(clock ticking)
(AMS Pictures sting)
(tranquil music)
- When we were kids, we all did this.
Playing for hours, dreaming that one day, maybe,
we'll become famous ball players.
But the reality is, out of the millions of kids
who play ball in the world, only 60 players
are selected in the NBA Draft each year,
which means for most of us,
that dream is never realized.
Growing up in Long Island, one of my sports heroes
was a guy named Spence Haywood,
whose hands were so huge, I drew them in class.
That's when I realized that my hands
weren't made for sports, but for the arts.
And he's one of the reasons I started on a path
that led me here today.
This is the story of one of the greatest basketball players
of all time, a man who went from the Olympics
to the Supreme Court to fight for his family.
(tranquil music)
Spencer Haywood climbed out of the cotton fields
to become one of the best ballers of his generation.
He set an Olympic scoring record that lasted decades
and dominated as the best power forward in college hoops.
When the NBA said he was too young to enter,
he fought the power and won, paving the way
for thousands of players to this day.
He was an ABA and NBA all-star,
burning up the boards on some of the most feared squads
in the country.
At his peak, Spencer Haywood was the best ball player
in the world.
He lived the high life and married one of the hottest models
on the scene.
He had it all, but while on top, it all came crashing down.
- How did I get here?
(tranquil music)
I was born on my father's birthday,
April the 22nd, 1949
in Silver City, Mississippi.
I'm from the smallest town in Humphreys County
and that is saying a lot.
If you blink as you drive through,
you might miss it.
- Silver City is a town with the population now
of about 300 people.
Back in the fifties and sixties,
Silver City was a busting community.
♪ Way back in the day ♪
- [Helen] It had a juke joint, it had its own post office,
it had its own store where you could come to town.
And plantation people loved that, coming to town
on a Saturday night.
(bluegrass music)
- Leroy's Cafe was where everything would happen.
This is where the blues was played, right here.
But that sign wasn't there.
No weapons, no fighting.
Every Saturday night it was a fight.
Everybody had a knife.
♪ Get up here whoa Sam ♪
- [Helen] People sung the blues because of the circumstances
in their life.
(applause)
- I feel 'em.
I felt that pain.
- [Guitar Player] Oh yeah?
- Yes, sir.
My dad was a carpenter.
He built beautiful homes for the white people
in this town
and he built the house I grew up in.
My dad built all of these homes around here.
- [Chuck D] But Spencer never met him.
His father died three weeks before he was born
with a hammer in his hand.
His mother, Eunice, was left alone
with 10 mouths to feed
so she had no choice but to return to the hot, dusty
cotton fields with one week-old Spencer
swaddled on her back.
- [Spencer] This is my history and this is who I am.
- The life was hard on the plantations
for black folks back in the fifties and sixties.
Cotton was king.
You had to pick cotton
because that's what you were there for.
- Today, everybody use a machine for this.
But back in my time, in the fifties and the sixties,
it was all done by poor black people
and that was what we did.
And you learned that this was your life blood.
This cotton field.
- [Helen] In the Mississippi delta, the cotton fields
was the babysitter for the kids
that was four and five years old.
They start them picking cotton, pulling the little sack
on their back.
- This is what I was born to do because
of my large hands and I was told as a kid,
"Son, you're going to be the best cotton picker
"this county has ever seen because of your size
"of your hands."
This was the life blood of my family.
This is what we did for a living and this is what
we were all about, cotton.
- [Chuck D] Slavery may have been abolished
by the time Spencer was born in '49
but old habits die hard.
- [Helen] After the Civil War, we as African-American
black people walked out of one form of slavery
into another one, which was called
the share cropping system.
- When I was a kid, the plane used to come over
and dust the crops with DDT and all the pesticides.
And we stayed in the field.
- [Helen] They would spray them with no concern whatsoever
of the people, the young girls, and boys, and men, and women
in the cotton field.
- [Chuck D] Exposure to these pesticides
would eventually lead to cancer and a early death
for many who worked in the fields.
