USA TODAY Sports is publishing the series “28 Black Stories in 28 Days,' during BlackHistoryMonth We examine issues Black athletes continue to face in this nation. Here is one of those stories. Earl Lloyd, the NBA's first Black player, was a force.
.” We examine the issues, challenges and opportunities Black athletes and sports officials continue to face after the nation’s reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This is the third installment of the series., the first Black player to appear in an NBA game, encountered the ugly side of humanity. It didn’t stop him.
His parents were in the stands during one home game in Washington, D.C., and were exposed to numerous racist remarks. One fan, as 'Tough towns' didn't stop Earl Lloyd After one win, he was spat on. Didn’t stop him. A fan asked to see his tail. Didn’t stop him. Another fan in a different city told him to go back to Africa. That didn’t stop him, either.
"Indianapolis, Baltimore, Fort Wayne ... tough towns, man," Lloyd said in 1994, as reported in Sports Illustrated."When you went to Fort Wayne to play, you had to do some emotional yoga to get ready because you knew what was coming."Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis is portraying one of the first Black NBA players in new 'Sweetwater' film
Lloyd is a pioneer whom many may not know, but everyone should. While not as historically recognizable as Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play Major League Baseball, Lloyd was a contemporary barrier breaker. He made history when his team, the Washington Capitols, played the Rochester RoyalsLloyd’s NBA career lasted nine years. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and died in 2015.
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