Many future scholars and prominent members of society such as W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and others, all attended or taught at HBCUs as they were unable to attend PWIs, otherwise known as predominantly white institutions while dealing with the segregation of their time. Yet as society progressed, others like Oprah Winfrey, Thurgood Marshall, Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, Medgar Evers, Katherine Johnson, Kamala Harris, and more, have been able to find themselves, the pathway to their careers, build stable networks, and jumpstart their businesses thanks to the lessons they learned at these institutions.

Over the last 10+ years, HBCUs have produced many more famous alumni and have grown in popularity online, but, they have also faced a cornucopia of challenges. From lower enrollment numbers, deteriorating residence halls, athletics being cut, to inadequate or misplaced funding, and some, unfortunately, have had to close their doors altogether.

Corey Arvinger & Justin Phllips by Tim Carver

However, 2020 has come to be quite the saving grace. We’ve seen numerous campaigns and movements that have been pushing for more support for Black businesses and communities. Additionally, that same support has reverberated into the case for why HBCUs remain so important and has spawned its own, similar, movement. Athletes have taken it upon themselves to insert the conversation into mainstream media by publicly speaking about HBCUs, committing to play there, or customizing and wearing their names and colors both off and on the court. While these conversations are great starting points, more of them, and more financial support, will be needed to push them further.

Enter Corey Arvinger & Justin Phillips, who met on the campus of Howard University in 2012 and not long after formed a bond that resulted in co-founding Support Black Colleges. Their company began as a clothing line with the sole mission of uplifting, inspiring, and encouraging others to support their local black colleges. It since has grown into a national phenomenon being worn by celebrities such as Chris Paul, Teyana Taylor, Da Brat, Missy Elliot, and more. The duo even appeared on NBA on TNT Tuesday, at the request of WNBA superstar Candace Parker, to discuss building more awareness and garnering support for HBCUs. Since SBCs inception, they’ve been able to give thousands in donations to HBCUs as well as employ many college ambassadors.

Recently, I spoke with them in an exclusive interview for “The Alternative Road Podcast”  about how rigorous the year 2020 has been, what sparked the idea of SBC, how they’re supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and what plans they have in the future for their business.

This interview has been condensed and edited. You can listen, in totality, via the podcast link below.

Chris Paul wearing North Carolina A&T Air Jordans. Photo Credit: Support Black Colleges

How has quarantine been for you individually?

Corey Arvinger: For me, it’s been cool, I’ve been chilling. At first, at the beginning of quarantine, I’d do a little painting and stuff, and that kind of went out the door pretty fast. But me and Justin have been growing the business and we’re being super creative. It’s brought us a lot closer to our staff and really understanding what’s going on with our business.

Justin Phillips: Yeah, for me I’ve been on the same. Before quarantine, I really didn’t do too much anyway so it gave me an excuse to be myself even more. I’ve been relaxing in the house and just working. I’m the type of guy who will get on YouTube all day or read all day so quarantine has made it a lot easier to continue to do what I was doing already.

How has quarantine impacted SBC’s business so far?:

CA: For me, I think it’s been one of the best things that can happen, honestly. We’re doing less events which is kind of a bummer but it gives us more time to sit in the warehouse and go through our processes of how things work. On top of the quarantine, with the George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter stuff going on, people are now buying Black and supporting Black so we’re already doing what we were doing beforehand and now it’s helpful to us because people want to support Black businesses. So us, being a small Black business, our business has grown. We’ve been able to bring in more staff and hire more individuals. It’s been great time for us. Unfortunately, this is how it had to happen but we’re grateful that we were able to move forward in this time and not move back or lose out on anything.

Clearly it changed my life because how I make my living is based off my experience at Howard University.

JP: Yeah, at first in the beginning of the quarantine I was kind of worried. I remember the days before everything kind of started off and I remember thinking, are we going to lose sales with people spending their money differently? It was a little tricky but I realize that people…A few days before all of it really hashed out I was worried that we weren’t going to make a lot of money because I thought that a lot of people would be holding onto their money rather than spending it. Turns out that folks got their stimulus [check] and the little money they did have they were being more cognizant of where they were spending it. So they were only spending it with Black businesses. So going from what I thought wasn’t going to happen we ending up making too much and tripling, quadrupling, the business in the first month of quarantine which was very interesting.

What made you decide Howard for college and what in that experience changed your lives for the better?

CA: My mom went to Howard and even though she went, it wasn’t necessarily something I was thinking about all the time. I didn’t know where I was going. My initial schools I wanted to go to were Duke, [North] Carolina, or [North Carolina] A&T. When I was visiting those places I just didn’t feel like it was home. When I got to Howard [University] it felt like home immediately. It was one of things were, I thought, okay I’m out of state so it wouldn’t be cheap but…I had to leave school. I had to leave for a year and was doing this crowdsourcing / GoFundMe thing that I raised $3200 and ended being on BET on TV and it was this really big thing. That experience, the struggle, and success taught me how to be a go-getter and not take no for answer and I think that the HBCU experience, specifically at Howard, really got me to be a dog when it comes to business and getting to the money and the hustle mentality. I think that’s something that you can’t get anywhere else. I definitely think that played a huge role into who I am today, and obviously, starting the business next since it’s an HBCU business. Clearly, it changed my life because how I make my living is based off my experience at Howard University.