- Mom expected me to pick 200 pounds as a young boy,
at the age of maybe six, seven, or eight.
This was salvation for my family
in its cruel way.
Little did I know, that these hands
were for something else.
(tranquil music)
- Spencer's mother was a woman
that wanted her children to have a better life
in the hopes for a better life,
but it wouldn't happen in Silver City.
The children was hungry and the mom knew
that she had to get up and go to work.
'Cause it's one thing to be hungry today
but there's another thing to be hungry tomorrow.
- [Chuck D] Picking cotton earned Spencer's mother
just two dollars a day.
So after slaving in the field,
she worked as a seamstress at night.
- There were 10 of us kids growing like crazy.
We didn't have money to buy clothes so
she made them for us.
- [Chuck D] Money was tight.
I mean the Haywoods were dirt poor
so whenever they could, Spencer and his brothers
found ways to contribute.
- The country club provided me an opportunity for caddying.
Coming out of the cotton field
and getting in here was like a whole nother world.
This was where I found myself.
When you are caddying for the players,
you got a chance to converse and interact with people.
Whereas in the field, I was just sitting around
singing the blues, trying to figure out
how to get out of it.
- We used to caddy for the white people.
That was our outlet from going to the field
chopping cotton every day.
Because we'd have made a little bit more money
caddying at the country club than we made in the field.
- Well back then, there was no way I could play this course.
- I may be poor.
- [Crowd] I may be poor.
- But I am.
- [Crowd] But I am.
- [Jesse Jackson] Somebody.
- [Crowd] Somebody.
- [Chuck D] In the sixties, Mississippi
was unapologetically segregated,
but it wasn't the only place.
When Spencer was 12, word spread
of a bus bombing in Alabama.
It was 1961 and Civil Rights activists
were rioting through southern states,
challenging the non-enforcement of integration rulings.
But when their Greyhound arrived in Anniston
and the waiting mob of Klansmen slashed the tires
and fire bombed the bus.
The mob then held the doors shut
as the flames and smoke ravaged the passengers inside.
The Klan fled, which allowed the Freedom Riders to escape.
- That was a tragic day, but I'm not surprised.
That kind of stuff happened every day.
Even the white members we were friendly with
made sure we knew our place.
One member told me
if the Civil Rights movement got out of hand,
he would cut my balls off.
I was just a kid.
Me and the other caddies would have to be secretive
about our fun after the white folks left the golf course.
- After the day was over, then we'd take all our money
and go off in the bushes and play card.
You remember that?
- Pitty pat.
- Right over there
in them bushes.
- Over there in the bushes.
We gambled til it got black night.
Those were the days-- - The big casino owners.
- Those were the days.
- This was the first step to escape the field.
It opened up everything for me.
Right here on this golf course.
When we were not working or in church,
my brothers and I played basketball.
We were so poor, there was no way we could afford a ball.
My mom made us a basketball out of burlap sack and cotton.
This is a ball like my mom made.
It was my first ball.
One big problem, it didn't bounce.
Because it did not bounce, we had to establish rules.
You took two bops and you either make the pass
or you make the shot.
Shoot.
Basketball at its finest.
Luckily, we did find a real ball
in a dump behind our house.
My brother, Andrew, appointed himself man of the house
and he ruled with an iron fist.
- Andrew was the bully
of Silver City.
Everything that Andrew said, that's the way it had to be.
- Andrew tormented me but he taught me to be tough
on the courts.
We would walk for miles, looking for pickup games
and of course, he made me walk 10 steps behind him.
All I wanted was his respect.
- They played so hard against each other.
They were very competitive.
- [Chuck D] One night as they played in Bookie's backyard,
Andrew battled Spencer on the court,
knocking him around and trash talking the entire game.
- Peewee and those guys were killing us
and Andrew jumped on me and he was like,
"You are the problem.
"You can't do nothing right.
"You are the downfall of this team."
