While certain iconic athletes of color have become immortalized in history, many of the earliest trailblazers who fought rampant discrimination to compete and triumph in sports have yet to receive their dues. Sports historian Arif Khatib joins Edge of Sports to discuss his new book, Remember Their Sacrifice: Stories of Unheralded Athletes of Color.
Studio Production: David Hebden
Post-Production: Taylor Hebden
Audio Post-Production: David Hebden
Opening Sequence: Cameron Granadino
Music by: Eze Jackson & Carlos Guillen
Transcript
Dave Zirin: Welcome to Edge of Sports, only on The Real News Network. Right now we’re going to talk to Arif Khatib, founder and president of the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame and the author of six books, including most recently Remember Their Sacrifice: Stories of Unheralded Athletes of Color. Let’s bring him on right now.
Arif, thank you so much for joining us here on Edge of Sports.
Arif Khatib: It’s my pleasure to be with you, Dave. Thank you so much for having me. I have so much great respect and admiration for you and your show. It’s an honor to be on here with you.
Dave Zirin: Well, it’s profoundly mutual. The thing I’ve always wanted to ask you is, whether it’s through the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame or through your writing, you are all about the unheralded athlete. You are all about the history. How did you come to this work? And why do you think it matters?
Arif Khatib: You know Dave, this started way back in the ’60s when I was doing some consultant work with various professional teams: The Raiders, the 49ers, The Warriors, and The Oakland As. And later on I realized that there’s some history before these guys that was very interesting that was being lost. And obviously, if you know, later on you had African-American studies, the Asian-American Studies, Hispanic and [inaudible] studies, but didn’t really get deep into the African-American contributions to American sports in general and in society. And so I took it up on that.
And when I established the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, which later, in 2009, became the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, I really got serious about it at that time. And we’d check to see what these folks really, really did for American sports society. And they were gone unrecognized, many unknown. And so I dedicated my life for the rest of my life, at that time, to shine the spotlight on these incredible heroes.
Dave Zirin: It’s such an important role that you play in keeping our history aflame. Because without people like yourself, it’s so easy for history to become extinguished. So first, I just want to thank you for your work.
But let’s get to the book, Remember Their Sacrifice: Stories of Unheralded Athletes of Color. You just explained so clearly about why you wanted to put a book out like this. But maybe you could tell us a little bit, who are some of these unheralded athletes that you hold closest to your heart?
Arif Khatib: I get that question at every interview. And unfortunately, I’m going to have to be general, because all of them.
Dave Zirin: All of them.
Arif Khatib: All of them, because they were carefully selected from the many, many, many athletes of color who made contributions. We selected these because we felt that they did not necessarily need more exposure than others, but they made contributions off the playing field that a lot of people aren’t aware of, and I believe that’s important. Also, the Black and Brown athletes, they played a really important part in clearing the path for some of today’s athletes. And these athletes don’t know who they were and don’t know who they are. And so it was easy to choose the athletes that we chose.
But I’m dear to each and every one of them because they’re all special to me. I was fortunate to have known each of them, except those in the 1800s, of course, personally. And I chose them partially because I knew them personally and I didn’t have to go to one of the search engines to find out about them. I wanted to ask them face to face. I did all of the interviews on the television, on the documentary, and the book. I wanted them to tell me in their own words what it meant to them. Because we’re in the 21st century, these 19th and 20th century folks had it rough, and I wanted them to tell me how did it impact you? What made you do what you did, stick to it, and become a champion? So it was easy for me to do that.
Dave Zirin: You spoke earlier about the affection you have for athletes who made contributions off the field of play. Why is it important for athletes to have that level of community involvement and not just be people we see on the field?
Arif Khatib: Because I think hopefully it will inspire other athletes. We have athletes today who are making millions and millions of dollars, and I don’t want to say they’re wasting it, but they certainly could put it to better purposes. But we know who they are because some of them stand out, some of them don’t. Some of them don’t want you to know what they’re doing. But not enough they are sharing and helping.
I have thought of it often, if we had 50 of our most wealthy and popular athletes to pool their resources, we could make a tremendous, tremendous contribution to society, particularly in the education community. They could start schools. They could be certain that the schools are performing in the manner they’re supposed to. They could start various businesses and hire others, teach young people about the history of sports and their importance. There’s just so many things they can do. More than a handful of them are doing it right now, but not enough. And I want to highlight those who are giving back beyond their foundations, but really having a face in the community.
