpton, Albany Park is a sofa in a box brand that ships to buyers within three days. He and his wife design the furniture and have them manufactured in China and Malaysia. Edloe Flinch, on its website, says its “mission is to manufacture chic modern furniture without the typical industry mark-ups. Edloe Finch operates exclusively online with no retail stores, showrooms or salespeople — passing the savings to you!” 

Going into entrepreneurship, especially within the e-commerce space, was nothing out of the blue for Sharpton. It was a passion he had since his days at the University of Miami where he studied finance. He got an opportunity to sell furniture after purchasing a sofa from Craigslist.

After five years playing in the NFL, there is no gainsaying that the former linebacker is supervising a thriving business. He witnessed a boom in online sales occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic as many countries and states imposed lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Last year, Sharpton said his companies estimated to make $10 million in sales, up from $3.9 million in 2019. However, because of the pandemic, the revenue projection was pushed to $20 million. It could reach $100 million in 2022, he said. “With Covid-19, the online shopping trends have accelerated five years into the future,” Sharpton told CNBC. “We happen to be in a good space at a good time.”

The road has not been smooth sailing for the former NFL player. He recalled facing discrimination and racism while attending furniture fairs. He remembered taking an unusual step to use his wife’s face on the site so that his business wouldn’t suffer because he is Black. His wife is Asian and White, and a former oil and gas consultant.

“Today, I can’t imagine being in that place mentally but definitely at the time I was [unsure] if people would feel comfortable with buying furniture from me where they would maybe question everything – the quality, the validity,” Sharpton said.

The 34-year-old is looking to expand his business by accepting investors although he is torn between potential acquisition offers. 

Shaquille O’Neal is arguably one of the best things to happen in the NBA. The 7′ 1″, 325-pound giant, grew up in a low-income household situated in the ‘Projects’ of Newark, New Jersey.

Often called “Shaq’ or “The Big Aristotle”, the NBA legend was only an infant when his father was jailed on drug charges in Kentucky. When his father was eventually released from prison, he left his son’s life. And so he grew up with his mother and stepfather Phillip Harrison.

In high school, he helped his school to win the state championship. He subsequently went to LSU to study business and play basketball under head coach Dale Brown.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Shaq was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC player of the year, and became the NCAA men’s basketball player of the year in 1991. Also, he was named the college player of the year by the AP and UPI in 1991.

By 1992, Shaq had emerged as the No 1 overall draft pick in the 1992 NBA draft class. He became the first pick by the Orlando Magic and would spend 19 years in the NBA. He was not just an ordinary NBA player, he became one of the best centers in the league.

In the year 1992-93, Shaq won Rookie of the Year and led the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals. He moved to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. At Los Angeles Lakers, he helped the team to win three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. He won his fourth NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006 and also played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics before retiring in 2011.

Despite being one of the best players in NBA history, at the twilight of his professional career, he had his eyes fixed on his retirement. He often recounts a meeting that changed how he handled money.

“I met a gentleman one time and he had a piece of paper,” O’Neal told the Wall Street Journal. “He said, ‘This is $100.’ He then ripped the paper in half and then said, ‘Smart people invest this $50, and then they have $50 left. But the wealthy people take half of that $50 … [and] put that away.’ So I started doing that.” 

According to him, this was after he blew $1 million within 30 minutes after signing with the Orlando Magic. He also credited his late stepfather, whom he calls “dad,” for using scare tactics to get him disciplined with money. “Even when I was making a lot of money playing basketball, I would come home and see my father,” he told CNBC in 2018.

“And [he’d] be like, ‘Yeah, but what are you doing with your money?’ “Every time an athlete would do something crazy, I would get in trouble for it. So my father did a very great job using scare tactics.”

In his 19-year-old NBA career, he accrued wealth through contracts totaling $300 million. Now Shaq earns more than he did in his playing years. He now makes $20-$25 million per year. He makes his money from endorsement deals with companies such as Icy Hot, Gold Bond, Buick, Zales, and others. Also, he is the joint owner of 155 Five Guys Burgers restaurants, 17 Auntie Annie’s Pretzels restaurants,150 car washes, 40 24-hour fitness centers, a shopping center, a movie theater, and several Las Vegas nightclubs, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The former NBA star is reportedly worth $400 million.

One added advantage for Shaq through his NBA career and his entrepreneurial journey is his education. Despite all the fame and money he enjoyed, he ensured he pursued education to the highest level. Shaq returned to college to complete his Bachelor’s after retiring from NBA. He subsequently earned an MBA and most recently earned Ed.D.

His business degree, no doubt, helped him navigate the turbulence in the business world.

