Author talks to J school students about his work
By Aaron Bals
J Alumni News staff
Ron Thomas covers sports for the San Francisco Examiner, but he found a home for his first book, "They Cleared the Lane," at the University of Nebraska Press.
"They Cleared the Lane" is about the struggle of black athletes for acceptance in professional basketball. Thomas visited UNL on Jan. 27, sponsored in part by the Lynn and Dana Roper Sports Journalism Fund, to talk about his book and where black athletes and coaches stand today.
Thomas has been a writer in the San Francisco Bay area for the last 24 years of his 29-year career. From 1982 to 1984 he was USA TODAY's first NBA reporter and traveled throughout the country covering pro basketball. Now working for the San Francisco Examiner, Thomas is a well-known face in nearly every professional sports stadium in San Francisco. He currently covers professional baseball, basketball, football, tennis and college basketball.
Unlike the integration of baseball, which is well documented. Thomas's book is the first to document the history of basketball's integration. However, the book's unique topic did not necessarily mean Thomas found a book deal quickly.
"The University of Nebraska Press really rescued me," Thomas said. "I have a stack of 33 rejection letters in a drawer back home to prove it."
Throughout his speech, Thomas told the audience about specific events that he thought turned the tide for black basketball players. Unlike baseball with Jackie Robinson's historic debut, basketball's integration occurred at a slower pace and with less public attention. Thomas said some people who played important roles in the sport's integration think the book should be a mandatory read for professional basketball players. "Several people in the book are talking to the NBA about buying a copy of the book for every player," Thomas said. "I would obviously love that, and I know that the University of Nebraska Press would love it."
Thomas believes that the racial gap in basketball has been closed for both players and coaches. However, he sees major problems with the role of black coaches in football. Thomas said that of the 242 head coaches at the college and professional level, only eight are African American.
"There are so many black head coaches in NBA basketball that no one keeps track anymore," Thomas said. "But in pro and college football, the disparity between black players and coaches is shocking."
Thomas's visit to UNL was made possible in part by the Lynn and Dana Roper Sports Journalism Fund. The fund was set up by the Ropers to encourage student interest in print sports journalism. This is the first of what will be annual events sponsored by the fund, which also sponsors a sports writing competition and award
"We wanted to encourage journalism students to consider sports writing as a career because there is no class for it right now," Lynn Roper said.
Lynn and Dana Roper graduated from the UNL journalism school in 1970. Lynn works for Merrill Lynch and her husband Dana is the Lincoln city attorney. Their fund will allow journalism school faculty to run the writing competition and choose a new speaker to visit UNL every year. Lynn Roper was excited about future sports journalism guests at the university.
"This will be an ongoing thing forever," Roper said.
