More than 65 years later, a college basketball championship team gets its White House moment [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: April 6, 2024 / 8:41 AM EDT
College basketball's national champions will be crowned on Sunday and Monday, with a likely celebratory trip to the White House to follow, but after more than 60 years, one team finally has its moment on Pennsylvania Avenue. "This is the greatest day of my life," said George Finley, a former basketball player for the Tennessee A&I Tigers during their championship run.
Finley, along with five of his former teammates who are now well into their 80s, met with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday at the White House, an experience the former college athletes have waited decades for. The Tennessee A&I Tigers men's basketball team was the first HBCU team to win a national championship in 1957, and made history again by becoming the first college team to win three back-to-back national titles from 1957-1959.
"I thought this would never take place," said Finley, who was part of the 1959 championship team and eventually drafted by the NBA's Detroit Pistons but chose to play for the American Basketball League. "[Winning] the championship was big, but it wasn't as big as being here with [Vice President] Harris today."
But during the era of segregation and within the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Black college athletes were often denied the recognition and opportunities to play on an elite level. Tennessee A & I, now known as Tennessee State University, is a public HBCU. Harris hosted six members of the team in a meeting along with their family, friends, and those close to the group of former athletes. Henry Carlton, Robert Clark, Ron Hamilton, Ernie Jones, George Finley, and Dick Barnett joined Finley in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tennessee-ai-university-basketball-white-house-basketball-champions/
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The Tennessee A&I Tigers broke barriers on the court while fighting injustice off it.
In 1957, they became the first HBCU to win a national championship before becoming the first team to win three in a row.
It was my honor to welcome them to the White House for the first time.
Vice President Harris receives a jersey from the Tennessee A&I Tigers men's basketball team.
Vice President Harris welcomes the Tennesse A&I Tigers men's basketball team to the White House for the first time.
George Finley and the Tennesse A&I Tigers men's basketball team come to the White House for the first time.
7:30 PM · Apr 5, 2024
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