Derrick Gordon - Tedx UMASS Amherst
- Thread starter lwyrup
- Start date
Thanks for sharing, lwyrup.
Derrick Gordon has amazing courage, and can be a true role model to a lot of young people. This video should be required viewing for parents, educators, guidance counselors, students, athletes, and sports fans, along with anyone who has had difficulty accepting gay people for who they are. Powerful stuff, and the Seton Hall community should be proud that he'll be wearing a Pirates jersey.
Derrick Gordon has amazing courage, and can be a true role model to a lot of young people. This video should be required viewing for parents, educators, guidance counselors, students, athletes, and sports fans, along with anyone who has had difficulty accepting gay people for who they are. Powerful stuff, and the Seton Hall community should be proud that he'll be wearing a Pirates jersey.
I'm sure Derrick has faced adversity off-the-court because of his sexual orientation; however, it seems to me everyone in his life who matters to him has accepted him for who he is, which is amazing. I only hope our players, coaches, and fans are as accepting (no reason to think otherwise). I'm sure the Archdiocese has their own opinions on the matter, and I appreciate that; however, I hope they stay out of the situation (again, no reason to think otherwise).
I would very much like to know how this effects Father Dennehy (who is a great man) or his sitting on the bench (again, no reason to think anything will change -- and it shouldn't).
I would very much like to know how this effects Father Dennehy (who is a great man) or his sitting on the bench (again, no reason to think anything will change -- and it shouldn't).
Last edited:
And yet some people on this board think of this young man as sinful in God's eyes... stunningly misguided.
I will never dismiss or denigrate someone's religious convictions.I see no contradiction in understanding one's literal interpretation of the Scriptures because that is what is demanded by their conscience. However,in my world all persons regardless of creed color or sexual orientation are to be respected and valued.I have witnessed too much pain in the lives of those who society deems as different and as a Christian I will never let canon law or any other pronouncement color the way I interact with others.This young man is now a member of our family and I welcome him with open arms.
There's nothing disloyal about pursuing one's master's degree elsewhere. Now it's up to Seton Hall to accept him with open arms as well.
Derrick Gordon
@flash2gordon
My Official Twitter Account!!
Living Life Happy And Playing The Sport That I Love...Don't be good, BE GREAT...#WhyNotME..Seton Hall University... #JerseyBoy
@flash2gordon
My Official Twitter Account!!
Living Life Happy And Playing The Sport That I Love...Don't be good, BE GREAT...#WhyNotME..Seton Hall University... #JerseyBoy
Bill Russell, Boston Celtics Veteran, Sounds Off On Gay Athletes
| By JIM VERTUNO
Updated: 04/28/2014 1:59 pm EDT
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell said Wednesday that gay athletes' current fight for equality and acceptance reminds him of some of the same struggles black athletes faced in the 1960s.
Russell, who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, said talk about whether gay athletes can be good teammates or if they might disrupt locker rooms are the same questions black athletes heard years ago, when colleges and professional leagues were struggling with the concept of integration.
"It seems to me, a lot of questions about gay athletes, were the same questions they used to ask about us," Russell said during a panel discussion at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, which is hosting a summit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
Russell said he would have only one question about a gay teammate: Can he play?
Russell, 80, joined NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, 78, on a panel about sports and race during the three-day Civil Rights Summit. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to address the summit Wednesday night, and President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak Thursday.
Brown and Russell were key figures, as athletes and black leaders, during the civil rights movement. Both men said they approached civil rights as a struggle for respect for human beings based on their character and merit, not the color of their skin.
Their comments came just hours after UMass basketball player DERRICK GORDON became the first openly gay player in Division I men's basketball.
The former athletes also addressed the question of whether college athletes should be able to form unions and collectively bargain with their universities. Brown said he opposed unionizing college athletes, but also said he disliked the model of the NCAA.
"It's not going to be a struggle between the NCAA and the union, that will just be (about) money ... put the value back on education," Brown said.
Russell, however, remembered fighting to form the NBA players union to get better contracts. That only worked when players threatened to sit out an all-star game and the playoffs, Russell said.
"All great fortunes are amassed with either cheap or slave labor," Russell said. "The NCAA is the one group everybody is focusing on. They have this money machine. To keep it this way, the labor force has to be free or very low wages ... All the agreements with the NBA now are based on collective bargaining."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_165747
Updated: 04/28/2014 1:59 pm EDT
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell said Wednesday that gay athletes' current fight for equality and acceptance reminds him of some of the same struggles black athletes faced in the 1960s.
Russell, who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, said talk about whether gay athletes can be good teammates or if they might disrupt locker rooms are the same questions black athletes heard years ago, when colleges and professional leagues were struggling with the concept of integration.
"It seems to me, a lot of questions about gay athletes, were the same questions they used to ask about us," Russell said during a panel discussion at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, which is hosting a summit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
Russell said he would have only one question about a gay teammate: Can he play?
Russell, 80, joined NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, 78, on a panel about sports and race during the three-day Civil Rights Summit. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to address the summit Wednesday night, and President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak Thursday.
Brown and Russell were key figures, as athletes and black leaders, during the civil rights movement. Both men said they approached civil rights as a struggle for respect for human beings based on their character and merit, not the color of their skin.
Their comments came just hours after UMass basketball player DERRICK GORDON became the first openly gay player in Division I men's basketball.
The former athletes also addressed the question of whether college athletes should be able to form unions and collectively bargain with their universities. Brown said he opposed unionizing college athletes, but also said he disliked the model of the NCAA.
"It's not going to be a struggle between the NCAA and the union, that will just be (about) money ... put the value back on education," Brown said.
Russell, however, remembered fighting to form the NBA players union to get better contracts. That only worked when players threatened to sit out an all-star game and the playoffs, Russell said.
"All great fortunes are amassed with either cheap or slave labor," Russell said. "The NCAA is the one group everybody is focusing on. They have this money machine. To keep it this way, the labor force has to be free or very low wages ... All the agreements with the NBA now are based on collective bargaining."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_165747
Quite a powerful panel. I love it that Bill Russell and Jim Brown are involved. They are brilliant thinkers who are highly qualified to speak on these issues. My question is why former major league baseball owner George W. Bush isn't involved? Was he asked and declined?
