Dr. Martin Luther King, Sports Have Much in Common

Today is the 83rd commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth.

He dedicated his life, and ultimately lost it, fighting for the principle upon which this nation was founded—that all men are created equal, with God-given rights. He believed that people should be evaluated on their abilities and actions rather than the color of their skin.

At its best, sport is one of the things in life that follows Dr. King's principles. In these days of accusations of sexual crimes, illegal drug use and steroids, it is sometimes hard to see the sheer beauty of sports. 

Given the bad press all sports have received over the last several years, it is understandable that all of us forget how good and beautiful sports can be. But at their best, sports are blind to the race, national origin or any other factor that might otherwise define a person. They are only interested in ability—nothing more or less.

Sport also binds people together like nothing else—except military service in war. Having coached semi-pro football, I have seen this close up.

In my locker room, there was no race. There was only team. We worked together for a common goal—winning the title. Nothing else mattered.

When a coach is working in the best interest of his team, he doesn’t care if a player is sky-blue pink with a yellow spot, the best player plays. 

That is the way I ran my teams, and most coaches I know do as well.

It is the hours of sweat and a working toward a single cause that brings players together. That kind of colorblind fellowship and common effort toward a shared goal is exactly the kind of thing that Dr. King worked so hard to promote. 

Are there teams and coaches that have agendas that prevent the best player from starting? Of course there are. But the desire to win makes most coaches and teams colorblind.

A coach that picks players for any reason other than ability to play will risk losing the locker room. Players know who can and who cannot play. They will resist any coach that violates the best player principle.

On this celebration of Dr. King and his legacy, my wish is that we all recognize and promote the best of sports, and in our lives in general. If we do, Dr. King’s dream of a colorblind society may come to pass.

That is what I think. Tell us what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has done color commentary on radio for college football and basketball, and has scouted talent.

He edits http://fryingpansports.com and hosts the Internet radio version of News, Notes and Rumors, M-Th at 6 PM EST, on http://mooheadradio.com/2.0/. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ and a nonfiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.