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JP: I was the first one to go to college in my family at all and I didn’t know too much in general. Before I got on campus I couldn’t tell you like about a fraternity, or I didn’t know that the bands were like a big deal…I knew nothing at all. I actually chose Howard because I got accepted to Baylor, University of North Texas, and Howard, those are the only 3 schools I applied to and I got into all 3. There was a program at Baylor where you stayed on campus for a week and they had us doing some type of wild rocket science and it was just too hard and I said there is a 0% chance I’ll be going here at all. So, that was ruled out. Then University of North Texas I was still debating and I ended up going to get a haircut and my barber, I was telling him I’m either going to Howard or the University of North Texas. He was like, go out of state. You’ve been in Texas your whole life, choose Howard. I don’t know if he knew anything about if it was an HBCU or anything of the nature at all but I just ended up taking his advice and going and that’s really all it was. But as far as it making me who I am or changing anything for the better, I always say that like it just made me more of who I am because coming into college or school in general I was always mindful of myself. I was always that guy who was going to say what I thought and be who I am, and I don’t really care too much what other people think, I’m just being myself. So when I got to a place where there were a bunch of people who look like me I was surrounded by love, you know just black folks in general, I just became more of who I was already. That’s really all the HBCU experience did for me. But you learn so much stuff like business, how to finesse, you learn how to value yourself and who you are, and your history just different things like that. The biggest thing I probably took from it was to continue to be yourself and that’s really all it was.

Howard has been in the news recently for basketball prospect Makur Makur deciding to attend there this fall. How do you guys feel about him attending Howard?

JP: I think it’s pretty cool. It’s one of those things where it was needed to be brought up in conversation. So essentially, the choice that he made was hey, I’m a leader and I’m willing to become a legend. That’s essentially what his choice was. It opened the flood gates and doors for Black kids all over the world to say oh wow this top prospect went to an HBCU. We don’t know if he’s going to pan out or go to the league or anything like that but it’s definitely a possibility since his brothers, or I think 1 or 2 of his family members are in the league already. It just gives hope in general. So now Black kids all over are saying hey I’m a top prospect I don’t need to go to a Duke or North Carolina or a PWI in general. I can go to a school where the people look like me, they support me, and I can go to the league too…I think all of his choices were solidifying him as that pioneer that’s willing to make a change and open the gates for anyone else behind him who’s brave enough to follow in his footsteps.

CA: I’ll talk more form a Howard perspective and less from an everybody perspective. Howard games already be lit and we don’t even be that good sometimes. So to have a player like that?! It’s gonna be super lit! The games already be crazy so I think it’ll give him that fan fare and that true Howard identity that we’re known for it’s going to bring like a lot of people to the Burr [Gynamisum].

Makur Maker Commits to Howard University

What does global outreach look like for SBC?

CA: To me, it depends on a bunch of different things but it comes down to our focus and what you want to do. I think it would be cool to see an HBCU in a different country, that would be awesome. Based off of the merits of the brand we built, and another country saying I think we need one of these over here. That history and culture in a different country and maybe providing programs so that if someone is studying abroad or overseas in that respective country they can get that same HBCU experience. That’s just a random thing that I just thought of that would be super cool. When you talk about outreach on a global level how much more global can you get than a school that fits your direct business and brand in another country?

JP: For me, I always think about, when you talk about the global expansion that it’s more about building the brand as big as possible. Whenever we talk about where we’re trying to take things or how can we be the Black Nike or how can we make as much money as possible to donate it back to a Howard, or A&T, or any type of school so we can fund the programs. At the end of the day, these kids don’t want to go to these schools if they think they can become a better basketball player or student somewhere else. So how can we make as much money as possible to get our students, that look like us, to come to our schools and feel like they’re not losing anything? So our goal, in my eyes, is to make the brand as big as possible so finding big talent, starting our own AAU team, to make sure that kids are seeing Black owners and Black-owned businesses from 5-6 years old all the way until they need to make their college decision because that’s how these Adidas and Nike guys are doing it.

What were some of the early challenges you had with SBC and putting it together?

CA: Ahh, it’s so many challenges ha! Building a brand and growing it from scratch is a challenge itself. For me, early on it was finding the funds to make the stuff you want to make, even for like, samples. You kind of don’t know how that process works so you’re spending a lot of money kind of early. That was my first thing, have the funds and figuring out the right way to put everything together

JP: I’m trying to think because you know whenever people ask me this I feel really blessed because there’s never been a time where we didn’t have enough money to do something or we were super stressed out. We haven’t taken on any venture capital or raised any money or anything like that. We literally started this from our own pockets and grew it, literally bootstrapped it from nothing to something so, like Corey said, I think the biggest problem is literally learning the business day-by-day because it’s so many things you have to learn every single day when you go from not having any staff to having 20 – 25 staff members. You don’t know what that looks like until you are actually practicing it. Everything that is a part of a business is a struggle but you learn it quickly and you keep going.

