On Wednesday, Craig Hodges, the two-time champion and former 3-point specialist, joined sportswriter Dave Zirin for an hour-long video chat in a promotional appearance for Haymarket Books. Zirin penned the foreword to Hodges’ autobiography, “Long Shot: The Triumphs and Struggles of an NBA Freedom Fighter.”
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Hodges, a longtime activist for equality who has been openly critical of former teammate Michael Jordan and the recent hit docuseries “The Last Dance,” gladly allowed the glory days to take a back seat to current issues.
The senseless killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has become a tipping point in the fight for human rights. The byproduct has been civil unrest across America and worldwide rallies, protests and demonstrations, all of which have raised awareness to issues Hodges famously fought for more than 25 years ago as a player.
“I think it was just a continuation of what has gone on for years,” Hodges said of Floyd’s murder. “Now, it’s just more visible with social media.”
Hodges, now 59, is no stranger to cases of police brutality. He lost a friend back in the famous 1981 case of Ron Settles, who mysteriously died while in police custody. And while Hodges and the Bulls were three months away from capturing their second championship, Rodney King was taking a brutal beating by billy clubs at the hands of the Los Angeles police.
One look at the heinous Floyd video, Hodges said, was all he needed to see. It immediately hit home.
“When you look at the brutality over the centuries,” Hodges said, “I think it’s one of those things that America hasn’t really looked at the history of police and where it comes from as far as the slave catchers and the like. And some things are nature in its root. We talk about ‘It’s a bad apple here. It’s a rogue cop here.’ It’s always singled out. It’s always one bad apple as opposed to the tree and the root of the tree having some bad roots.”
But Hodges, who classifies himself as an optimist, shares hope with many who have noted the enormous diversity in rallies around the globe. Occasionally sprinkled in with those crowds have been the random, masked NBA star. Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Russell Westbrook have participated in marches. Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaylen Brown and DeMar DeRozan also are among those who have joined recent peaceful protests.
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While the ramifications are less severe, Hodges said today’s players have more courage than those in his generation to raise their voices for off-court matters.
“That’s where that point comes, ‘Who am I?’” Hodges said. “Am I identified as a one-dimensional, multi-million-dollar sports icon? Or am I a human being? When human events occur that call for you to act responsibly, you have a choice to make. And I think now, our young athletes with the social media and with the level of consciousness that’s being able to come across through social media this generation is a lot different than what we were. So I love it for what they’re standing on.”
Hodges has long criticized Jordan for choosing to stay out of social and political issues and believes he has been blackballed from the NBA due to his refusal to do the same. Hodges maintained a measure of that criticism Wednesday when asked about Jordan and his Jordan Brand’s $100 million pledge over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.
Black lives matter. This isn't a controversial statement. We are you. We are a family. We are a community. pic.twitter.com/cGH8bJl1GQ
— Jordan (@Jumpman23) June 5, 2020
“I heard about it, and what was interesting to me was I think the last part of the comment was about ingrained racism,” Hodges said. “I found that interesting because if it’s ingrained it’s been there. It’s been there a long time, so didn’t you see it a long time ago? I feel like in a lot of ways they’re trying to get ahead of the curve, the same way the NFL is doing and the same way Nike is doing: ‘Let’s get in front of the curve before people really start to peep out what we’ve done in the past and how much a part and parcel we are of the problem.”
Hodges doubled down on his criticism 20 minutes later after being asked about his thoughts on the rise of Jordan and Nike, particularly in the Black community, in the mid-’80s.
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“Many times, when I look at the posture that M.J. has taken, it has taken on a posture of white supremacy racism whether he knows it or not,” Hodges said. “And he’s smart enough to know it.”
Hodges called for celebrities and famous athletes to take front-line roles in the fight for equality rather than contributing anonymously. Visible leadership and mentors, he said, matter.
“Where young people can see where we’re actually concerned,” Hodges said, “and it’s not just a check that I’m writing but it’s actually me having a passion about your concerns like you do.”
Hodges applauded today’s biggest NBA star, LeBron James, for his numerous community efforts and persistence in speaking out on national issues.
