[Magdalen] RIP Meadowlark Lemon.

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Jay Weigel

>He was good enough to play pro ball, but he wanted to entertain people. God
>be good to him, as the Irish say.

Wanted?  Well, I suppose if you classify "wanted" as in "wanting to play 
basketball and get paid for it despite racial segregation in the NBA in the 
1950s , I suppose you're correct.

It should be noted that African Americans started out proud of him, but turned 
on him later for "promoting" a racial stereotype, called "tomming for Abe 
[Saperstein, the teams owner). Lemon didn’t seem to care -- he was doing what he 
was doing and having fun at it. and later Civil Rights leaders like Jesse 
Jackson took a wholly different view (and was named an honorary Globetrotter.

But like so many things, it's complicated.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie