NBA Champs Craig Hodges & Samaki Walker Speak Out

Edge of Sports

Dave Zirin / The Nation

News, Sports News, Sports, History, Politics

4.8 • 616 Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2015

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, we learn what it’s like to be blackballed from your job for speaking your mind, and what it means to play pro ball…in Syria. Craig Hodges was a three-point specialist during the dawn of the Jordan-era Bulls, who won their first of six titles in 1991. As the team visited the White House for its obligatory photo-op, Hodges donned a Dashiki to highlight his African heritage and hand-delivered then-President Bush a letter about racism in America. The next time Hodges came up for a contract, Hodges found himself frozen out of the league by agents and teams alike. Hodges tells the inside story of that consequential time in his life, and gives his thoughts on present-day Chicago, which is reeling after the police murder of Laquan McDonald and the subsequent cover-up. We also hear from Samaki Walker, NBA Champion with the Lakers in 2002 who finished his playing career in Syria, of all places. Walker is the only NBA vet to suit up in Syria, and shares an incredibly unique perspective on their culture. Then, Dave reads a column calling out Donald Trump’s dangerous rhetoric on Muslims, and finally, the ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes the US Women’s National Soccer Team who refused to play on a substandard field, giving their fans a lesson in real backbone. Dave Columns: 1) http://www.thenation.com/article/why-donald-trump-wants-to-render-muslim-athletes-invisible/2) http://www.thenation.com/article/laquan-mcdonald-and-the-politics-of-black-athletes/ 3) US Women's National Soccer Team statement: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/uswnt-match-canceled-field-conditions/ Craig Hodges: http://twitter.com/craighodgesnbaSamaki Walker: http://twitter.com/samaki_walker & http://samakiwalker.com Tweet Dave at https://twitter.com/edgeofsportsEmail [email protected] Music:Alan Parsons - Sirius (Pretty Lights Remix) https://soundcloud.com/prettylightsSonido Berserk - Oh! https://soundcloud.com/sonidoberzerk, https://soundcloud.com/tentoesturboBaby Namboos - Ancoats 2 Zambia - Dillinja Remix (Kator Footwork Bootleg) https://soundcloud.com/katorskidnbFranjazzco - Get Up http://soundcloud.com/franjazzco, https://soundcloud.com/tentoesturboJohn Coltrane - Giant Steps Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Edge of Sports the podcast. I'm Dave Ziron. We're doing the show this week from my house in
0:05.5	Tacoma Park, Maryland. Welcome to my home, everybody. We got a hell of a show this week. I've never been more
0:11.1	excited about a show than this one because we are talking to two of my heroes. The first one is Craig Hodges.
0:17.9	Craig Hodges played in the NBA for 10 seasons. He won two NBA titles with the Bulls
0:22.2	in 91 and 92. He's a three-time three-point contest champion. He was also drummed out of the league.
0:29.8	You see, the Bulls were invited to the White House following their first championship. And during the
0:34.2	visit, Craig Hodges, who dressed in a dashiki for the event to draw attention
0:38.6	to his African heritage, gave a handwritten letter to George H.W. Bush. The letter urged the
0:44.4	president to do more to fight racism and economic inequality in the United States. And when he did it,
0:50.7	it was a big deal. At that point in time, I was a T-time World Champion and a three-time three-point champion,
0:57.7	and I couldn't get anybody to represent me, couldn't get a team to bring me in.
1:01.3	So, effectively, that was the end of my career.
1:04.2	It upset all the wrong people, but he has no regrets about doing it.
1:08.6	And we're going to talk to Craig Hodges about why he did it
1:11.0	and also what he thinks about the current state of affairs in Chicago.
1:15.4	We also have NBA veteran and one-time lottery pick Samaki Walker.
1:19.2	But we're not talking to Samaki Walker because of his time playing with Kobe on the Lakers
1:23.5	or his famous white suit with matching top hat that he wore to the NBA draft.
1:28.4	Now, we're talking to Samaki Walker because he was the first NBA player to ever suit up for a team in Syria.
1:34.3	But first, let's hear an excerpt from our interview with Craig Hodges about that moment, that fateful day at the White House when he arrived with the Chicago Bulls to celebrate their championship.
1:45.0	What was going through your mind that morning when you chose to put on the Dysheki,
1:49.8	what you were thinking about when you were standing in the Rose Garden with the president?
	...

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