Corey, can you tell us about that time that you had to leave Howard and how that contributed to who you are today?

CA: I loved Howard. Justin was the most popular kid on campus, I was probably like top 10 popular kid on campus like I knew everybody, I was president of the school of business freshman class. So, it was one of those things where, you know, I was playing basketball with my friends every day, all of that was taken away from me like randomly. On a random day, I couldn’t swipe my card to get into the cafeteria and I was staying in a bunch of friend’s rooms and sneaking into dorms to have places to stay. I didn’t want to leave the world that we call Howard. So, once I had to, I went back home I was working, and my first job was working at another college, High Point North Carolina, and I didn’t know anything about High Point. It got voted as one of the top 10 nicest campuses in all of the world. It’s like a country club there, a bunch fo rich white kids go there. I was a yard worker and I cut grass and stuff and had to go from there, you know? The most popular kid on campus to making 60,000, to like all the girls like you, and all that random stuff to like cutting someone’s grass and no one notices you is like. It’s a real humbling experience. For me, I knew I never wanted to be in that situation again where my has to define what I can do with my life or in life and so I always told myself after that I’m going to go hard in whatever I got going on and I’m not going to take no for an answer and I’ve been living like that ever since.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEcco7VFR2c/

Corey, overviewing the list of people you’ve worked with before, what’s something you took away from your experience with them? I see you’ve worked with Sean Parker in the past, what’s something you’ve seen from either working with him or someone else that you’ve internalized for yourself and the business?

CA: You know, Sean Parker man I had a really interesting experience with him. One of the craziest things about him is the way he thinks of things. He thinks of things on a much bigger level than the average person. So, we were in LA for a team retreat type of thing and we were at this dinner where he like basically bought out the restaurant, it was no one else there but us, and it was like 30 staff members. We were brainstorming some new concepts for this app and this one guy, who I considered one of the best UX guys he has, super smart guy, they were talking about ideas. So him and Sean are going back and forth about the ideas and Sean kept saying go bigger, go bigger! Like go bigger, and the dude kept going bigger with the ideas and I’m like yo that’s a good idea but Sean was like no go bigger, go bigger! And it was crazy because in my head I’m like, ain’t no way he can go bigger than that and so randomly, out of nowhere, Sean slaps the guy and was like go bigger and slaps him and the guy thought of something bigger. When it came out everybody starting clapping or whatever and it was really weird. I just say that to say like somebody like Sean is a billionaire because he thinks of things on the next level so there’s nothing too big for him in his head so I took some of that, some of that mentality and was like there’s nothing we can’t do. So when things happen to us I’m never surprised I’m always like okay cool what’s next? Nothing surprises me anymore because we are able to do anything that we want to do.

Justin I’d like to ask you the same question seeing as you’ve worked with people like Tyler Perry. What is something you’ve taken from someone an internalized for you and has helped build your skillset and the business?

JP: The biggest thing I think I’ve learned with working for other people is that you kind of have to get what you can out of it while you’re there. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I mean it more so in a way like, if you’re doing sales at a place you need to educate yourself as best as you can in sales. You need to go to your company and say hey do you guys provide any type of courses or learning or training or anything like that? The biggest, the best way I learned to benefit from other people is like learning as much as possible while I was there. Like taking training or things of that nature, but, on the flip side the other thing that I’ve learned from working for other people because I’ve only ever really worked for two people…One, I worked at shoe carnival while I was 16. Then when I graduated from college I went back to Houston for this Amazon-based business that sold like scales and different homes and stuff like that. I just realized that, and even working with Tyler as well that, they’re great people but it just clicked for me that I’m not meant to be working for others and I’m not built that way. I’m just not happy when I’m doing it so, it kind of always put that bug in my ear that bro, you’re meant for something greater and something that will service a lot of people. Doing it yourself and building something for yourself and building it super big so that you can provide all types of opportunities for others and do it in the way that you want to because any time I’ve ever worked for someone aside from Tyler, it was cool working with them but, I just wasn’t happy so I just wanted to be able to provide a different experience off the merit of building a business myself.

Scholarship, Community Service, Mentorship, and Mental Health. Why did these become establishing bodies/pillars of the business?

CA: I can speak to two of them, I can speak on Scholarship and Mental Health. Scholarship, because that directly affects us. Me, myself, I didn’t have money to go to school. So, building a business I wanted to make sure people were eligible and didn’t have to lose out on that opportunity you know because everybody wouldn’t be able to get back like me. Everybody don’t have the hustle, or the grind, or the know-how, or the resources to do so. That was a pretty easy pillar. You know, mental health, my sister, one of our staff members, even Nasha she has family that like, deal with mental health daily and I think that’s super important. Even Justin said he was dealing with depression. Mental health is so important right now and we live in a society where everybody just like sees everyone else doing things and they think they’re great. You know it’s easy to feel like you’re not where you’re supposed to be at in life or doing what you’re supposed to do. So, I think that’s just so important so that we help those people to know that you are important and you are valuable. What you’re doing is right, and that’s all a part of that unity and that family atmosphere that HBCUs offer to you so we want to do the same as a company.