“That brother has to walk a fine line, man, and I respect him for handling it admirably,” Hodges said. “He’s diplomatic on so many levels. Having been thrown into a fire at such a young age, he’s matured on a level where you have to listen to him and he has to be respected. And that’s honorable, man. (There’s) a lot of things and levels that he could possibly go, but we’re not walking in his shoes. I appreciate that he’s pushing the envelope as best he can and as far as he can. But also, I think it’s time for the rank-and-file players to really see what they’re capable of doing in as far as getting the NBA to be the most ‘woke’ league.”
When the Bulls visited the White House in 1992, Craig Hodges wore a dashiki and gave a handwritten letter to George H.W. Bush concerning the poor and minority communities. (Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
When asked how he would respond to the NBA returning amid continued concerns surrounding COVID-19, Hodges spelled out how he would wield his power if he were playing today.
“It ain’t even about corona,” Hodges said. “I ain’t playing because you just killed my brother. And now with this groundswell of support, ain’t none of us supposed to be playing. Why play? How am I going to go play in Atlanta when you just killed brother (Ahmaud) Arbery? How am I going to go play in Minnesota when you just killed brother Floyd? I’m not going to play. And if more of us take that position, we will see some definite policy nuances that reflect what we bring to the table. It’s one of those things. We’ve got the power to do something about it. Now will we?”
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Community, Hodges said, must come before sport.
“That’s what’s happened in America a lot, black lives have been taken for granted to the point where death is almost like watching a TV movie where it’s not real,” he said. “But it’s real. We have to do better as a nation.”
Hodges also weighed in on his NBA exile, “The Last Dance,” and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick among other topics.
On why Hodges believes he was exiled from the NBA:
“I think it’s because the NBA at that point in time didn’t really want to face the issue of race and discrimination, not only in America but the human rights violations that have occurred in America against African people. They have never been willing to face it. And I’ve never run away from the issue. In fact, many of these issues you and I discuss publicly are discussed in locker rooms. But they won’t bring it to public view because of possible repercussions from what may come from what ownership thinks about it or doesn’t think about it.
“The lesson we learned from my brothers (Tommie Smith and John Carlos) in 1968 that when you come back from standing on something principled that you’re going to have to fight. And the economic battle is so much that when they cut your legs off economically, now your family struggles. But if you maintain your discipline and the reality of things — and all of us had great support systems or wouldn’t have been champions of any type. So those support systems have been so great to all of us. And for me, I look at it as almost kudos to know that from a political standpoint you have to try to make sure that you don’t let this brother earn money just not to be able to spread this message to other athletes.”
On why Hodges believes he was omitted from ‘The Last Dance’:
“As soon as it came out, I had an interview and someone said they interviewed 106 people. And I’m, like, ‘OK.’ When you go back and you watch and you saw him shooting the shot against Cleveland, I’m in the backcourt with you, man. I’m in the backcourt with you when we’re getting ass-whoopings from Detroit. C’mon. To me, it’s one of those things where you can try to edit me out — it’s similar to the 3-point contest. You go back and you look at it. You’ve changed the contest all around so you don’t have to try to mention me and that kind of stuff. But it’s funny because we understand history. I’ve been blessed to be a part of it. It’s almost an honor and a privilege that I wasn’t a part of it because it almost shows my position that I took in life.
“We’re speculating. But they definitely would have had to leave (me) on the editing room floor because it wouldn’t have been in vibration to what they’re trying to get across. I look at the certain points when you talk about ‘Republicans buy gym shoes,’ I should have been in that part. The part at The White House. Those types of instances. Even to the clip that they put at The White House, they showed B.J. (Armstrong) shooting his jump shots and I shot mine right after that. So I know when you went through the clip you saw Craig Hodges. And you’ve spoken to rank-and-file players of the teams. C’mon, man. I think it was an easy omission for M.J., especially knowing my beliefs and where I stand on some of the things he doesn’t stand on.”
