Comments not about Race

In an interview on ESPN, Jalen responded by saying “As a 17 year old kid recruit that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like I was a inner city kid from the public school league that’s waking up using kerosene heaters for the heat in the house, boiling water to wash up, sleeping with hoodies and skully’s. At the time I felt like I wasn’t good for certain stages. That’s just a fact. But it also was something I used as motivation. Now I understand what their program represents, because I’m a mature adult. I know that it is a private a school, I know that they do recruit players from well to do affluent families, but also, I understand some of the reason why. So they don’t see some of their players selling goods, selling their rings, selling goods for money. Also they want represent the program right way. I get all that But that’s the minority, I was speaking for the majority, and that’s how I exactly felt then. It wasn’t an individual; it wasn’t somebody that’s 20 years later. But at the time as a recruit that’s 100 percent how I felt.”

To be honest with you the documentary made me cry. It reminded me of a good and bad time in my life. The kerosene heaters and nights with no lights or food made it bad. But the people that help me get through it made it good. I could listen to some Scarface or Wu Tang. I could watch Mike Tyson or Michael Jordan perform. Or I could watch the Fab Five play. These people just didn’t represent me, they were me, and after watching and hearing Jalen Rose, he confirmed that.

This Article First Appeared in The Black Truth News Volume Issue 4 April 2011

 

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