Racism Caused Dominique Wilkins To Leave Hometown Before College

Feb 10, 1987; Seattle, WA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins (21) in action against the Seattle Supersonics at the Center Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images
Feb 10, 1987; Seattle, WA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins (21) in action against the Seattle Supersonics at the Center Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images / Imagn Images

Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins had planned to attend North Carolina State out of high school.

He grew up nearly two hours away in Washington, N.C. Things changed when another school entered the picture at the last minute.

"Then the University of Georgia came out of nowhere," Wilkins said during an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast. "So five other high school All-Americans, we all decided to go there together."

The decision led to Wilkins experiencing racism from the locals.

"When I made that decision, all hell broke loose," Wilkins said. "I got all Fs on my transcripts, paint poured on my mom's car and I had a cross burn in my yard."

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It only got worse. Wilkins said the entire town turned against him.

"I got arrested the next day," said Wilkins, who spent most of his NBA career with the Atlanta Hawks. "I'm coming out of a store and the gentleman said, `we've got to arrest you. We saw you steal a tape.' I'm like, `Why would I steal a $3 dollar tape? I've got $3,000 in my pocket. You kidding me?'

That was enough for the Wilkins family. After leaving the police station, they left the city behind and never looked back for several years.

"We left at 12 o'clock at night, the whole family," Wilkins said. "I didn't go back for 30 years until my high school coach (Dave Smith) passed."

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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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com