Huby's Halftime: Jokic, Golf, and Quincenera

Photo by Bhushan Sadani on Unsplash

Welcome to Huby’s Halftime. The school year is over (cracks open beer)!!! I plan to be more active at The Mesh Point this summer, so if you have not already shared, get someone new to subscribe. Let’s hop into the dominance of Nikola Jokic, whatever is happening with  PGA/LIV Golf, and thoughts about attending my first Quinceanera.

Jokic

If you spend any amount of time online you have seen the jokes by now. “He was drafted during a taco bell commercial” 

Or as Spencer Hall so cleverly puts it, Jokic looks like a giant horse playing basketball. But if anything is clear, Nikola Jokic is here to stay. On Monday night, Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to their first ever NBA Championship. In a season where he arguably should have won his third straight MVP trophy, Jokic did the thing that NBA fans are obsessed with ,and frankly many thought he could not do, win a NBA title. 

In what is still a relatively young NBA career, Jokic has put up an impressive stat line. Finishing in the top 20 in points, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage per game for the 2022-23 season. But while the debates about greatness and why he is not a “marketable superstar”, can we pause and enjoy greatness when we see it. Yes, Jokic has a bit of a “dry” personality and is not the most exciting person to follow on social media, but perhaps that is okay. In a culture that is making strides to welcome folks as they are, perhaps our sports media and discussions can do the same. 

We do not need Nikola Jokic to be in Taco Bell commercials (although this definitely should happen) to know he is a star. Whenever we turn on the game it is evident we are witnessing a generational player. This does not make Jokic a better player or person as I know folks are willing and ready to have that conversation already. If you are wanting to have that conversation please check your racial bias at the door please. His personality is just different, and that is okay. We stan our introverted king who would rather be home with his horses. 

Jokic wants to be known for being good at basketball, so let's keep our focus on just that, basketball. 

Golf

My main interactions with golf have been when Tiger Woods was the most dominant athlete in the world, being forced to watch the awful movie The Legend of Bagger Vance, and taking students to a golfing non profit in Greensboro. While never playing the sport or honestly caring that much for it, I have always admired and respected its cultural relevance in not just the sporting world but as a way people do life. Especially in the American south.

On Tuesday June 6th, the PGA announced that it would be merging with LIV Gol, as the two brands have been at odds over the last two years. PGA, the preeminent golf brand of the world, has been challenged by the LIV, a new Saudi funded golf organization. LIV has attracted lots of criticism over the last two years as many view it as a way for Saudi Arabia to detract from the many different human rights violations they are currently known for. For the past two years, many in favor of the PGA and even some of its employees have even made a point to take a moral stand against LIV golf. 

PGA tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been sounding the alarm on player loyalty and morality. Encouraging players under PGA to not leave and go to LIV even though they were offering seven figure contracts. But we should not be shocked. Golf’s most ardent fans and supporters tend to be people who would rather corporations and firearms have more rights and protections than people. The entire golf aesthetic is about wealth, class, and power. The folks celebrating this merger are the same folks who called the LA Dodgers crazy for their Pride event. Should this merger shock us, no. 

But where my mind has been at is not just with golf but with any sport we consume. Are LIV and PGA the only folks rolling around in “dirty” money? Should we hold Texas A&M to the same criticism? Their boosters and NIL collectives are mostly funded by oil money. These companies are heavily responsible for the rapidly accelerating climate crisis. Should we not watch the WWE anymore because Vince McMahon can be a walking piece of shit? The WNBA and its gross underpaying of talent. The NFL and its snail like pace towards player safety, health, and lifetime coverage.  This is not to excuse any of these atrocities but a question I charge is how do we as consumers choose what is right and how to move forward. I do not have answers but I do know one thing, I still will not be watching golf.

Quinceanera

When I first stepped foot into a classroom as a teacher assistant in 2017 I thought I would serve my one year and then move onto something else. Sitting at the beach on vacation and having genuine thoughts like “I wonder what so and so is doing” or “Man when we did this at school it was really great” I knew something was starting to shift. 

Our country was in the early stages of the Trump presidency and the classroom was continually being attacked by both politicians and assault weapons. The classroom became a dream. A place I could collaborate with my students that reflected the values of a better world. A space where the divine is seen in each and every person, and that is reflected in our interactions. A place where we do not just strive to be the best academics we can be but a place where folks feel loved. So the journey to being a teacher full time had begun.

As you invite students into a space where the divine and goodness is uplifted in them, they in turn invite you into those sacred spaces for themselves. Football games, birthday parties, cookouts, and something I got to experience for the first time, a Quinceanera. 

A beautiful celebration of a young girl's journey into the early stages of adulthood. An intimate celebration of Latinx culture and traditions. As young children are constantly seeking adults and spaces where they can be themselves. When those spaces are found they often invite others into those spaces with them. Teachers and classrooms are often those spaces for kids. Reflecting on the beautiful space I had been welcomed into, I could not help lament the war this country has to continuously make classrooms unsafe spaces. From book bans, to attacks on LGTBTQ identities, and the dismantling of anti-racist groups and policies, and the destruction of history curriculums. Politicians and those who seek power see these as moves to insure the integrity of the classroom but instead are creating barriers for teachers to build long lasting relationships with their students. Those that create a space that welcomes not just a learning of the subject material, but a learning and better understanding of those around us.

Teaching is one of the most beautiful jobs in the world because everyday you get to foster a space of learning and community. I am thankful that my students do not see that community coming to an end after they leave the classroom.