Basketball Made In The Usa Summary

634 Words2 Pages

The article, Basketball: Made in the U.S.A. by Christine Graf, communicates how basketball impacted the world by mentioning, "According to the World Atlas, basketball has 800 million fans and ranks as the world's seventh most popular sport... The game that began with two peach baskets and a soccer ball in a gymnasium in Massachusetts has certainly made its mark on the world" (Basketball: Made in the U.S.A., Christine Graf). Basketball began as something as simple as two peach baskets and a soccer ball and managed to impact the entire world. This sport started with one man, James Naismith, and ended with uniting people all over the world. It started in America and continued to Lithuania and brought their people together as well. Basketball has …show more content…

Basketball was one of the first places where African Americans and whites were integrated. When African Americans joined white basketball teams, they learned to respect each other and see beyond their race. The article, Breaking Basketball's Color Barrier by Christine Graf, explains the respect between teammates by articulating, "Lloyd grew up in what he described as 'the cradle of segregation' in Virginia and had no interactions with whites before entering the NBA. The news that he had been drafted left him feeling frightened and worried that he wouldn't be accepted by his teammates. Lloyd's fears turned out to be unwarranted; his teammates and opponents treated him with respect" (Breaking Basketball's Color Barrier, Christine Graf). Earl Lloyd was worried that his teammates would not accept him. However, basketball allowed the teammates to respect Lloyd. Basketball allowed the teammates to see the African American athlete as equal. In addition, not only did basketball pave the way for racial equality, but it also unified people around the entire world. The article, Basketball for All by Marcia Amidon Lusted, describes how basketball brought people together by writing, "The Special Olympics also has a program called Unified

Open Document