Celebrating key Black players, coaches and referees who helped ... First Black female referee: Violet Palmer made history as the NBA’s first female referee on Oct. 31, 1997, when she officiated ...

Carrying the weight of history, these first Black NBA players entered arenas where many didn’t want them and still played at a high level. In a time of segregation, they proved that their ...

In February for Black History Month, USA TODAY Sports is ... Hall of Fame in 2003 and died in 2015. Two other Black players entered the NBA in 1950, the same year as Lloyd. One was Nat Clifton ...

Runstedtler is a professor at American University and a scholar of African American history whose ... be apolitical. Black players also leveraged the existence of the NBA’s competing league ...

The NBA has recently celebrated and acknowledged the 75th anniversary of the first three Black players to take the ... during Black History Month. "I am excited about the fact that we are going ...

“Black Ball” reconsiders that period of NBA history, placing it in a more positive light. The book revisits the struggles of players including Connie Hawkins and Haywood, both of whom sued to ...

Earl Lloyd made NBA history by becoming the first Black basketball player to ever check into a game 72 years ago. It was a historic occasion as the 6-foot-5, 200-pound West Virginia State alum ...

Cooper was the first Black player ever drafted by an NBA team. Clifton was the first to sign an NBA contract. Lloyd was the first to play in a regular-season game. Carrying the weight of history ...

He made history when his team ... three years after Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Two other Black players entered the NBA in 1950, the same year as Lloyd. One was Nat Clifton ...