He was just beating me down.
- [Chuck D] 13 year-old Spencer's anger
triggered something inside that had never come out before.
- The rebound came off the backboard
and I grabbed the ball and I went back up
and I dunked it.
Ugh!
And everybody was like,
"Who is this guy?
"What did he do?
"Look what he did, he dunked."
- [Chuck D] That dunk also triggered something in Andrew.
- At the end of the night, my brother started
patting me on the shoulder and he said to me,
"You're no longer walking 10 steps behind.
"You're walking along beside me."
I never forget that night.
That was my rite of passage.
(bluegrass music)
- [Chuck D] As his love for the game grew, Spencer's mom
took him to the big city of Belzoni
just five miles away to buy his first pair of sneakers.
They cost Eunice three bucks and a pecan pie.
- This is the big, big city.
Downtown Belzoni.
Everything happened here.
People came in from all of the farms from around
and we would just hang out and walk the streets
like we was in Chicago or New York.
But we only had one block to do it.
(laughs)
- [Chuck D] Even though it had less than 2,000 residents
in the early sixties, Belzoni was the closest thing
to an actual city that Spencer had ever seen.
But even there, the Klan was rampant.
Jim Crow was alive and well and blacks knew their place.
Belzoni's also where Spencer would splurge on a movie
on the off chance he had the extra 10 cents in his pocket.
- This is the Crescent Theatre.
I could never go in through the front.
I'd purchase my ticket, we'd walk up the stairs,
and stay in the balcony because at that time,
everything was segregated.
Everything here was white and black.
I mean, it was for coloreds only upstairs,
whites only downstairs.
You had a white water fountain,
you had a black water fountain so
it's just the way things were.
(bluegrass music)
- [Chuck D] Rather than attend high school in Silver City,
Spencer chose the all black McNair High School in Belzoni.
On his first day, Coach Charles Wilson recruited
the 6'6" freshman on the spot.
- Spencer and I was the younger guys on the team.
And Coach, he always was looking for somebody to develop.
A lot of times like, we would be
practicing and he'd have him on the sidelines
jumping ropes or something.
He was uncoordinated at the time.
He got it together though but he was a project.
- At first he was very clumsy and
Coach Wilson at McNair got the best out of him.
(cheering)
- This is where it all starts, right here.
This tiger.
This is hallowed ground.
I know when people go into the big parkade floors
in Madison Square Garden and they go into the Boston Garden
and all of the great arenas throughout the country.
That's all fine and well and that's a holy ground
in which I played on and I won championships on
but this is the beginning, right here.
On this tiger.
- [Chuck D] Once Coach Wilson realized Spencer
could ball out, he bought him a pair
of white high top canvas Chucks.
Spencer felt like he could fly.
- I was like,
"Wow, I got a $10 pair of shoes.
"I've made the big times now."
I have a very special memory of this particular court.
It reminds me of the first night I got a chance
to really play with the varsity team.
My first basket was in that basket right there.
I got
the ball
and I made a layup, it was the perfect shot.
It was the perfect basket and nobody cheered.
I was trying to figure out why.
And they said,
"That's in the wrong basket."
But it didn't deter me at all.
I just shook it off like,
"Yeah,
"I'm in the game though."
- [Chuck D] 15 year-old Spencer would become
the biggest thing Mississippi basketball
had ever seen.
But the country boy wanted more.
But the only future Spencer could see
in the small town of Silver City
was a life of back-breaking work in the cotton fields.
He knew he had to escape somehow.
So Spencer decided to spend the summer
of his sophomore year with his brother Andrew
who just moved to Chicago.
But when the Mississippi kid stepped off the Greyhound,
his excitement turned to disappointment.
- I couldn't wait to visit Andrew.
Chicago, Chi-Town was the big city.
I was quickly disappointed.
Andrew lived with a lot of other people in public housing.
- [Chuck D] Spencer spent most of his days in the ghetto,
playing pickup games.
But when he wasn't, he was miserable.
