Bibliograph

Black ball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the NBA, Theresa Runstedtler

Type

Label

Black ball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the NBA, Theresa Runstedtler

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Black ball

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

499644

Responsibility statement

Theresa Runstedtler

Sub title

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the NBA

Summary

"Against the backdrop of ongoing massive resistance to racial desegregation and increasingly strident calls for Black Power, the NBA in the 1970s embodied the nation's imagined descent into disorder. The press and the public blamed young Black players for the chaos in the NBA, citing drugs, violence, greed, and criminality. The supposed decline of pro basketball became a metaphor for the first decades of integration in America: the rules of the game had changed, allowing more Black people onto a formerly white playing field, and now they were ruining everything. But Black Ball argues that this much-maligned period was pivotal to the rise of the NBA as the star-laden powerhouse we know today, thanks largely to the efforts of Black players in challenging the white basketball establishment of owners, coaches, and spectators. Spotlighting legendary players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bernard King, and Connie Hawkins, scholar Theresa Runstedtler expertly rewrites basketball's "Dark Ages," weaving together her deep knowledge of the game's key icons and institutions with incisive social and political analysis of the era. Black ballers created an aerial, improvisational, and creative style derived from the playground courts of their neighborhoods, laying the foundation for the explosive popularity and profitability of the league in subsequent decades. They also transformed labor in the pro-basketball world, filing lawsuits and organizing unions to demand better salaries and greater autonomy. Without their skills, style, and savvy, there would be no Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, or LeBron James today"--, Provided by publisher

resource.variantTitle

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the NBAKareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the generation that saved the soul of the National Basketball Association

Classification