Dave Zirin: Such important work. So you’ve got the book, Remember Their Sacrifice. Fantastic. You also have a visual medium, a streaming documentary coming out called Because They Believed, most likely coming out in February. Can you tell us, what is Because They Believed about?
Arif Khatib: There are 16 athletes in that film. They’re not in the book. The ones in the book are not in the film, just didn’t have enough room for everybody. But I thought these folks were instrumental, if you will, in changing America, changing sports: Dr. John Carlos, and Dr. Thomas Smith, Dr. Harry Edwards, Billy Mills, who’s the second Native American to win a gold medal. I know all these people and I did the interviews. I told them I wanted the raw facts, that I was not a journalist, and it was not going to be in the newspaper the next day or the news on television. It was going to be in an educational film. And I wanted them to give me something that hopefully they had never told anyone else. I wanted the real facts. And consequently, that film will show that.
Because today the world is so polarized, especially our nation, so polarized, and systemic racism has become more pronounced. We need films like this because these folks showed the way, they fought the big battles, and should be recognized. They would not allow prejudice and racism to prevent them from reaching their goal.
And the name of the film came, by the way, from the interviews, Dave, when I asked a few of the guys, especially ones who are in individual sports, tell me what kept you going? You’re a champion. What really kept you going like that? They said, well, because I believed I could. I said, well, then you just named the film. The film is Because They Believed. And that’s where that name came from, because you had to believe. The guys in track and field and other individual sports, boxing, they were for themselves. One guy, you go on the team, but you have to perform individually. And so I wanted to know how did you do that?
Particularly the interview with Billy Mills, that brought tears to my eyes when I went to his home and interviewed him because no one knew who he was when he won the 10,000 meter. And at every presentation, a book and/or the film, I remind the audience that the Olympics are a shining glory for America. And if it were not for Billy Mills, we’d be shut out in the 10,000 meters.
Dave Zirin: Wow. I did not know that.
Arif Khatib: He was the first to win it, and they have not won it since.
Dave Zirin: Wow.
Arif Khatib: So that kind of information should be highly publicized. He was the person who won the 10,000 meters. When he finished, he was surrounded by press that said, who are you? Who are you? I’m telling you, Billy.
And another part of that, Dave, that got to me is that he couldn’t get shoes that day to run in the race that he was going to run in, because the American shoe manufacturer said, these shoes are for winners. He said, what? I’m going to win. Sure, sure. He had to go over to Adidas, who were providing the European athletes, to get shoes to run the race. And he won the race. Afterwards, the American shoe company came to his hotel and offered him this, offered him that. But it just shows you how the hidden prejudice and the hate is there. And if you don’t stand up to publicize it, the story will not be told. So my job is to tell the story.
Dave Zirin: Absolutely. There was the movie about Billy Mills, Running Brave. And even that movie, they took a white actor, Robbie Benson, and effectively tanned his skin. And that was in the early ’80s.
Arif Khatib: 1984. And it performed well in the theaters. Can you imagine the minds that they impacted? The decisions that were made by the audience based upon the portrayal and how they presented that and said, we need to do more?
Back to Billy Mills again. There’s a bunch of them in it. But Billy Mills, again, some people don’t know, many people may not know that he attempted suicide when he was at the University of Kansas because of how he was treated. He was an All-American. And when they would take photos of the team, they’d ask him to step aside as they took the photo. And one of the teams, the guy says, what are you doing here? This is Billy Mills. He’s the only American. We’re all from Europe. So they put Billy in there, said, okay, okay, okay, we’ll take one with you. And then they took one with him and asked him to step out again. It was really testing for him, and he seriously considered taking his life at that time. And then he dedicated himself afterwards. He says, I’m going to win the gold. And he did.
Dave Zirin: That’s amazing. The book is called Remember Their Sacrifice: Stories of Unheralded Athletes of Color. The movie is called Because They Believed. I just want to really implant that into people’s heads.
I can’t let you go, Arif, without asking you about the city that, to me, you so define, the city of Oakland. The Bay Area has produced more legends than I can shake a stick at when it comes to sports, probably the most per capita in the United States. In San Fran, I believe Bill Russell and Curt Flood went to the same high school.
Arif Khatib: Well, it’s in Oakland. They went to a high school in Oakland.
Dave Zirin: That’s right. It was in Oakland. McClymonds. That’s right. What is it about Oakland that produces all these incredible athletes?
