What is so wrong with NBA superstar Vince Carter going to his graduation six hours before Game Seven of the NBA semifinals? Why are people so quick to judge him for doing something so wonderful? He graduated from the University of North Carolina three years after leaving early for the NBA draft and people seem to snub him for this. Why did his teammates and coach have no comment? He was directly on a private plane and ready to play two hours before game time in Philadelphia against the Sixers. Why do people (media) make this seem like a bad thing, yet praise Deion Sanders back in 1995 when he plays professional football during the day and in the World Series that evening. Have sports become that much more important than an education? As much as I love sports, I hope not.
Vince showed up for Game Seven and missed the final shot at the buzzer. That had millions preparing to play judge, jury, and executioner yet missing the goodness behind a most righteous moment. Carter’s decision to graduate that Sunday morning showed how this country is so wrapped up in the shallow values of the jock culture we’ve created. Somehow we made the mistake of determining the winner and loser of Game Seven into a right or wrong on the priorities of Carter. He was in the right places at the right times Sunday (and all year), and by no means would Toronto be there without him. But he missed the final shot with two seconds on the clock, and we all had something to say. When it was over, he had no apologies. No regrets.
“A lot of people might not think it’s important,” Carter stated, “just as long as they get the requirements. So what about walking? It doesn’t work that way in my family. It doesn’t work that way in my mind. It was just as important as playing in this game.”
It was beautiful to hear the hint of defiance in his words, an athlete of his caliber using this playoff game to make a stand and sell something to kids beyond $100 jerseys and shoes. It wasn’t Vince’s intent to stand in the face of such resistance, but it was the opposite from what we are used to seeing with athletes in the news for drug use and murder today.
Can we all simply consider the message Vince delivered to the nation? He woke up this particular Sunday morning with the biggest game of his career on his mind. But he still had to graduate and walk the walk like all of us plan to do someday if we haven’t already. It mattered to Vince. He couldn’t let the conclusion of his college degree pass him by when it was only 500 miles away.
This mattered. It was an honor. Did he or will he ever need this degree? Probably not. The man makes millions doing something he loves to do. Even his kids will likely not have to work because of all the money he makes. And this man (arguably one of the best on the planet and comparable to Michael Jordan) planned to be there for his graduation.
So is there any need for the criticism Vince has endured? No. Imagine the message he sent out to all the kids in the world today. Just look at all the college underclassmen that are coming out early, not to mention the high schoolers skipping college all together to enter the NBA draft. And this is a draft with only two rounds, my friends. We see it right here in Cincinnati with UC ball players leaving early only to regret it later because they were too young for all that money and their skills were not ready for that level of play.
Today everyone has a “Show me the money” kind of attitude and not many have the discipline to follow Vince’s path. All he did was leave them with something else to consider, something else to notice. The lesson that should be learned from this is simple: whether he made the shot Sunday or not, win or lose the game, Vince Carter made a statement to everyone around the world, and there can’t be a more honorable man in the National Basketball Association than he is. Vince did the right thing by attending his graduation at the University of North Carolina.