When I got to a place where there were a bunch of people who look like me, I was surrounded by love, you know just black folks in general, I just became more of who I was already. That’s really all the HBCU experience did for me.

JP: I’ll speak to the mentorship piece because, same thing kind of Corey’s talking about with scholarships, I got 0 scholarship money at all. Luckily, I was raised by the world’s most perfect woman in general. Like, my mom worked day and night to pay for me to go to school. Like she was a real estate broker during the day and she would do bottle service at night and she was just raking in cash for me to go to school. I was blessed there but as far as mentorship, you know it’s always interesting to me because, especially being young, young guys. I just turned 26 yesterday and it was always kind of annoying to me that I couldn’t easily find somebody that looks like me, that was doing something that I wanted to do? And if I did find it, it would be on the internet, and I wasn’t sure that it was real or anything like that. I didn’t have any tangible people that touched base. Like, hey I know this guy is doing something that I want to do, let me follow this guy’s footsteps. That’s really important for us because I felt like I didn’t have that at all. So, for me, I even do that with my friends now from like back home. Like hey, this is what we’re doing we’re doing really good, you can follow the blueprint and do it exactly how I did it and you have me all the way through to ask me about any questions that you need because I didn’t have that…As far as mental health, like Corey said, I struggled a little bit with that after college. I started to learn through reading, and watching videos, and things of that nature, and you know I have a really good perspective with time. There’s a lot of people, they look at what everybody else is doing and they just don’t realize that everybody has their own journey. And time, we have so much time like I’m 26. I can do nothing for the next 24 years and still be 50 and still have 50 years left of life to live and I can start at 50 and still be as fruitful as a businessman as I was at 26. But people don’t have that perspective of time so. Yeah, bro, those are just super important to us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCSFY7jA4CK/

When you came up with Support Black Lives, when did this begin and where do you want to take it overall? Was this something that began due to the reactions of police brutality?

CA: It started overall when the George Floyd thing happened and you know from us, our company is about Black colleges but Black colleges are about the culture. We’re African Americans, so me and Justin talked about it like how can we give to this cause? How can we help out? So we thought, we’ll do what we do best, and that’s make clothes. So we decided to change our logo and come up with a shirt we can donate all the proceeds to different companies, and organizations, that we know are on the front lines and supporting the people who have been affected, and who maybe got locked up protesting the police and things like that. That was our direct way we felt like we could help and there’s plenty of other ways we can help and continue to help. But, I think that the Support Black Lives shirt is something people can have and they can literally wear those shirts for forever and also have a piece of us and a piece of the cause with them.

JP: Yeah I agree, those ideas for that shirt didn’t come until after all this stuff happened but I think that it just tested our ability to adapt. You know, to being in the culture, especially Black culture, it’s always a lot of moving parts and a lot of different things that are coming up and that are trending this way but this is something that’s obviously way more serious. So we wanted to be able to use our voice and our platform to give back. Once all this stuff started happening we figured that you know, we’ll do something and this is what we came up with. That will raise a lot of money and that we’re going to donate back to all these causes too. I think it’s something we’ll keep around for a long time and we’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to causes that we support, but it’s kind of cool that we can say we’re just a clothing brand but we’re able to match these big celebrities or public figures and things of that nature that give just as much money as they would and we’re just two kids with a clothing brand.

If we look into 2030, what does Support Black Colleges look like then?

JP: I think we’ll both have different answers for this because we think a lot differently but 10 years from now one of my big goals is to make everything Black-owned from start to finish. You know, we hire a bunch of black kids and a bunch of black men and women who went to HBCUs and things of that nature but I want to be creating from start to finish all owned by us all black hands involved all the way until the package is derived to the customer. That comes with owning our own acreage and different machinery where we’re cutting these fabrics our selves and bulldog everything ourselves form the group up and also I think 10 years from now, I want to say a billion-dollar business honestly because I think we have the potential to get a lot of different talent behind us like a LeBron James, an Oprah, and things of that nature and finding different talent of caliber to really get behind the business and is supporting g our community and our causes and our culture. SO that’s what I’m seeing in the future. Black-owned from start to finish and a lot of big talent and being able to donate a lot of many to these different schools and revolutionize the programs that they have especially the sports programs to make it so kids want to, their first bet is to say I want to go to an HBCU and I’m getting the same experience whether I go to Duke or Howard. They got the same facilities, they got the same coaches, and I’m going here because these people look like em and I think we’ll be able to change that narrative. So if I had to say 10 years from now I would say billion-dollar business, everything owned by us from start to finish, and being able to give billions of dollars to different programs to build them up to make these kids want to go to our schools off the rip.

