As New Orleans warms up for games on the NBA’s Orlando campus, fans with a keen eye may notice that the back of each Pelicans player’s shooting shirt features the same two last names: Smith and Carlos. The black-and-white warmups – featuring a clenched fist on the front – are a tribute to two USA Olympic medal winners who combined 52 years ago on one of the most memorable displays in the history of international competition.
Sixteen years before Pelicans guard JJ Redick was born, but three weeks before head coach Alvin Gentry’s 14th birthday, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos won gold and bronze medals, respectively, at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, on Oct. 16, 1968. When they took the 200-meter event medal stand during the “Star-Spangled Banner,” both men raised a black-gloved fist, to protest the treatment of black Americans.
Early in the 2019-20 NBA season, Smith attended a Pelicans practice and joined fellow decorated USA sprinter and activist Edwin Moses in addressing the team. While sporting the black warmup shirt during a conference call with media members Thursday, guard/forward E’Twaun Moore smiled as he recalled the unexpected chance to meet Smith.
“It was pretty special,” Moore said of the post-practice surprise. “I remember as a kid, reading books and my father telling me about the protest at the Olympics, how (Smith and Carlos) raised a fist, and everything it stood for. It was great for them to share their story and their bravery, how they stood up for equality.”
“For them to go up there (on the medal stand) and show black power, without even saying a word, I feel like means a lot, especially as a black man in sports,” guard Jrue Holiday said of Smith’s and Carlos’ act of silent protest.
Holiday smiled as he called Smith, 76, and Carlos, 75, “the originals, the OGs” of the activist moment, part of the American civil-rights movement in the 1960s.
“(They made sure to) express what they believe in, to make others better,” Holiday said. “Spreading that love and showing that you care for others is very important, especially in this country, at a time like this.”
“They were the real superstars,” Moore said of Smith and Carlos, who were immediately banished from the 1968 Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, in response to the medal-stand gesture. “They sacrificed a lot of their careers, standing up for what they believe in. That was something that resonated with me, not being afraid to speak up for what’s right and trying to be a voice to better our society.”