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On whether Hodges feels vindicated for his activism as a player:
“For me, we’re part and parcel of a culture and a fabric, man. I don’t take any accolades for doing what I’m supposed to do at that point in time in the context of where my people are concerned. For me it’s more of a light being shed on the ancestors who gave the ultimate price. And George Floyd being in that line with Dr. King and Malcolm (X) and Medgar Evers who gave their lives in support of principles, man. And I feel like right now we’re at a critical point where everyone has to look at themselves.
“Racism is a learned behavior. And it’s time for everyone to look at when did that behavior start? I was talking to my sons about it the other day. I grew up in a household that spoke in racial epithets because it’s similar to what Malcolm said, ‘It’s the hate that hate produced.’ You respond to that which is coming at you. So I ask white people to think in terms of when was the first time you encountered racism, and can we truly start to be honest about those conversations? And then squash them so the next generation won’t have that same learned behavior.”
Larry Bird and Craig Hodges are the only two players to have won three consecutive 3-point contests. (Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)
On vindication for what Kaepernick and others kneeled for:
“That’s the thing is that a protest like that is much better than an armed protest. You know what I’m saying? To see what Colin has been able to do in as far as when you look around the country, coupled with Black Lives Matter, you see people taking a knee. And none of that was done without him, without him realizing that he had to do something based on where he was within his career and within the platform that he had. I give him applause all the time, man, because he made a courageous move at a (pivotal) point in his career.
“Everyone wants to see what you’re capable of doing and what type of numbers you can put up just from a competitive end and how you grew up playing the game. And for it to be taken away from you, I understand it. And I’m sure Mahmoud (Abdul-Rauf) understands it. I applaud Colin for doing it. But I also applaud people worldwide who supported him in social media. I feel like the social media end and the amount of pressure that’s being applied today is what made (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell come out and say that we were wrong about it. And then it goes to the point of, ‘OK, you said you were wrong. But what were you totally wrong about? And how far do those wrongs go? And are we willing to admit to the depths of those wrongs that we speak about?’”
On whether he asked Jordan and Magic Johnson to boycott the 1991 NBA Finals:
“Yeah. I asked them before practice, unlike what Stephen A. Smith said (saying) I asked them right before tipoff. I didn’t do it like that. We had a shootaround the day before the game. I asked M.J. before the shootaround. I asked Magic before the shootaround. Both of them took cursory looks at it as though I was crazy. And I understood that because they haven’t studied what I’ve studied. They didn’t have the thought process that I had. But now I see basically they’re coming around to the realization that our rights have been trampled upon. And it’s human rights violations as opposed to this civil rights garbage that has never carried any weight with anyone.”
On former teammates Hodges keeps in touch with:
“Me and Horace (Grant) talk at least two or three times a week. Our relationship has gotten a lot tighter. I had a chance to speak to John Paxson over the last couple of days, which was very, very, very cool, man. For him to reach out to me at this time and just say, ‘Yo, Hodge, I’m with you brother,’ that touched me, man, because that’s crossing those lines that need to be crossed.
“B.J. and I. Bill Cartwright. And I see a lot of the guys during the summer for our golf outing stuff. It’s cool, man. I’ve been blessed to have great teammates wherever I’ve been. Ricky Pierce and I still stay in touch. We were teammates in Milwaukee. It’s a good thing.”
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On whether Hodges would have changed the way he protested and if he has any regrets:
“None at all. That’s the beautiful part of where I am at 59. I know how big a part that was in my growth process, in my learning, in my maturity. But no. It was culturally imperative at that time. And at any point in time. Had I won in college I think I would have worn the dashiki. I don’t know if I would have written the letter. The letter came to me the night before we took the trip. So it’s one of those things that I knew just in my heart.
“And to this day, man. My oldest son went to a march in San Diego this last weekend. And he called me at the end of it and he said, ‘Man, Dad, I know why you are like you are now.’ And I stopped him mid-sentence and I was, like, ‘Yeah, you felt something bigger than yourself, huh?’ He was, like, ‘Man, it felt like I was on the biggest team in the world.’ I grew up with that. So that energy was put on me when I was a baby and it never stopped.”
(Photo: Jack Arent / NBAE via Getty Images)