Arif Khatib: You are absolutely correct about the production of these outstanding athletes. And you are right in another sense. The Bay Area, and in particular Oakland, has developed more Hall of Fame-caliber athletes than any comparable area in America. On Feb. 24 here in Oakland, I’ll present the first Curt Flood Platinum Award to the athlete from the ’22/’23 season that demonstrated the closest to social consciousness and sacrifice that Curt Flood made for free agency that has enabled them today to support their community and their family in a very luxurious way. And many of them don’t know who Curt Flood was. I promised Curt that as long as I was alive, I would keep his legacy alive.
And what people don’t realize, he is not in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame because they blackballed him for free agency. I want these athletes today, according to ESPN, are averaging $14 million a year in the four sports that he impacted: football, baseball, basketball, and hockey, to know who Curt was and how important he is for them in today’s society, that he made it possible for them to say, no, I’m not going to do that. I’m not a piece of meat, and I’m not going to be traded.
I asked him, Curt, Hey man, you sacrificed your career. Why’d you do it? He said, I didn’t do it for me, Arif. I did it for other athletes that’s coming. So we’re there today. Those athletes today are enjoying the benefits and the supreme sacrifice and the courageous effort on behalf of Curt Flood.
On that same night, I will induct five retired professional athletes into our Hall of Fame: baseball, basketball, and gymnastics. And the first Southeast Asian will be going in the Hall of Fame, a triple jumper from India.
Dave Zirin: Amazing.
Arif Khatib: And people don’t know, most people don’t know. They don’t remember them. When I induct most of them, they get emotional. Arif, I want to thank you because I thought I’d been forgotten. I thought people forgot about me. I said, no, you’ll never be forgotten. It’s just a great feeling to see these athletes become Hall of Famers when they should be in other Halls of Fame for whatever reason, we don’t need to get into that. But they’re not there. I firmly am confident that Curt Flood will be in the Hall of Fame after we finish this event. Because I’m going to ask the athletes who are honored to call Major League Baseball and say, this man should be in the Hall of Fame. And it is likely to happen.
Dave Zirin: Absolutely. I think every athlete should send the Flood family 5% of their paycheck, given the sacrifice that he made.
Arif Khatib: Well, I’m asking these athletes to commit to making a contribution annually to the Curt Flood Foundation, and that those funds then will go to… There’s a Curt Flood Field in Oakland. People don’t know that. It’s a baseball field here. Curt Flood Field. And I want the funds from this to go towards the maintenance of that field.
Dave Zirin: Great.
Arif Khatib: We have the ceremony on Saturday the 24th. The next day we’re going to have a sandlot baseball game between high school girls and boys so that television will follow these athletes out there, and they can see that there is a Curt Flood Field.
Dave Zirin: I love that. Arif, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to share with us?
Arif Khatib: Well, I want to cover the fact that I am so grateful for you doing the foreword for our book.
Dave Zirin: Yes. Yes. In the interest of full disclosure, I did write the foreword to Remember Their Sacrifice.
Arif Khatib: That thing made the book, as far as I’m concerned. And thank you for agreeing. You were the perfect person for that day. And thank you for agreeing to do it.
I want the Black women listening to this to know that you’re playing a very important part, have played a very important part, and been overlooked. And you belong in the space that you occupy. The first African-American to win a gold medal, a woman, 1948, Alice Coachman, who didn’t have shoes to run in.
Dave Zirin: Amazing.
Arif Khatib: And when she came home, they didn’t recognize her. So I want people to know that they’re among us today, still alive. Athletes who’ve made tremendous, tremendous contributions and sacrifices to American sports and society in general. And they should be recognized. They should be acknowledged because they tell the stories of how many of these great sports figures in the book and the film about their contributions and what they had to go through. People just need to know what they went through. Today, especially our young people, they just don’t have a clue of whose shoulders they stand on, and how important it is for them to say, thank you for your sacrifice. And that’s really what this book is about.
Dave Zirin: Well, that’s why the work you do is so important. You just articulated it beautifully. Arif, thank you so much for joining us here on Edge of Sports TV.
Arif Khatib: It is my pleasure because these athletes changed the world.
Maximillian Alvarez: Thank you so much for watching The Real News Network, where we lift up the voices, stories and struggles that you care about most. And we need your help to keep doing this work. So please tap your screen now, subscribe and donate to The Real News Network. Solidarity Forever.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