CA: I agree with everything he said. I feel like every day I have a new thought of what 10 years will look like form now because it’s so hard to tell. Me and Justin both said we think we’re operating on less than 10% of our potential. We do no wholesale we do no big accounts, we’re all e-commerce and we really haven’t even scratched the surface. One thing I would say is I would like to either open, re-open, or open our own HBCU I think that would be really cool. A school like Morris Brown or a school that has closed or like Bennett college that is close to closing facilities and things like that I would love to say support black colleges is the reason why it stayed opened or re-opened because we’re literally supporting black colleges. I think that would be dope. I do see us kind of like the black Nike but as far as athletics but as far as brand recognition and I would love to sign some athletes and some actors and actresses and have them represent the brand. We are their sponsors and they’re going to events on behalf of us. I would like to create to see an HBCU summit or like forum or whatever, this really big event. This Coachella like HBCu whatever that would look like, I would love to see and take it way past clothing and make it more everyday household kind of like the big brands. That would be really cool to me.

Who are the top 5 people you want wearing SBC merchandise?

JP: I think off rip, I’m thinking Barack Obama, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Oprah, that’s four, and maybe one more, maybe LeBron…yeah that’s my top five right there.

CA: I know we got the same list essentially, I mean Michelle [Obama], Barack, Jay-Z, Beyonce, LeBron, and I’ll add like a Diddy, I’ll add..yeah that’s basically it, you got the real heavy hitters. I would even say somebody like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian I think they’ll change our business, like a Travis Scott as well.

Five-Star Hooper Makur Maker Commits to Howard University

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The post RESPECT The Hustle: Corey Arvinger & Justin Phillips on co-founding Support Black Colleges and business in quarantine appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

NBA analyst Charles Barkley and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Bodybuilding.com

NBA player turned sports analysts and budding political pundit Charles Barkley has been pretty consistent when it comes to assessing the job of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Appearing as a guest at the desk of CBS’s NFL Today show, earlier on Sunday, the Round Mound of Rebound weighed in on President Trump’s criticism of NFL Players kneeling during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem and taking back the White House’s invitation to the NBA’s World Champion Golden State Warriors.

“The president of the United States should never use the word SOB,” Barkley said referencing President Trump’s subliminal reference to embattled NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick during a Friday rally in Alabama.

For the record, Alabama is Barkley’s home state.

“That’s just 100 percent inappropriate. I’m embarrassed because he said the speech in Alabama and got a rousing reception when he said those things. So it hurts me that those ignorant folks in Alabama would applaud something so stupid.”  

Video: On @NFLonCBS #CharlesBarkley: “Hurts me that those ignorant folks in Alabama would applaud something so stupid” #NationalAnthem #TTT pic.twitter.com/lKPd5L7hj4

— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) September 24, 2017

Barkley admittedly has been anti-Trump from the start dating back to the President’s ‘locker room talk’ controversy before winning last year’s election. A tape from 2005 emerged of Trump boasting to former NBC correspondent Billy Bush that being famous allowed him to ‘do anything’ to women, including grabbing “them by the pu**y.”

“It’s never appropriate to touch a woman, or grab a woman,” Barkley told me last fall.

“I have a daughter too. It’s never appropriate to sexually assault or harass a woman, ever!

Check Out Charles Barkley & Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s Discussion On President Trump on Scoop B Radio

“I’m gonna try to do everything in my power to support the President because he’s the President of The United States,” Barkley told me on Scoop B Radio in April.

“I mean we got to get behind him, he’s done some things already that I don’t like. I’m against the Muslim ban, I’m against the immigration deportation, he’s got to stop trying to paint everybody with a broad brush. I mean, it’s just wrong. Most of these Muslim people here are amazing, hard-working people same thing with these illegal immigrants, they’re here, they’re hard working people. I think most people don’t want gangsters here, people don’t want terrorists here we all understand that, but people have to be able to be treated with respect and dignity.”

Barkley’s thought process is pretty much aligned with the growing list of athletes who have been vocal about President Trump over the weekend. That list includes the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green, Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul, retired NBA player Kobe Bryant and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James who on Saturday called President Trump a ‘bum’ via twitter. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich have been vocal about President Trump as well.

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The post Scoop B: Charles Barkley’s Criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump Has Been Fair & Balanced appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Colin Kaepernick and Craig Hodges. Photo Courtesy of: Houston Forward Times

It doesn’t matter if you’re walking into a grocery store, Jewish synagogue, local gym, Muslim mosque, Baptist church, or flipping your television from ESPN’s First Take to Fox Sports 1’s Undisputed to catch NBA free agency, the same question is repeated over and over again: Will Colin Kaepernick play in the NFL this season?

For those tardy to the party, Last NFL season, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand during the playing of the U.S. national anthem to acknowledge wrongdoings of African Americans and minorities like Eric Garner, Philando Castile who have been brutally murdered by police officers.”I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL network’s Steve Wyche during the NFL’s preseason last year.

