45 years in sports; color barriers fall for Black athletes, but big hurdles to the front office and "club" sports remain - Looking Back - 45th Anniversary Edition

Ebony, Nov, 1990 by Arthur Ashe

Two benchmark events in 1972 had a profound effect on minorities: Title IX of the Education Amendments Act and the advent of free agency. Simply stated, Title IX mandated more athletic opportunities for women at colleges which received federal funds. Basketball and track and field squads began recruiting Black females by the dozens. This trend paralleled the feeble but permanent entre for Black athletes at White Southern universities. The result was an exlosion of chances at critical television exposure at famous schools juxtaposed with a dilution of team strength at Black colleges.

Free agency was a blessing and a curse. Honest bargaining suddenly raised player salaries by multiples of two, three, and sometimes five. Conversations among players changed from analysis of the opposition to analysis of balance sheets and agents. Bad investments, unscrupulous agents, poor advice and drug addiction soon ruined the athletic and financial careers of many unsophisticated and naive minority stars. The fact that the three television networks were now competing with proliferating cable systems just compounded the magnitude of the problem. Athletes were the most visible among the most affluent, and frequently the most ill-equipped in Black America to deal with this sudden largess. A poll taken by the Miam Herald newspaper in the mid-1980s of attitudes of Black youths toward sports showed that of the top 25 role models named, 12 were athletes; White youths named only 3 in their top 25.

Still, the breakthroughs continued. Lee Elder became the first Black to play in the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. The author became the first Black male to win the men's tennis singles title at Wimbledon. Debi Thomas kept us all on edge while capturing a bronze medal in the figure skating event at the 1988 Winter Olympics. George Brabham won a Professional Bowlers Association event. Calvin Peete was a leading money winner on the PGA Tour. John Thompson coached the Georgetown University basketball team to the NCAA title. Michael Jordan appeared on a Wheaties box. Art Shell became the first Black head coach in the NFL. Bert Lee and Peter Bynoe became the first Black owners of an NBA franchise. And Eddie Robinson at Grambling State University became the winningest coach ever in college football.

What began as tentative steps toward full participation in sports by Blacks back in 1946 have now become headlong and confident dashes to see who can soar higher, faster and farther for more and more prize money. The consummate athlete of the 1990s exudes confidence in his or her craft. The day is not far off when the world will see Black athletes participating in events sponsored by Black companies, being coached by Blacks on Black-owned teams in games being televised by Black-owned cable systems with Black announcers. The year 2035--another 45 years from now--should be very interesting.

PHOTO : Black athletes have always used their creativity, daring and style to become champions of