Glory Road (James Gartner, 2006)
Rating: 3.7
Representative Anecdote assignment:
It’s the day before the National Championship basketball game, and as you would come to expect from any typical sports movie, the time has come for the coach to deliver the definitive motivational speech. The Texas Western basketball team sits in the stands of an empty arena, seven black players, and four white, while their coach, Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) starts spouting racial epithets and discriminatory reasons why a team with so many African American players has no chance at winning a championship game. Despite the fact their coach has shown them nothing but respect and confidence in their abilities all season, this obvious satirical speech confuses the players and we see them grow angry until Haskins reveals “he’s sick of hearing people say these things.” Next, Haskins tells his team he intends to “shut everyone up” by only playing the black players in the final game. A white player interjects speaking on behalf of the other white players saying it’s not fair to them, because they earned it just as much and they want to play just as much as anyone else. On the other hand he concedes to the fact that the black players have had to deal with far worse unfair treatment throughout history and if that’s what needs to be done to stop the racism in sports then they’ll do their part to help. But in this poignant cliché filled scene, the sentiments of the coach, the players, and the spectators are summed up while also conveying the fact that this is about a whole lot more than just a game of basketball. It is debatable whether or not the real Don Haskins actually made this speech to his players or whether it’s all just a bunch of Hollywood hype. Despite the good intentions of this film, this scene is an excellent example of how it, in some ways, reinforces racism in sports by segregating players based on skin color rather than treating them as equals and playing the five most talented player regardless of color.
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