{"id":27203,"date":"2021-02-09T12:30:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T20:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=27203"},"modified":"2021-02-09T12:30:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T20:30:33","slug":"actions-over-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/actions-over-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Actions Over Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe past cannot change what is to come. The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past, and you can influence the future only by what you do today.\u201d[1]<\/a> (A part of a preseason team letter in 1968)<\/p>\n

In the 1940\u2019s, Critical Race Theory and its many proponents weren\u2019t available to John Wooden. I am not sure what he would say about Robin Diangelo\u2019s theory on white fragility or Ibram Kendi\u2019s view of being antiracist. He was a quiet man and seldom felt the need to voice an opinion on a vast number of hot topics. As in many aspects of his life, Wooden relied heavily on his actions speaking louder than his words. It was no different when it came to his religious beliefs or racism, despite the national racial tensions he faced during his time.<\/p>\n

While coaching at Indiana State in 1946, Wooden turned down an invitation to play in a thirty-two-team single elimination tournament. His reasoning was due to the tournament banning black players from playing. Wooden didn\u2019t offer a major public explanation for his decline which disappointed some of his black players. In future years as a coach, even though his black players respected him deeply, there were those that felt he should have leveraged his influential position more specifically on their behalf. \u00a0\u201cBut that was not his way. When he stood up for racial progress, Wooden did so firmly but quietly.\u201d[2]<\/a> On other occasions, such as when taking his team to a movie theater, he was informed that his black players would have to sit in the balcony separate from the rest of the team. The theater was informed they all sat together, or they didn\u2019t enter the theater. As he often did with the team, in restaurants that didn\u2019t allow blacks he simply stated \u201cIf he can\u2019t come in, nobody comes in.\u201d[3]<\/a> On one occasion, because of a restaurant refusing to serve his black players, he took his team to a grocery store to purchase food and they ate their meal as a team in a nearby park.[4]<\/a> Later in Wooden\u2019s career, in 1951 while coaching at UCLA, the team was playing in Kentucky. Due to the hotels being segregated in Lexington he booked a non-segregated hotel in Cincinnati which was 90 miles away. He never stated why nor did the team ask or question his decision. It was obvious to all the players that the Jim Crow laws of the period were a stark contrast to the environment Wooden set for his team.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Considering the location and time in which Wooden was raised, I find it interesting that he held the convictions for equality that he did. Indiana – though not in the deep south and not as steeped in the Jim Crow laws – was still a place that discriminated against blacks in many ways. Later in his life I believe Wooden would feel he fell short of his personal ideals and convictions in this area on more than one occasion. Looking at his leadership philosophies that he wrote about after retiring from coaching I can\u2019t but wonder if he wouldn\u2019t have been a little more verbal. Like it is with many of us, hindsight is 20\/20. I don\u2019t doubt that for John Wooden it was any different.<\/p>\n

Wooden breeched the color barrier when other teams around the country would not. He never explained to his players his views against racism nor did he discuss race with his team. His view when it came to basketball was the ball doesn\u2019t care what the color of the player is or who shoots it, and neither should the rest of the players.[6]<\/a> For him there was no difference between a black player and a white player. Nellie, Wooden\u2019s wife, was an understanding supporter in his disdain and contempt for bigotry, especially since she experienced discrimination as a Catholic growing up.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

John Wooden was born in 1910, he faced adulthood during the great depression, fought in WWII and maneuvered the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war. He tried to create a place of equality and dignity within the game he loved. Though he was far from perfect, he stood in his own way, during an unfortunate time in American history, against the tyranny of injustice. I don\u2019t believe Wooden saw himself as a civil rights advocate, just a man treating his fellowman with the dignity they deserved. Like us all he must have had his opinions and concerns on American events. But, unlike some he was a man of few words. He put a lot of merit on actions speaking louder than words. Right, wrong or indifferent he chose to focus on the areas for which he seemed to be best suited, coaching and leadership.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> John Wooden and Steve Jamison, The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership (New York: McGraw Hill, 207), 152<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em> (New York: St. Martin\u2019s Griffin, 2014), 85<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em>, 87<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em>, 88<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em>, 139<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em>, 87<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Seth Davis, Wooden: A Coach\u2019s Life<\/em>, 88<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe past cannot change what is to come. The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past, and you can influence the future only by what you do today.\u201d[1] (A part of a preseason team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1883,1227,35],"class_list":["post-27203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dmin-lgp10","tag-john-wooden","tag-leadership","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27204,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27203\/revisions\/27204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}