NBA Great Oscar Robertson Detailed How Took High Road After Klu Klux Klan Incident In 1950s

Shandel Richardson | Nov 22, 2024

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Oscar Robertson is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson played in the NBA during a time segregation existed.

Whites and black did everything separately. About the only thing they did together was sports.

In 1959, Robertson received a hate letter from the Klu Klux Klan before a game. He detailed during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast.

"We were playing in the Dixie Classic," Robertson said. "I knew nothing about the Dixie Classic. I get a telegram that says if you go in there and play, they're going to shoot me."

Posted by All the Smoke on Thursday, September 19, 2024

Robertson, who was the first player to average a triple-double for a season, took the threat in stride. On game day, he even accommodated a white fan who appreciated his talents. It was his way of blocking out the negativity.

"Later on that day, I get a knock on the door," Robertson said. "It's a white kid from Alabama, some Alabama fraternity guy wanting to come get an autograph from me. What do you think I did? I autographed it for him. I'll never forget that as long I live. I was born in Tennessee. I never really thought that much about the Klan. Where I lived, we had a lot of relatives. Although the whites and blacks were separate, there was no going out and hanging somebody and nothing being done about it. They protected themselves."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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