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Kaepernick would later kneel instead of not participating at all while the national anthem was played during NFL games.

Kaepernick’s refusal triggered other athletes like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul, New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and Chicago Bulls’ Dwyane Wade and WNBA players to become vocal about police brutality of minorities.

Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, was in a contract year when took that public stance last season. Now an NFL free agent, it seems that nobody is willing to take a chance on him as even a backup in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins are said to have had interest, but they’ve since moved on.

Craig Hodges and Michael Jordan. Photo Courtesy of The Odyssey Online

So will Colin Kaepernick play this season? Craig Hodges, a 2-time NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls says it’s iffy. “He might get an opportunity, but if he is not in somebody’s training camp I don’t think he will play again in the NFL because out of sight out of mind, Hodges told me on Scoop B Radio.  

“And in the sport, unlike basketball where you might be able to sit out twelve months and still be able to come back and play, but the question becomes in that twelve months: “Is anybody even going to mess with you anymore?” Because they already said you are obsolete because you have been twelve months away from the game.”

Hodges if you recall, was blackballed by the NBA after he handed a letter to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush during the Bulls’ championship visit to the White House. The contents of the letter, according to Hodges made President Bush aware of  the mistreatment of poor people and people of color in the United States. “I did whatever I could to uplift the cause of our people man,” he said.

“And one night, we had the chance to go the White House right after we won our first championship. I had been writing letters to our congress people and to our senators to the mayor when I was a little boy and all the way through high school and it was just a continuous of that and a continuous  knowing that I part of the fabric and the fiber of human rights and people standing up for human rights.”

 

 

Check Out Craig Hodges On Scoop B Radio with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson

 

While Hodges took a stance after winning a championship with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and coach Phil Jackson in the 90s, another NBA player was vocal in Denver.

FILE – In this March 15, 1996 file photo, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf stands with his teammates and prays during the national anthem before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. This was Abdul-Rauf’s first game back since he was suspended by the NBA on March 12, 1996, for refusing to participate in the national anthem pre-game ceremony. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision this week to refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem as a way of protesting police killings of unarmed black men has drawn support and scorn far beyond sports. Through the years, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has become a symbol of both patriotism and politics. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

Former Denver Nuggets guard, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was nationally villafied after he refused to acknowledge the U.S. flag. Abdul-Rauf, who  converting to Islam, refused to acknowledge the flag in protest. He would not rise while the U.S. national anthem was played and as a result, ABC’s 20/20 and other television shows and networks drew national attention to Abdul Rauf’s public stance. As a result, Abdul-Rauf was suspended by the NBA and when he returned, he, the NBA and the Nuggets reached an agreement that he’d pray while the national anthem was played before games.

While Kaepernick is without a job in the NFL, Hodges believes that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had it worse off than he or Kaepernick. Hodges indicated on Scoop B Radio that he told Abdul-Rauf as such when the two he met in Chicago while Abdul-Rauf was playing in Ice Cube’s Big 3 Basketball tournament. “Colin Kaepernick has gotten to get a portion of what he is suppose to get salary wise,” said Hodges.

“Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was cut off from possibly being the greatest scorer in NBA history, that is the part that hurt me about him.”

Abdul-Rauf was ultra talented. The fiery guard out of LSU who went by the name Chris Jackson before his conversion to Islam was nasty! His scoring ability was unmatched and his jumper was deadly.

In his rookie season in the NBA he averaged 14 points per game and averaged a shade over three assists per game during the 1990-91 NBA season. Abdul-Rauf’s best year in the league was the 1992-93 NBA season. He’d average a smidge under 20 points and 4 assists per contest. He was lightning quick and his first step in his prime could genuinely compare with the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson Discusses Colin Kaepernick on Another Thing with Larry Medte and Fox News Political Expert Lt. Steven Rogers

On Abdul-Rauf, Craig Hodges added:

“I’m saying he is Islam and he understands all of that, but that is power for why that all went on. But at the same time, his potential in the game was so much farther than myself and I say even Colin for where he is in his career right now. But as far as what he was able to do for the game, I feel like Mahmoud felt it more than anybody.”

Shifting back to the gridiron, the ongoing saga Kaepernick saga is reminiscent of Michael Vick’s return to football after his conviction of running a dogfighting business in his home. The only difference is that Kaepernick has not broken any laws.

So here’s the million and seven dollar question: If Colin Kaepernick were to be picked up by an NFL team, would he kneel during the national anthem again?

“See once again, I’m pretty sure Colin Kaepernick isn’t going to take a knee anymore,” said Hodges.

“There isn’t a need to take a knee anymore. I think now it’s just a  matter of him wanting to play football. If he gets a chance to play football he is going to play football and do what he is capable of doing. Hopefully he gets that opportunity.”

