The NFL’s long-standing tagline re-imagined by Sean Pamphilon. This video aired in 2007.

Unvarnished, off-the-cuff conversation with Ricky Williams in 1999.

 

 

 

 

i walked into work the other day

unobstructed,

i passed by

the cubicles of people who

greeted me with warmth

while other’s avoided eye contact

in a way they thought was sly/

 

i began to wonder

‘what if the people who avoided eye contact’

petitioned in an effort

to prevent me from getting my job…

what if they called me ‘nigger’

behind my back

as my talent

helped buy them the cars

which drove them to fancy restaurants–

restaurants which made me eat out of sight,

never within earshot/

 

just go play baseball and be gracious

they told him

be silent/whatever you do, please

just be silent

that was the deal in 1947…

 

/once denied access to manicured fields

and basic levels of dignity

now they put him on a pedestal

in the afternoon

and hid him from access

after dark/

 

eyes greeted him with resentment,

skepticism/with awe…

 

hypocricy embedded in the uniform

that covered his body,

still, he played–

/he would not be a ‘cool papa’ bell

or a josh gibson–

he would be…

JACKIE

 

you ever heard of martin dihigo?

he played baseball/once upon a time–

 

dihigo, was serviceable

and irrelevant

every time he entered

and exited

a negro league ballfield…

 

you ever heard of a guy named rube foster?

rube didn’t have a branch rickey

but he played for,

managed

and ran his own teams/

 

was rube foster the black christy mathewson?

no, he was the black rube foster

/and he made the baseball hall of fame

without ever playing a game of

organized

baseball/

 

before and after jackie,

you see

do you see?

 

jackie played,

he played–

jackie robinson

played aggressive-passive

baseball/

he could not react to insults

or injustices….

 

steal bases,

drive your opponents to distraction,

while putting your team first

and peace of mind

second…

that was the deal–

you should know these things

about jackie robinson/

 

pioneers make declarations–

they pass before their time,

and sometimes these men

wear a boys uniform

in a coward’s world

a world that reluctantly looked him in the eye

for the first time

on april 15th, 1947…

 

he was more than just

 

the first black man

to play

within self-righteous

white lines–

he had to absorb

hatred and loathing

as if breathing in air–

he had to endure and say nothing…

 

/for that was the deal

 

you ever walked up to a fountain

that said, ‘you can’t’

or

a bathroom that said,

                                    ‘don’t even think about it!

/his fate

decided by an institution which

ignored

and suppressed his kind for years

for it was in their

best interests

 

the best interests of baseball…

 

still, he played/jackie played

his interesting play was the foundation

for the future

and current

best interests of baseball/

 

suddenly

 

hank aaron was interesting

willie mays,

mccovey and stargell

were of interest as well/

bob gibson,

rod carew,

reggie jackson–

they were all…

 

interesting

 

do you think junior griffey

plays an interesting game of baseball?

/fifty years ago yesterday

he wouldn’t even garner

the interest of

the baseball encyclopedia

 

are you getting the point?

 

/jackie robinson was beyond interesting

he was mezmerizing,

captivating, he was

trailblazing…

 

/ten years he played in a league

which was organized,

therefore

recognized–

fifty years ago today,

 

they let him play,

for the first time/

i walked into work the other day

unobstructed,

i passed by

the cubicles of people who

greeted me with warmth

while other’s avoided eye contact

in a way they thought was sly/

 

i began to wonder

‘what if the people who avoided eye contact’

petitioned in an effort

to prevent me from getting my job…

what if they called me ‘nigger’

behind my back

as my talent

helped buy them the cars

which drove them to fancy restaurants–

restaurants which made me eat out of sight,

never within earshot/

 

just go play baseball and be gracious

they told him

be silent/whatever you do, please

just be silent

that was the deal in 1947…

 

/once denied access to manicured fields

and basic levels of dignity

now they put him on a pedestal

in the afternoon

and hid him from access

after dark/

 

eyes greeted him with resentment,

skepticism/with awe…

 

hypocricy embedded in the uniform

that covered his body,

still, he played–

/he would not be a ‘cool papa’ bell

or a josh gibson–

he would be…

JACKIE

 

you ever heard of martin dihigo?

he played baseball/once upon a time–

 

dihigo, was serviceable

and irrelevant

every time he entered

and exited

a negro league ballfield…

 

you ever heard of a guy named rube foster?

rube didn’t have a branch rickey

but he played for,

managed

and ran his own teams/

 

was rube foster the black christy mathewson?

no, he was the black rube foster

/and he made the baseball hall of fame

without ever playing a game of

organized

baseball/

 

before and after jackie,

you see

do you see?

 

jackie played,

he played–

jackie robinson

played aggressive-passive

baseball/

he could not react to insults

or injustices….

 

steal bases,

drive your opponents to distraction,

while putting your team first

and peace of mind

second…

that was the deal–

you should know these things

about jackie robinson/

 

pioneers make declarations–

they pass before their time,

and sometimes these men

wear a boys uniform

in a coward’s world

a world that reluctantly looked him in the eye

for the first time

on april 15th, 1947…

 

he was more than just

 

the first black man

to play

within self-righteous

white lines–

he had to absorb

hatred and loathing

as if breathing in air–

he had to endure and say nothing…

 

/for that was the deal

 

you ever walked up to a fountain

that said, ‘you can’t’

or

a bathroom that said,

                                    ‘don’t even think about it!

/his fate

decided by an institution which

ignored

and suppressed his kind for years

for it was in their

best interests

 

the best interests of baseball…

 

still, he played/jackie played

his interesting play was the foundation

for the future

and current

best interests of baseball/

 

suddenly

 

hank aaron was interesting

willie mays,

mccovey and stargell

were of interest as well/

bob gibson,

rod carew,

reggie jackson–

they were all…

 

interesting

 

do you think junior griffey

plays an interesting game of baseball?

/fifty years ago yesterday

he wouldn’t even garner

the interest of

the baseball encyclopedia

 

are you getting the point?

 

/jackie robinson was beyond interesting

he was mezmerizing,

captivating, he was

trailblazing…

 

/ten years he played in a league

which was organized,

therefore

recognized–

fifty years ago today,

 

they let him play,

for the first time/