Count Portland Trail Blazers teammates Robert Covington and Damian Lillard among those in favor of the NBA's trend of focusing philanthropic efforts for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In Sunday night's premier showcase of NBA talent during the 2021 All-Star Game, 3-point shooting wasn't the only winner. More than $3 million was donated to HBCUs and other COVID-19 affected programs through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the National Association for Equal Opportunity and the Direct Relief Fund for Health Equity. ASG team captains LeBron James (TMCF) and Kevin Durant (UNCF), meanwhile, each chose for their respective organizations to receive at least $500,000.
Covington, the league's only active player from an HBCU as a Tennessee State Tiger from the Ohio Valley Conference, participated in the 2021 NBA Skills Challenge on Sunday night. The Blazers forward wasted little time in revealing he'd be competing in a black TSU custom jersey before surprising two current TSU students with scholarships equaling $25,000:
Robert Covington surprises two students from his alma matter Tennessee State with $25K scholarships each 🙏 pic.twitter.com/6bYNHte6Bx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 7, 2021
Michael Thompson, a track & field athlete at TSU, had humbling words for Covington:
https://twitter.com/jusfu_muhad/status/1368790979763929089
Lillard, himself a legend from Weber State, understands what it means to come from a small college, and he was there with words behind Covington on Sunday night. It was an eventful night for the Blazers star, who scored 32 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer.
Via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
“A huge reason why they are not being considered by the top players are the resources and the facilities aren’t on the same level of these conference schools. It’s not as appealing.
“This is a start with the NBA including [HBCUs] in things like this. Their being put on the radar of more kids because of how many kids follow the NBA is a step in the right direction.”
As of 2020, more than 74% of the world's best basketball league was Black, but HBCU enrollment leveled to around 9% in recent years.
If this is the beginning of the NBA's focus to provide awareness and create more educational opportunities, it's only great news. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is getting involved with Florida A&M. Phoenix Suns point guard and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul also recently dipped his creative hands into the HBCU world, too, by helping produce the eight-episode “Why Not Us” — centering around NCCU's men's basketball. It's currently airing through ESPN+.
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