Speaking of Michael Vick. In the past month, both he and Ray Lewis were vocal about Kaepernick’s decision and how the free agent could re-enter the program. Essentially, they both felt that he should either cut his hair or keep his political views to himself. “Often times we can be pressured into making comments on behalf of the larger enforcer,” said Hodges.

“That’s where we have to ask ourselves: if there really is a God in these situations whose side is he on? You know what I am saying? Then when brother’s make the decisions to say like: ‘Michael Vick, how stupid is that?’ So you are telling me that his hair as something to do with throwing the football? This man’s words are throwing footballs, Ray Lewis? So tone down your civil rights. So you’re telling me allow people to be murdered and maimed and it’s cool as long as I play football? Hell no man! How much more of a 2017 slave mentality is that? Let’s cut to the chase we have some slave garbage.”

Speaking of hair, r&b singer India Arie did explain to you in her song that she was not her hair!

Taking a cursory look at the NFL, there are others who have defining hair: the Houston Texans’ Brian Cushing has sported an array of styles, as have former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu. Hodges deducts that corporate America is afraid of athletes like Kaepernick being unapologetically black. “Absolutely,” he said.

“Because when that happens you have no fear. Fear then is the key to the power structure. Scare the hell out of people and they aren’t going to move. So many of our movements have been penalized just because of the inaction and fear.”

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The post Former NBA Champ Craig Hodges: “Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was cut off from possibly being the greatest scorer in NBA history” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

While on Scoop B Radio Overtime, boxer Bernard Hopkins chats with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about some of his favorite fashion influences. Photo Provided By: Eric Salvary/Scoop Vision Media

Bernard Hopkins made statements in the boxing ring and out of it. When he talks, goshdarnit please listen! Now a boxing analyst on ESPN’s family of networks, Hopkins dons a lot of suits and the now retired 55-8 Philadelphia bruiser known in the the ring as The Executioner traded in his boxing trunks and morphed into Mr. Suave in front of the teleprompter.

Not mad at you brotha! 

“I love fashion, I love to look good, I love to feel good and definitely love to perform good,” Bernard Hopkins told me on Scoop B Radio Overtime. “It’s a 3-punch combination that to me; that’s something that should be taught when you’re really young, but better late than never, but I love fashion.”

Check out Bernard Hopkins and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s Fashion Discussion

In today’s sports world, fans and writers alike like to put things into boxes and category. In basketball for example many like to compare Michael Jordan’s legacy to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James. In the late 90s in baseball, folks were wondering who the homerun king was Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa and in boxing folks want the ultimate heavyweight in Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Here’s a kicker for Bernard Hopkins: Who is on his Mount Rushmore of stylishly dressed athletes? Well I could look at– well like Magic Johnson,” Hopkins said after a brief pause.

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“There’s a lot of like, I could say basketball and football athletes that dress really good, but nobody really like stands out, you know? Deion Sanders is kinda like, loud and I don’t really like that style but a lot of people – he was like- he made statements whether you disagree or didn’t. He made statements.”

Sanders’ gear with MCHammer in the video of Straight To My Feet was legendary, by the way!

If you’re a tad young, that song was on the Street Fighter movie soundtrack

Many credit Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as sports’ elite dressers. Honestly, the Brooklyn Nets’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and D’Angelo Russell are rising notables too. But back to a certain Cleveland Cavalier; Mr. Hopkins, do you dig LeBron James’ digs?

“I think LeBron has a style,” he said. “But it’s like you see somebody else wearing the same thing.

Hopkins also has advice for athletes looking to leave their mark in fashion: Be yourself! 

“I think when you look at fashion you gotta look at: does it go with your skin? Does it go with your physique? Does it go with your whole persona about you,” he said. “I think that when it comes to clothes and I’m getting a little deep, I think that when it comes to wearing a suit or clothes, women or man, it has to fit your personality. I don’t care how much it costs, I don’t care what name brand it is, if the clothes don’t fit your personality you don’t make it blossom.” 

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The post Scoop B: Bernard Hopkins Puts Magic Johnson & Deion Sanders On His Mount Rushmore of Fashionable Athletes appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Nov 19, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Last night, the San Antonio Spurs were massacred 126-99 in game one of their Western Conference semifinals matchup against  the Houston Rockets.

During his post game presser, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was not pleased!

As per For The Win’s Nina Mandell, here was the exchange: 

Reporter: “Pop there’s nothing for us to ask except to get your take on what the heck just happened.”

Popovich: “We lost. They won. And they played better.”

The reporter followed up with another question and Popovich had a more complete answer about what exactly went wrong in the game (“sure we competed but I don’t think we executed”).

Timing is everything in the art of interviewing. It’s listening, it’s research and more importantly it is about being a person.

Real G’s do real things and Coach Pop is about as genuine as it gets! That said, get ready for a genuine response.

I realized that first hand last year, when I chatted with Coach Popovich about leadership.

