Page 6
March 11, 2015
New Prices
Effective
May 1, 2010
O PINION
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A small distance/travel charge
may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) :
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Boardroom is new Frontier for Diversity in the NBA
Earl Lloyd left a
legacy to follow
BY M ARC H. M ORIAL
In an era that can
boast of legendary
feats of basketball from
black players like
Magic
Johnson,
Michael
Jordan,
LeBron James and countless others,
one might find it difficult to remember,
or believe, there was ever a time when
black athletes were not a significant
presence on professional basketball
courts. But it would take nearly three
and a half years after Jackie
Robinson’s 1947 groundbreaking feat
of becoming the first African Ameri-
can to play in Major League Baseball
for the National Basketball Associa-
tion to shatter its own color barrier
with a 6-foot-5, 225-pound power
forward named Earl Francis Lloyd.
Born in 1928 in Alexandria, Va.,
Lloyd, who had humble beginnings
as the son of a coal yard and domes-
tic worker, gave no hint to what he
would come to accomplish both on
and off court. As the star of West
Virginia State University’s basket-
ball team, Lloyd was even unaware
he had been drafted until a campus
friend told him she had heard a ru-
mor he might be moving to Wash-
ington. That rumor proved true.
Lloyd was one of a trio of African
American basketball players drafted
in the historic, color-shattering
1950 draft. Lloyd was drafted by
the Washington Capitols in the
ninth round; Chuck Cooper—the
first black player drafted by an
NBA team—was drafted by the
Boston Celtics; and Harlem
Globetrotter Nat “Sweetwater”
Clifton joined the New York Knicks.
While all three men had already
achieved significant milestones just
by being drafted, Lloyd would be
the first African American to take
the court in the NBA, suiting up on
Oct. 31, 1950 for the Capitols’ sea-
son opener against the Rochester
Royals, scoring six points and grab-
bing a game-high 10 rebounds.
“When Earl stepped out on the
court on that fateful date in 1950,
this remarkable man rightfully earned
his place in the historic civil rights
movement and, more important, he
opened the door to equality in
America,” remarked West Virginia
State University President Brian
Hemphill upon learning of Lloyd’s
passing last month.
After playing seven games with
the Capitols, Lloyd was drafted into
the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean
War. When Lloyd returned, he played
for the Syracuse Nationals, where he
made history again by becoming the
first African American starter on an
NBA championship team. Lloyd
moved on to play and then coach for
the Detroit Pistons. He became the
first black assistant coach with the
Detroit Pistons in 1968 and became
the team’s head coach in 1971.
Earl Lloyd has left behind quite a
legacy for basketball, for professional
sports and for our nation. We would
surely do his legacy a disservice if we
relegated the extraordinary achieve-
ments and universal accolades—in-
cluding his 2003 induction into the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for
breaking the NBA’s color barrier—to
history. Lloyd’s journey through the
ranks of the NBA, first as a player, and
later as a coach, prove the game
doesn’t end on the court—and nei-
ther do its struggles for diversity and
inclusion.
According to the league’s 2014
Racial and Gender Report, 77 per-
cent of all NBA players are African
American, while almost 81 percent
are people of color. Nearly 44 per-
cent of all head coaches are coaches
of color and, in a new record, slightly
more than 46 percent of assistant
coaches are coaches of color.
However, going further up the
management chain, the numbers dip
dramatically. Of the 30 teams that
make up the NBA, only two have
owners of color: Michael Jordan is
the majority owner of the Charlotte
Hornets and Vivek Ranadive is the
controlling owner of the Sacramento
Kings. According to the report, they
are the first two owners of color to
lead their teams in any major profes-
sional sports league. The board-
room—and more specifically, own-
ership—has clearly become the new
frontier of diversity in the NBA and
professional sports.
Lloyd once recounted the story
of a fan he met, remembering, “‘He
said, ‘Mr. Lloyd, we really owe you,’
and I explained to him, ‘Man, you
owe me absolutely nothing.’ I said,
‘Whatever kind of career I had, it
has served me well, but you do owe
some people, and the people you
owe are the folks who are going to
come behind you.’”
Lloyd’s debut on the NBA’s ros-
ter in 1950 was a historic moment
that paved the way for so many of
the basketball players we cheer, and
those we jeer, but his achievements
did not end there—and neither
should the NBA’s.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer of the Na-
tional Urban League.