The humbling, beautiful yet tragic end of Senegalese-French man Jean-Pierre Adams is as riveting as it is melancholic. Before Marcel Desailly from Ghana, Kylian Mbappe from Cameroon-Algeria, Paul Pogba from Guinea and Mali’s Ngolo Kante had a path to the French national football team-Les Bleus (The Blues), Jean-Pierre Adams from Senegal had already begun that path.

He became a professional footballer with African ancestry from the West to join the Les Blues as prior admissions had come from North Africa or Martinique.

Adams, born on March 10, 1948, was a central defender who has been in a coma since March 17, 1982, due to medical negligence following an operation handled by a trainee at Lyon Hospital. What is outstanding is the love displayed by his wife Bernadette who has refused to order his euthanization (assisted suicide or painless death) believing that he will rise from his coma one day.

Despite it being tasking, Bernadette has devoted her time, resources and life to tending to Adams. She changes his clothing, speaks to him and has even informed him that their two children Laurent (born 1969) and Frédéric (1976) have children of their own making him a grandfather.

Bernadette’s resolve must have stemmed from Adams being able to breathe on his own without the assistance of a machine despite being in a vegetative state.

The man from Dakar, Senegal, had wrapped up his playing years with 22 caps for the French team. His footballing career began when his family sent him for further studies at Collège Saint-Louis. He was hosted by a Jourdain family in Loiret and here, his love for football which was suppressed back home for studies flourished so much that he was nicknamed the “White Wolf”.

After basic schooling, a factory work followed at Montagris but Adams has had his fair share of crashes and mishaps, including a serious knee injury which could have scuppered his professional football hopes. A stint with l’Entente Bagneaux-Fontainebleau-Nemours (EBFN) followed. He subsequently headed to Military service and then a recommendation to Nîmes.

At a party, he found the lovely Bernadette and although a Black man and a European marriage was frowned upon even if decriminalized, their love triumphed with their 1969 marriage. Of his physical attributes, Adams was described as a force of nature; strong physically, patriotic and determined.

It was, however, his central defensive partnership with Marius Trésor forming the “Garde Noire” – “Black Guard” – that became famous.

Adams played for Paris Saint-Germain and Nice, narrowly failing to win the French title with the latter again, while also knocking Barcelona out of the 1973-4 UEFA Cup. According to Bernadette, Adams loved Brazilian music, cigars, clothing and bling, adding that he was humorous and lived life to the brim. Ending his career in the French divisions, Adams reckoned he could forge a path with youth coaching, thus, on March 17, 1982, he set off to Dijon for three days of studying and training. However, Adams damaged a tendon in his leg.  

He went to Lyon hospital where he met a doctor who loved football and assured him he had to undergo a knee operation on an agreed date but when Adams showed up on the appointed day, there was a strike by doctors and nurses.

Not being an emergency, Adams, aged 34, should have returned but he was given an anaesthetic. This was to numb him for the procedure for a few hours but rather Adams slipped into an eternal coma when the anaesthetist made a mistake which starved the footballer’s brain of oxygen.

Since a strike was in effect, it emerged the anaesthetist was overseeing eight operations at once. Compounding the issue, a trainee also put Adams in a wrong bed.

It’s been 37 years since the once jovial man has been in a coma. His last word to his wife before he left for the surgery was “It’s all fine, I’m in great shape.” But soon Bernadette was summoned on phone; she remained by her husband’s bedside for five days and five nights hoping for a change in his condition. By November, he was moved north to Chalon, where Bernadette was by his side on a daily basis.

When the hospital said they could no longer look after Adams, he was moved to a custom-built home Bernadette had set up, naming it Mas du bel athléte dormant — the House of the Beautiful Sleeping Athlete. Support came from Nîmes and PSG, both offering 15,000 francs ($15,000) while the French football federation gave her F6,000 per week after an initial contribution of F25,000 in December 1982.

In addition, Adams’s former clubs played charity matches. The Variétés Club de France, a charitable organisation still running today and backed by Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Jean-Pierre Papin, played a fixture in the comatose player’s honour against a group of his footballing friends. Legally, it took seven years before the Seventh Chamber of Correctional Tribunal in Lyon found the doctors guilty of involuntary injury. The anaesthetist and trainee were given a one-month suspended sentence and a fine that translates to $815.

Each day, Adams, now 71, is washed and dressed by Bernadette, who maintains that her husband still has some cognitive function.

“Jean-Pierre feels, smells, hears, jumps when a dog barks. But he cannot see,” she said in 2007.

Although Adams suffered significant damage to his brain, he curiously does not age.

What of ending it all so she can be free?

“It’s unthinkable! He cannot speak and it’s not for me to decide for him,” Bernadette said, rounding up a tale shining light on human endurance on Adams part and devotion on his wife’s part.

Perhaps the true test will come should Bernadette die before Adams, then the fate of the French man from Senegal will be decided.