Check Out Coach Gregg Popovich and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson Talk About Donald Trump & Drake On Scoop B Radio Overtime

In high school, I read The Autobiography of Douglas McArthur. General MacArthur commanded the United States through the Southwest Pacific in World War II. The autobiography thoroughly highlighted MacArthur’s military career, his personal life and the battles during World War II. MacArthur was one of only five men promoted to the five-star rank of General of the Army during World War II. What left an indelible mark on me while reading MacArthur’s book was his dedication to leadership, his constant examples that he left to his subordinates of his character and his emphasis on behaving in a manner in which peoplewould want to follow him.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich in the U.S. Air Force. Photo Credit: San Antonio Express News

While reading that autobiography back in high school, MacArthur reminded me so much of Popovich. Popovich, himself spent five years in the service in the United States Air Force.

Popovich’s dad wasn’t in the service, but when you ask the Spurs coach who his models for leadership were. His answer might surprise you.“I try not to idolize too many people,” Popovich told me.

Whoa! That’s real!

”I think that all idols have feet of clay and I think that especially in our country, we tend to mythologize people. So I look to people that I’ve known personally, whether that’s a coach or teacher, a relative; somebody that I respect because I know them. But people who I don’t know that have been mythologized, I don’t know them much. At the top of my head, Thomas Jefferson was a great guy; he was a slave owner. You can make that similar analogy with a lot of other people who have been idolized. They all have flaws. So I go for people that I know.”

After last night’s she-lacking by the Rockets, some folks were ready to write the Spurs off. The Rockets after all, are very talented: James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Patrick Beverly and Lou Williams are some of the names on that roster. Credit is due where credit is due! 

Malik Rose won two championships with Popovich in 1999 and 2003. Now the Atlanta Hawks’ manager of basketball operations, Rose once told me about Pop: “He’s not afraid to say what he believes and stand by it. He genuinely cares about his players. It’s more than basketball.”

Coach Pop is no slouch. He is this generation’s Phil Jackson because he wins and has gained the respect of his players and players on opposing teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul. Coach Pop has seemlessly been able to navigate the passing of the torch of players during his career, as well.

David Robinson retired in 2003 and passed the torch to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Duncan retired and now the keys are in the hands of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. It is not likely that the Spurs will go down like they did last night against the Rockets. The team is not chopped liver. But it will take defensive adjustments and players not reacting like Dewayne Dedmon did to Nene last night.

In the meantime, let’s watch Pop continue to be Pop and make us reporters search for the next question.

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The post Scoop B: Getting San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich To Answer Questions Is All About Timing appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Paypaman is back with a refined sound that describes the culture of Chicago “Ballin or Politickin.” Produced by Xcel Beats, Paypaman uses this simply track to spit lyrical metaphors, comparing himself to Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving. Putting himself in boss status, Paypaman describes not only his ability as an artist but his lifestyle. Campaigning to be the best out of the Chi, Paypaman brings a unique edge to music that has been missing in Chicago hip hop.

Check It Out:

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The post New Music: Paypaman Drops “B.O.P” (Ballin or Politickin) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Los Angeles Clippers guard, Jamal Crawford has been in the NBA for 16 years!

Time flies when you’re having fun.

Drafted out of Michigan in the 2000 NBA Draft, Crawford is revered for his smooth ball handling ability and crafty scoring. That combo has won him three NBA Sixth Man of The Year awards.

Although a member of the Clippers, many folks out east remember Crawford as a member of the New York Knicks.

One guy who remembers J-Crossover’s talent is the man who traded for him, NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Thomas, once the Knicks’ President and head coach, had a keen eye on the Rainier Beach High School product. “I had followed Jamal since he came from Seattle to Michigan,” Thomas told me by phone on a recent episode of the Scoop B Radio podcast. “And I thought: a 6’6” guy with handles.”

Crawford’s best statistcal season came during the 2007-08 NBA season while with the Knicks. He averaged 20 points and 5 assists in 80 games for the orange and blue. “His body was just, his game was ahead of his body, if that makes sense; like the things he was trying to do out on the floor,” said Thomas.

“He was seeing the right things to do. You knew he was mature. And over the last couple of years, once his body caught up with his game, I mean, he’s been swinging points whenever he wants to.”

Hey did you see Crawford and DeAndre Jordan’s chemistry last night in the Clippers’ 120-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday?  It was a thing of beauty!!!

Remember Jamal Crawford S. Carter Reebok Sneaker Commercial? 

At one time, the Knicks had a roster that included Crawford, Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph, David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Channing Frye, Steve Francis and Trevor Ariza. That’s a few championship rings, NBA All Star appearances and Slam Dunk Contest trophies attached to those names.

Disappointingly, the formula didn’t work out.

In a day and age where teams build through the NBA Draft like the once intact Oklahoma City team that included Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, as well as the current ‘Trust the Process,’ Philadelphia 76ers.

Imagine if that Knicks team had stayed together. “They were all under the age of 27 and that was a young team,” said Thomas “Had they been able to stay together and flourish, that would’ve been a pretty good team in the East.”

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The post Isiah Thomas on Jamal Crawford as a Knick: “You Knew He Was Mature” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.