Basketball was the result of a request to find an activity for "incorrigible " men during the winter with limited space. It wasn't thought it might solve all the world's problems, but the author David Hollander feels it sets a model the rest of us would profit to follow. A mix of politics, psychology and sociology well reasoned that I cannot do justice to with this post. I will cover a number of points raised and suggest it is worth reading even for non basketball fans.
Within a week of its invention women were invited to watch and shortly after Naismith himself encouraged them to take part. Within a very few years through the YMCA network it spread to China, India, France, Australia, Brazil and all over North America. In some quarters some men would not play the game as women also played it. Times have changed and some credit must be given to women themselves.
A goal was to make the game affordable and accessible. Naismith noted that many sports used small balls such as cricket, hockey lacrosse and tennis, but required another piece of equipment to maneuver that ball, so opted for a ball to be handled by hand. The sport could be played in a gym with a basket nailed at each end. Apparently he was aware of a Mayan game using a hoop turned on its side.
The ease of accessibility allowed many to play basketball who had felt excluded from other sports. Jews, Catholics and a wide variety of immigrants flocked to the game. Naismith is credited with mentoring two successful basketball coaches, Phog Allen and a black man John McLendon. In the U.S. many blacks found basketball as an outlet.
Balance of individual and collective with each player having the same opportunities and responsibilities.
Play has been discarded by many, but is essential for human happiness and even productivity. Johan Huizinga is referred to. Basketball being accessible and affordable is one significant source.
Wynton Marsalis when asked to explain affinity between basketball and jazz (two activities associated with African Americans); "<when> improvisation meets form in the context between a groove and rhythm ... done well all players in the ensemble transmute, creating something and being something none could be without the others".
PeacePlayers International was formed after Stanley Tuohey went to Belfast, Northern Ireland to play professional basketball and run clinics for Protestants and Catholics. A local policeman was so impressed with how the two factions played together and suggested this might work in South Africa. Together with his brother they formed PeacePlayers International in 2001 and went to South Africa where they found similar results. They have also set up clinics in Cyprus, Israel/West Bank and the United States with over 70,000 participants. They have learned that diverse groups can learn to get along and respect each other with basketball as an important tool.
During the COVID pandemic the 2020 election appeared to be very difficult to manage. Mail in voting was perfectly legal, but Trump had commanded the postmaster general to remove postal boxes and declared mail voter fraud to be guarded against. LeBron James launched a non profit organization, "More than a Vote" to find ways to make it more comfortable to vote. He helped set up arenas and stadiums as safe places to vote. He also signed up over 10,000 volunteer poll workers.
Somalia has a scary reputation with violent gangs who do not believe in the rights of women. Sports in general and basketball in particular were regarded as illegal and sacrilegious. Some women defy death threats to play basketball. Ilwad Ellman, daughter of peace activist Ellman Ali, has formed the Ellman Peace Centre that concentrates on helping women who had suffered from gender abuse. Basketball plays a significant role. A clinic attended by 500 females was partnered by Giants of Africa, a group formed by Masai Ujiri,, president of the Toronto Raptors. His support for the Nigerian women's basketball team that surprised their opponents at the recent Olympics. Basketball is having a rippling effect in Africa.
Mao Zedong- when in power in 1949 expelled everything western except basketball. Basketball was a key component in the Chinese military. NBA programs are shared by about 640 million Chinese, more than the entire American population. In 2019 Daryl Morey offended the Chinese government by supporting the Hong Kong protesters a major dispute resulted. A lot of heads rolled, but the author thought an opportunity was lost. The game was in the middle of struggles regarding freedom, but was loved by all parties.
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were one of the NBA's rivalries that spurred tv. ratings. Larry Bird was white and raised in a poor rural area. Magic Johnson was from a poor urban background. As rivals they avoided knowing each other. A tv. project brought them together and encouraged them to see each other and even become friends. Of course what they had in common was a great love of basketball and talent that let them rise to the top. It is easy to understand poor blacks would pursue something as accessible as basketball, but poor whites had similar ambitions.
The author ends with this; "Yes we know gravity is part of our earthly condition. Yes we must jump in order to fly. It is high time for us to jump".
One example of adaptability not mentioned was to allow a wide variety of handicapped players a classified system developed to maintain competitive balance. If a player or players were substituted it was necessary to replace with a player or players with the same classification or lower. A professional league tried to use a total team height restriction so that tall players could be balanced with shorter players.
Yes I am very biased and I do believe basketball is an activity to encourage, but a few other things will have to be done to fix the mess we are in. David Hollander is a very intelligent man who has gathered a lot of politics, psychology and sociology and tied to basketball.that is very interesting http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/my-60-year-love-affair-with-basketball.html
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