“It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends narrating this interesting documentary about their moment in time and calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke “Uncle Toms” and, to some degree, disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic and commitment to each other and to me. I should have guessed there was something regrettable in the documentary when I received a Twitter apology from Jalen before its premiere. I am aware Jalen has gone to some length to explain his remarks about my family in numerous interviews, so I believe he has some admiration for them.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.”
Hill ended the letter with a final jab at the Fab Five’s legacy with this, “I am proud of my family. I am proud of my Duke championships and all my Duke teammates. And, I am proud I never lost a game against the Fab Five.” Grant Hill’s full response was measured, thoughtful and echoes the thoughts of many African Americans who question why some blacks define “blackness” by adversity. However, I do wonder if we’re beginning to get off point here given the fact that Jalen Rose was giving his perspective as a 17-years-old. On a sidenote, did anyone else wonder what Grant Hill meant with this sentence, “I wish for you the restoration of the bond that made you friends, brothers and icons”? It seems as though he’s hinting that the Fab Five’s relationships today aren’t rock solid. Interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment