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THE MO'KELLY REPORT: Why I Root for Alonzo Mourning
Finally for once, nice guys don’t finish last. It’s not that I’m a tremendous sports fan, but I do enjoy basketball. There are some players I root for and wish them success, regardless of the color of their jerseys or the franchises in which they represent.
Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning is one of them.
In the interest of full disclosure, my support of Alonzo began long before his NBA career began.
Back in the spring of 1988, I was a college freshman at Georgetown University in Washington D.C…yes the Hoyas. I remember talking with one of the players, Jaren Jackson about this ‘new recruit’ coming to G-Town the next semester…arguably the best player in the nation at that time.
For the uninitiated, Georgetown University was only some 7% African-American back then. Black folks ate in the cafeteria together, hung out together and for the most part, partied together. If I said, “Village A – Rooftop party,” anybody who attended Georgetown or hung out on the campus knew that meant the ballplayers were throwing a party in their on-campus apartments overlooking the Potomac River. And the parties were 99% Black, despite the campus makeup.
Those were the days!
Georgetown had its own African-American subculture and you could be sure everyone within it knew everyone else pretty well. There were few if any secrets.
In any dining hall, during any meal one could easily assume that Georgetown was segregated by law, as the tables were commonly “all Black” or “all White.”
In other words, you got to know people through and through, especially their faults, flaws and fallacies.
Alonzo Mourning arrived at Georgetown amid all the fanfare and celebration one would expect for a top recruit arriving at a basketball power. Granted, Georgetown is a long ways away from its glory days of past, but back then…”Hoya Paranoia” as it was called was alive and well.
As the NBA Finals are set to begin this Thursday, I’d like to offer my memory of Alonzo Mourning; before the fame, before the fortune…before anyone touted his many philanthropic deeds of recent years.
I probably couldn’t tell you the exact moment he and I first met, but I can tell you with certainty that his greatness has everything to do with WHO he is and nothing to do with WHAT he does.
There was rarely a party in college in which you’d find Alonzo…he for the most part steered clear of those types of distractions. Although he was easily the most ‘popular’ person on campus for superficial reasons, there was never a time in which he didn’t speak, have a courteous word or a sincere inclination to engage you.
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(Yes, I fully acknowledge that my height only reaching Alonzo’s armpit in the picture above taken in April of 1989 is more than just a little bit funny. Whoever the hell said Mo’Kelly should wear a high-top fade needs his a$$ whooped too.)
I was just another student, one who was ‘best known’ for playing piano in the campus minority “Star Search” competition.
Translation: I wasn’t known at all.
I was just “Will O’Kelly” (went by my middle name in college). I wasn’t anybody of note and very likely, nobody who ‘Zo would encounter or need to know later in life.
More times than not, ‘Zo was likely to be spending time with his high school sweetheart Tracy…who attended nearby Howard University. In fact, he went out of his way to pull me aside just so he could introduce me to her. That’s how highly he thought of her.
(And that would be the same Tracy he’s married to even today…just fyi.)
I’m not saying Alonzo Mourning is a saint by no means, but I am saying he’s one of the most sincere individuals that I ever remember meeting…
Ever…
The guy who presumably was the hottest NBA prospect in the world and had said world in the palm of his hands was always respectful, respectable and most importantly sincere. Try to find 10 like him in the NBA these days.
No, try to find 5.
Let’s go one step further; the guy even contributed $25,000 to the Democratic Party at one time. I’m willing to bet that the majority of the NBA isn’t even registered to vote and here THIS guy is actively participating in the political process?
How about that for setting an example?! Not rims, not a necklace, not a car…but the political process.
One class that he and I had together was “Theology of the Black Experience.” Let’s just say he was the only basketball player in the class. That was by his choice not by chance. For ‘Zo, there has long been a connection to people…his people. It didn’t begin with his first NBA contract or matriculation to Georgetown. Maybe it began during his time in foster care. Only he knows.
Anybody can make millions and arbitrarily throw money at charities in which he/she feels no particular affinity. It happens every day across all forms of entertainment. Catch that celebrity on the street and you will be hard-pressed to get the time of day from him or her…much less a kind word in return.
People by and large aren’t best remembered for their philanthropy, they’re usually best remembered for the PEOPLE they were. Athletes are commonly best remembered for the PEOPLE they were, not the stats. All the hits in the world will never change the fact that Ty Cobb was an ass. 714 home runs and Babe Ruth the man is still is known as a drunk, philandering, slob. 50 Cent can sell 50 million more albums and he’ll still never earn the respect that the average man with only “50 cents” in his pocket can demand. 900 MORE home runs by Barry Bonds still won’t ever change the fact that he is a steroid-abusing jerk (allegedly). You decide whether the ‘allegedly’ was in reference to the steroid or the jerk part…or both. I don’t care. He’s not going to sue me regardless.
What I will appreciate and respect most about Alonzo Mourning will never have anything to do his athletic prowess or even his philanthropic exploits. Those facets are notable and even remarkable to some degree; but are only impressive when viewed through the prism of ‘Zo’s sincerity.
Good people deserve good rewards for their sincerity and selflessness. That’s why I pull for Alonzo Mourning - fellow brother of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, philanthropist, kidney transplant survivor…and oh yeah…a pretty good basketball player.
He’s the one player in the NBA I most want to get a ring. We could do far worse than having our young people emulate and support Alonzo Mourning as opposed to those who think buying $4 million dollar rings as an infidelity peace offering after a tearful press conference is a good idea. You can decide as to whom I’m referring. He’s not going to sue me either.
Go Heat.
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The e-book "The Best of The Mo'Kelly Report" will be available...uh, soon. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mokellyreport.blogspot.com. Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.netand he welcomes all commentary.
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