- I was a sophomore at Bowling Green State University
in Ohio and I received a phone call
from my half-sister, Lena, in Chicago.
She said,
"Your brother's here visiting."
So I borrowed one of my friend's cars
and I drove over to Chicago.
- I was just 15.
If I was to reach my full potential, Leroy knew
I had to get out of there.
He couldn't take care of me but Leroy's coach
arranged for me to meet someone that could.
But, I had to go to Detroit.
- [Chuck D] Detroit was a booming, blue collar town
in the early sixties
with the automobile industry at the helm.
Urban renewal had uprooted black families
and racial tensions were bubbling to the surface.
Although Detroit was on the brink of decline,
Spencer's life was about to take a major upswing.
- Pershing High School, the Motor City.
It's a long way from Belzoni, Mississippi.
Leroy drove me to meet the most influential person
in my life, Coach Will Robinson at Pershing High School.
After seeing that I could play, Coach Robinson
asked my mother if he could be
responsible for me in Detroit.
My mom needed me at home but she wanted me
to advance in life so she agreed.
- Will Robinson was a legendary basketball coach,
and mentor, and man, and father figure for the Doughboys.
Long live the Doughboys.
(upbeat music)
- These kids here, this is the dream.
This is what it's all about and when I see them, I see me.
Long live the Doughboys.
- I was on the team as a junior.
Will Robinson stops practice and says,
"I wanna introduce you all to our new player."
And I was very close friends with the coach
and he said to me in privately,
"I think we have a horse."
- He was the biggest guy in the city.
He was as quick as a cat
and as strong as an ox.
He did things that nobody had ever seen before.
- I was a rookie, just coming to the city of Detroit.
His coach told me about a great player
that he had at the high school level
and he wanted us to meet.
I brought several of my teammates over here
and we would play on this court against Spencer
and his high school teammates
and even as a high school player, he held his own.
- Very few people did backwards dunks back then.
He did a backwards dunk shot.
Damn.
- Wiley Davis was Will's sidekick
and a very bright kid who played good basketball,
but his greatest value to
the team was just being Spencer's friend.
You know, keeping Spencer out of any kind of difficulty.
The two of them were very, very close.
- Will Robinson wanted Wiley to be with me because
I was new to the team, he wanted someone
to keep an eye on me.
- He was a fun guy.
You know, he liked to have fun, he liked to joke,
and he liked to compete.
- You see Wiley, you see Spencer, you know what I mean?
It was just kinda unusual to see 'em together
'cause Wiley was like here and Spencer was up there
but they were inseparable.
(bell ringing)
- This is me when I was in high school
but I wasn't that old.
I looked like I had a mustache.
Mr. Robinson right there would've knocked my head off
if I had that mustache.
- Coach Robinson wanted to keep them off the streets,
out of trouble, away from the girls,
just focused on athletics.
- You cannot be dumb
because when you're dumb, you're gonna lose
in the fourth quarter and he didn't like that.
- Stern is an understatement when it comes
to Will Robinson.
If he caught one of his athletes talking to a girl,
he'd get this lanyard right off his neck.
Whap.
- They also had to have a buddy.
And if your buddy didn't come to school,
you got it with the lanyard.
And then you went and got your buddy
and brought him to school.
He would drive students around
to bad sections of town and say,
"You don't wanna live here.
"You don't want your children raised here."
He taught them a lot of life lessons.
- We used to practice four hours a night.
You had to have passing grades or better.
He was a disciplinarian and not everybody could handle it.
You had a choice.
You can do what I say or you can leave
but I will give you a choice.
He made men out of boys.
- Pershing yay!
- [Boys] Pershing yay!
- All right.
Coach Robinson picked up where my mother left off
and became my legal guardian.
He arranged for his friends, James and Ida Bell
to be my caregivers, even though
they had three children of their own.
This is where I moved, with the Bells.
They adopted me adjointly with Will Robinson's.
- They opened up their home to Spencer
and made him comfortable.
