BREAKING BARRIERS IN HISTORY
The historical win by Texas Western against the all white Kentucky team changed the way African American college basketball players would be viewed forever. Due to this outstanding win, African Americans received many more opportunities, and better treatment. These impacts were an even bigger victory than the game itself.
A Tough Past
Before 1966, there were many unfair actions towards African American basketball players, with most of them being about their opportunities to play. Harry Flournoy explains that when he was in high school, his coach wouldn't give fair playing opportunities to African Americans. "'All the best players on the team were black, but there was some unspoken rule that no more than three blacks could play at once,' says Flournoy. 'It was a bad situation, but that's the way things were in those days,'" (Schecter, 1998). During the 1960's, another "unspoken rule" was that at least one white starter was necessary for success (Fitzpatrick, 2003). After the game, however, many situations similar to this changed.
Source: Good Morning America (Don Haskins Interview)
Uploaded: 2015
Brighter Futures Ahead
Source: New York Times (Associated Press)
As Haskins explains, the win opened doors for many more African American players at the collegiate level. This game broke barriers that African Americans had been facing their whole basketball careers. Discrimination prevented African Americans from receiving opportunities to play in college, however, this game changed that. More black players were given scholarships and playing time, which was a large change from before Texas Western's victory. "It had changed the college basketball recruiting process forever"(Kornheiser, 1977).
"It made it possible for kids to go to major universities, especially in the deep South, and not just for basketball." -David Lattin
(Solomon, 2016)
A Lasting Legacy
As time has passed, the importance of this game has not diminished. The victory had a large impact on the game of basketball and the civil rights movement. Today, more African Americans have entered college basketball, which has also improved the number in the NBA. African Americans are accepted and praised in many aspects of the game, largely different from the game of basketball in the 1960's (Fitzpatrick, 2003).