Dr. Richard Lapchick speaks at The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) Celebration of Black History Month at the Marriott Marquis as part of NBA All-Star 2015 in New York on Feb. 13, 2015. Credit: AP
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Richard E. Lapchick shares some of the backlash his family felt that was directed at his father, former Knicks coach Joe Lapchick, for signing the first Black player to an NBA contract in 1950. The experience led him to his work today; Richard directs the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.)
In 1947 my father and the owner of the legendary all-Black New York Rens basketball team made a presentation to the owners of the BAA, which would become the NBA, to integrate the league by admitting the Rens as a team.