- [Spencer] This became my second family and my home.
I learned family life.
Good support, big time support.
- [Chuck D] Due to the year round share cropping schedule
and poor resources for blacks in Belzoni,
Spencer had what equated to a second grade education
when he arrived as a junior.
Celebrated author Wayne Dyer was a young Pershing teacher
at the time.
- He saw me in the hallway one day and he said,
"Well look, he will be my personal student."
- If it hadn't been for Wayne Dyer,
we would have had a real hard time keeping Spencer eligible.
- He saw that I was kinda beaten down a little bit
because I was walking around with my head down
because in Mississippi, if you looked a white man in the eye
they'd punch you in the face.
"You eye-balling me, boy?"
Wayne said,
"Never, never look down at the concrete.
"You look at everyone in their eyes."
He taught me so much about life.
Since then, Wayne has saved millions with his book
but he enriched me too.
This is an old school, 1929.
A lot of trophies, lot of trophies.
But this one
is very special.
- [Chuck D] In 1967, Spencer's senior year,
he led Will Robinson's Pershing Doughboys
to the Michigan State Championship.
- [Spencer] It took a Detroit public school
a drought of 35 years before we got
to the Class A State Championship and won it all.
- Pencer and Ralph Simpson and that great team
was the epitome of the Pershing Doughboy dynasty
that Will Robinson built.
But he couldn't have done it without the horses
and he had plenty of horses.
- A lot of trophies in my career
but this is the first time that I recognized to myself
that we were Class A State Champions
and it was my real growth spurt.
So this was something special.
- I've never seen talent to rival the talent
that Will Robinson coached and that I coached
at Detroit Pershing High School
in the mid to late 1960s.
(cheering)
- [Chuck D] The joy Spencer felt after winning
the championship was shattered a few months later.
- [News Reporter] Four days of rioting, looting, and arson
rocked the city of Detroit in the worst outbreak
of urban racial violence this year.
At least 36 are killed
and damaged topped the half billion mark.
- The 1967 Detroit riot
began on a Saturday night in the early morning hours
of July 23rd when the police raided
an unlicensed bar.
I was only six at the time but I remember it well.
- It erupted.
It pretty much spread all across the city.
It was more a rebellion against economic circumstances
than it was a race riot.
- I could see the riots, I could see them
vividly on television.
I was just heartbroken to see all of the devastation.
It was just, hmm.
- [Dr. Telford] The city was on fire.
That's basically what happened and it was
in African-American neighborhoods and essentially,
African-American Detroiters were burning up
their own neighborhood.
It got so far out of control.
(radio chatter)
- [Spencer] I know that Detroit gets a bad rap
but I came here hopeless.
I had no parents here, I had nothing.
And I had Will Robinson, Wayne Dyer,
Mrs. Bell, all of 'em took me in.
Pershing High School wrapped their arms around me.
The city of Detroit wrapped their arms around me and said,
"We will nurse this baby to life."
And for this city to be like devastated like that,
I was just heartbroken.
- I don't think the city ever has recovered from that,
even to this day.
- After high school, Wiley and I went to play basketball
at Trinidad State Junior College.
(upbeat rock music)
Colorado was a whole new world.
We had never seen so many different kinds of people
in our life.
- Age 18 was a growing up period.
In high school we were sheltered
but now you're on your own 2,000 miles from home.
And interesting dynamics took place.
- I was amazed to see that first afro on campus.
That was a sense of black pride.
Colorado was our awakening.
- [Chuck D] On the court, Spencer not only
established himself as Trinidad's best player,
averaging 28 points and 22 boards his freshman year,
he was the top junior college scorer and rebounder
in the nation.
But there was a kid named Lew Alcindor
who would inadvertently give Spencer
his first platform on the world stage.
1967 was a time of great turmoil and racial unrest.
By 1968, the entire country seemed to be at war with itself.
And the war in Vietnam sparked its own widespread protest.
