Horace Grant's time down under with the Koorie Academy
The NBA legend found time in his busy schedule to teach, and learn, from the Indigenous players of Koorie Academy.
Every year we see NBA players grace our shores, be it on holiday, for media appearances, or camps.
In the case of Horace Grant, beyond his inclusion in the NBL’s No Bull tour and relevant media appearances, there was something more personal and authentic to his time in Australia.
The four-time NBA champion -- now NBA Goodwill Ambassador - has travelled the globe since his retirement, connecting with communities around the world, growing the game and spreading his story with hopes to inspire the next generation. Though his time here was headlined by high profile TV spots and speaking nights, his most cherished moments seem to have been conducted with little fanfare.
When news of the Bulls legend’s trip to Australia was announced, Ricky Baldwin, CEO and founder of Indigenous non-for-profit Koorie Academy, was keen to get them up to speed with Australia’s Indigenous history and culture. It was proving difficult to get the group involved amongst their busy schedule, but one message to Baldwin’s phone would lead to the opportunity of a lifetime for his players.
It read: I’ve spoken to Horace and he’d love to do a clinic with the Academy kids.
“We went and picked him up, and spent a couple of hours in the car together,” Baldwin said.
“First, I took him out to the hangar of the Essendon Football Club to meet the Aboriginal Elders of the Wandarra Corporation. When Horace and I met I gave him some history on this country, he was shocked, he didn’t know everything that had happened. When the elders sat down and spoke with him, all the elders including Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy, a senior elder, said everything I said, so he looked at me and nodded in understanding.”
As Grant delved further into understanding the plight of Indigenous people throughout his two days with Ricky, a relationship, forged through similar experiences of hardship, grew.
“I opened up to him, and told him about my childhood, and about how my basketball career ended at twenty-one because I didn’t have a good childhood as a result of my intergenerational trauma, it resonated with him and his families’ experience. Though the stolen generation is completely separate, there are a lot of synergies, and that made us click.”
That next day, in speaking with the Koorie Academy athletes, Grant shared a snapshot of his time growing up in a historically racist Georgia, which included meals consisting of bread and syrup, maybe meat such as deer, if hunting was successful.
“In terms of so many poverty-stricken neighbourhoods that they come from, early in my life we had to fish for my food, if you truly wanted to eat. Incarceration, drug abuse, violence in our neighbourhood, I can relate,” Grant shared with The Pick and Roll.
“[My interest] comes from my ancestors and what they went through with slavery, oppression and colonization. First Nations people are kinda going through the same thing in terms of equality so I understand their pain, in a sense.”
On top of speaking to the athletes, Grant generously gave his time and energy for two hours, running them through activities and observing more Indigenous customs.
“We did the smoking ceremony - we use the eucalyptus leaves for cleansing, and to chase away bad spirits,” Baldwin said.
Credit: Koorie Academy
“I’d explain how we have birthing trees - we’d hollow the tree out and a couple of meters up we’d hollow another hole in the tree - like a big steam room with the eucalyptus where the women would give birth. For him to learn all that, it blew him away. Then we had the young boys dance, boys that I coached - I sat there very proud watching them keep culture alive. I asked them to explain what the handprints on their backs represented - the oaka, clay, and the representation of them having their brother or sister’s back, he was blown away by that. I explained how each tribe and their oaka markings are different, and he said ‘I want to take this back to America’.
“In our tradition, when we went from one tribe to another, we would give them a message stick, so I made him a message stick with all traditional symbols. There were footsteps representing Horace, as well as little footsteps, representing the kids he was talking to at the clinic. He’d never seen anything like it. For us to share and him to learn about the oldest living culture in the world and for him to care, it was special.”
He understood and really cared when it came to meeting with our elders and our kids and doing a clinic with them. He is someone that is very spiritual, but he didn’t know anything about Aboriginal culture, so he was blown away. That was very special to be able to share.
“I was like, ‘is he going to be arrogant?’ I didn’t know what to expect.
“Back when I was a kid, he was the ACC player of the year at Clemson, he had an unbelievable career, then 17 years in the NBA. I didn’t expect to meet such a grounded, humble, caring man. Most people that come out here charge an arm and a leg to run clinics, and here’s a four-time NBA champion, played with Kobe and Jordan, Shaq and Penny, and he just wanted to work for free with my community - that blew me away. It seemed surreal.”
In Grant, the kids of Koorie Academy got to see a role model, not just for basketball, but for any of life’s endeavours, and his ultimate message was to listen to your elders and stick with your community.
“It was my first time studying the culture of the First Nations people. It has been so interesting hearing some of the things that they’ve gone through over so many years. They’re strong - strong in culture, their love and understanding for each other, and how much they love the youth,” Grant said.
“I absolutely love the sense of community. The sense of closeness, the protection, the loyalty that a culture like this has, brings me joy. My aunts and uncles, grandparents, next door neighbours, teachers, coaches, advisors, principals, and superintendents of schools were those that supported me on my journey - it took a whole village to help me and my brother get out of where we were. It takes a village to raise a family.”
“They were beautiful words,” Baldwin reflected.
“I always promote that we’re one united mob. There’s a lot of dysfunction in the Victorian Aboriginal community from intergenerational trauma. The stats are not good. We have over 23,000 Indigenous kids in out of home care, 80% of all 10 year olds that are incarcerated are aboriginal, 69% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids are absent from school. Our kids are not bad kids, but they can come from dysfunctional backgrounds. The school system is not set up to handle kids from trauma-filled or dysfunctional backgrounds, so they get labeled as troublemakers. They’re not trouble makers, they’re just coming from a different background, and they say stuff it and stop attending school.
“We make generational change through the kids. We are what we see. They know that not many NBA players would give up this time to learn our culture. For someone like him to sit down and say if you put in the hard work, anything is possible, it’s impactful.”
Grant has since returned to the United States, but Baldwin feels left with a relationship for life.
“We’ve already corresponded via text. He wanted to have a video call with me talking to his young kids about the Aboriginal artifacts we gifted him. I wasn’t expecting to form a friendship. He text me and said ‘I can’t thank you enough for sharing your culture with me. I’m very grateful’. You don’t expect that.”
For Grant, the sentiment is no different.
“My time in Australia has been phenomenal. Meeting people, working with the NBL, going to events has been great, but what’s been most important has been spending time with Rick, this Academy, and meeting the kids. The love he has for the Koorie Academy and the youth is unbelievable.”
All image credit: Koorie Academy