The Civil Rights movement was at its peak
and Dr. Harry Edwards was a new voice at the forefront.
- I was a member of the Black Panther party,
had an opportunity to work with some stellar people.
Malcolm X, Rap Brown, and Stokely Carmichael,
and Huey Newton, of course.
The whole movement in the 1960s was framed by
a broad base cultural and political movement,
substantial part of it driven by black youths.
- [Chuck D] At the age of 21, Harry Edwards
was pursuing his Ph.D. in Sociology
at Cornell University.
- We saw the Civil Rights movement on our TV sets,
we read about it in our newspapers,
but we never saw it in the streets
of the traditional black community.
(crowd chanting)
- In April of 1968,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated
and Robert Kennedy was killed two months later.
We had lost two of our most vocal leaders
and the nation was in shock.
With the 1968 Summer Olympics just four months away,
Edwards knew the Civil Rights movement
needed a drastic approach.
Harry Edwards had waged protest before
as he studied the plight of black athletes.
But none as high profile as the '68 Olympic project
for Human Rights Boycott.
- We knew that there would not be a uniformed
and unified boycott.
That was never our goal or standard of success.
- Black people, the black--
the world class black athletes
are voted to boycott the Olympics.
If they join them, I don't know where they think
they're gonna live or where they're going to
establish roots or maintain human ties
because they do have to go back to these black communities.
- [Chuck D] One UCLA superstar who had decided to boycott
was Lew Alcindor, known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar today.
- He grew up in a New York City that had seen everything
from Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X to work discrimination
and so forth and I think
that he had pretty much made up his mind
that he was going to make a statement.
Not just because of the politics that were involved,
but because of what he had experienced himself.
- When Kareem decided to sit out for the '68 Olympics,
that left the door wide open for me.
- So the Olympic Committee said,
"What will we do now?
"Where will we get our players from?"
So they reached out to undergraduates
and for the first time, junior college players.
- [Chuck D] Luckily for Team USA, Spencer Haywood
was in the right place at the right time.
- I was so excited.
I was just 18 years old and just three years earlier
I was picking cotton in Silver City, Mississippi.
Now I would be representing the country where
three years ago, I was a second-class citizen.
Only in America.
(triumphant music) (crowd cheering)
The Olympic Village in Mexico City was unbelievable.
I couldn't get over all of the different kinds of people.
Black, white, Asian, representing their flag.
It took my breath away.
We wasn't supposed to win without Kareem,
but I took full advantage of my chance invitation.
And I dominated.
I averaged 16.1 points per game
and set a record for the most points
that stood for 44 years.
Not bad for my first outing on the world stage.
- [Chuck D] Yet and still, everyone was holding their breath
over looming protests that could happen at any time.
Basketball great Bill Russell and my hero, Jackie Robinson
endorsed the boycott, as did Martin Luther King, Jr.
- About three months before he was assassinated,
I promised Dr. King that I, not only,
would harm no athletes but I would do everything
that I could to make sure that all of the athletes,
whether they endorsed or did not endorse
the Olympic Project for Human Rights were safe,
that they were able to speak whatever their position was.
- [Chuck D] And although boycotting hadn't seriously
crossed Spencer's mind, officials brought in
heavy artillery to ensure the athletes
didn't give in to the pressure.
- The great Jesse Owens came to us
to cool down the idea of protesting.
He said,
"It's the wrong thing for black Americans to do."
- [News Reporter] America's track star,
22 year-old Jesse Owens gets ready for the featured event
of the day.
- To drive home the point, he said,
"How would you have felt if you had to run before Hitler?"
(gun shot)
(crowd cheering)
- [News Reporter] At 10.3, it's an Olympic and world record.
Hitler is not amused.
Jesse Owens will win three more medals
to become the greatest hero of the Berlin games.
- He said,
"If I could do it without protesting, so can you."
- I think if anything, Jesse Owens speaking to the athletes
made those athletes who were committed
more committed than ever because he made such statements as,
"If you
"do this,
"if you boycott the games or if you demonstrate,
"you will never be able to get a job."
And I think it was John Carlos who said,
"What the hell you talking about?
"I can't get a job now."
So we passed out buttons to all of the athletes
who would take 'em, we talked about what the options were
if you got to the podium.
- On October 16th, 1968,
John Carlos and Tommy Smith won bronze and gold respectively
in the 200 meters.
At the podium, they raised their black glove fists
as their way of supporting human rights.
Whenever I see that picture, I'm moved
still to this very day.
- The Olympic Committee was so upset
that they kicked Tommy and John out of the Olympics
and then they asked Will to come to Mexico City
to do some damage control.
- Will did go down as a father figure to Spencer
but he went down as more than that
because the Olympic Committee wanted him
to lecture that basketball team to make sure
that there weren't any black power salutes
on the victory stand.
- [Chuck D] Before he passed away in 2008,
Will Robinson privately recorded his inner most thoughts.
- [Will On Tape] They sent for me because Spencer knew
how I felt.
I explained to them, those who were militant, I said,
"You are not here to represent the black people.
"You're here to represent a country."
And I said,
"So we'll put that aside for now and that's another issue
"that we'll deal with when we get back to the states.
"But right now, it's us, United States against the world."
- I was never upset
about Spencer going to play basketball
while Kareem stayed at home.
How am I gonna get upset at somebody
who is trying to make
their family situation better?
Who is trying to raise themselves up
with the only tools that they have of any marketable value
in this racially oppressive, capitalistic economic system?
- [Chuck D] And once again, Spencer's God-given tools
wouldn't let him down.
Not only did he lead the USA basketball team to win gold,
he set records in scoring that stood for 44 years.
Spencer Haywood returned from Mexico
a bonafide American hero.
- I know Spencer achieved superstar status
but at the time, we didn't know it was called
superstar status, we know he was getting a lot of publicity.
- [Chuck D] After his stellar Olympic performance,
Spencer Haywood was the most sought after college player
in the world.
He could have taken his gold medal game to any school
but he picked the University of Detroit
because they promised Will Robinson the head coaching job
of the Detroit Titans.
- When I landed in Detroit and I walked through the airport
I saw all these people with signs.
Spencer Haywood, a champion and an Olympic gold medalist
and I was like,
"Whoa."
That's a surprise.
And then when I got on campus,
the student body accepted me and was welcomed me
with the big signs and stuff, I just cried.
I was like,
I knew I was in the right place at the right time.
- The University of Detroit wanted Spencer very badly.
And Spencer matriculated there but part of the deal
was the Will was supposed to go to the University of Detroit
to succeed Bob Callahan as the coach.
- Olympic hero, gold medal going to
the University of Detroit, oh this is gonna be awesome.
Our coach is gonna be the coach
at University of Detroit, wow.
- [Chuck D] But the season started before Will's deal
would be made official.
- [Sports Announcer] Basketball stand out
Spencer Haywood, number 45.
Currently the mainstay of the University of Detroit Titans.
Haywood's Olympic coach says he is potentially
the best player in the game's history.
- In Will's opinion, Spencer at that time,
at the age of 19 was the greatest basketball player
in the world.
- [Sports Announcer] Haywood is a tower of strength
on the boards, using his 6'8 1/2" height
and 230 pounds to full advantage.
- [Chuck D] He had an amazing average of 21.5 rebounds
and 32 points per game
and he was a consensus First Team All-American.
It was a great season for Spencer
but there was also bad news.
- [Spencer] I'll never forget the day when I heard that Will
will not be hired as coach.
- Somebody in the upper reaches of the administration
of the University of Detroit got cold feet
because of Will's race, I believe,
and they double crossed him.
- [Chuck D] Ironically, that type of blatant discrimination
was the exact reason Harry Edwards, in the OPHR
waged a protest at the '68 Olympic Games.
And Coach Robinson was more than disappointed.
- [Will On Tape] I was so angry about the whole thing.
Not only angry, but disillusioned.
- Will doesn't say this out loud, but I'll say it.
The Board of Directors did not wanna hire a black man.
And they made a big mistake.
He said,
"It is the worst thing that ever happened to me."
And he was betrayed.
Spencer was very upset too, of course.
(suspenseful music)
- Here there wasn't any support system
and my one caveat to it all was Will Robinson
and they pulled that rug out from underneath me as well.
So I had no support.
I was like a ship without a rudder.
It was another life lesson.
And sometime when you think people have your back,
it changes.
- [Chuck D] Spencer felt trapped in the unfair system.
- Once they got me here, they had me captured.
And I was like this wild animal.
Well we got him captured in his cage,
we bagged the big one.
- [Chuck D] Everyone on campus seemed to be profiting
from the basketball program,
except the players on the court.
He knew it was time to move on.
- Spencer had every right to say,
"Why should I be here?
"Paying this coach's mortgage, putting money
"into this university in the NCAA
"while my family is living in stark poverty
"and I can play at the highest level of this game
"and be paid for it, like any other professional."
- [Chuck D] Spencer knew he could compete
with the world's best players,
but the National Basketball Association had a rule,
a player could not compete in the NBA
until he was at least four years out of high school.
But the flashy upstart American Basketball Association
decided to overlook it.
- We had gone through pre-season practice
at the University of Detroit and one day,
Spencer came in and said,
"I'm going pro."
I said,
"What do you mean you're going--
"You can't go pro, you have to wait til four years."
He said,
"No, I'm going to the ABA."
- I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
What am I supposed to do?
I can't eat my gold medal, I can't eat my awards
that I've just won and my family is starving
in Silver City, Mississippi so
I took the opportunity to go into the ABA.
They left me no choice.
- [Chuck D] The Denver Rockets of the ABA moved quickly
to sign Spencer Haywood to a three year contract.
The time had come for Spencer to fulfill
his mother's vision.
- My mother called me the chosen one so I grew up thinking,
"I'm going to save my family."
- [Chuck D] Spencer had not only saved his family,
he breathed life into the ABA.
He led the league in scoring with 30 points
and 19 boards per game.
Spencer was named Rookie of the Year
and the league's Most Valuable Player.
He's the only player in any professional basketball league
to claim all four honors in one season
and he did it as a 20 year-old rookie.
(triumphant music) (crowd cheering)
- I always played with a lot of passion.
I didn't back down from anyone, even as a rookie.
Being the youngest player, I was being tested every night.
Sometime, my intensity turned into brawls.
I was a young player playing in a man's game
and the men always tested the young buck.
- [Chuck D] In his rookie year,
he sparked the Denver Rockets
to its first ever Division Title.
And the team played before sold out crowds
at a record 21 home games.
- Playing in the ABA was a lot of fun
because all of a sudden, I had the freedom
to do moves, to play in a free and open style of basketball.
- [Chuck D] Word of Spencer's incredible abilities
was starting to spread in the world of basketball.
- He was a manchild.
The things that he could do on the court
when we saw glimpses of him playing,
then you saw exactly what kinda talent this man had.
- [Chuck D] Spencer was also voted the Most Valuable Player
in the ABA's 1970 All-Star game.
- I was averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds a game
for 82 games.
- If you look at his numbers, he averaged rebounds
like a power forward, but he had the ability
to spread the floor like a small forward.
- I had a record-breaking year.
I had played tremendously, I was the Rookie of the Year,
leading scorer, leading rebounder, we had increased
the fan base, we had increased revenue for the ABA.
So the ABA and the Denver Rockets decided
that they will reward me with the highest paid contract
in basketball history at $1.9 million.
Let me run that by you in cased you missed it.
$1.9 million.
- [Chuck D] It made him the highest paid basketball player
on earth, or so it seemed.
Spencer later learned that he had a bum contract.
- It was not real money, it was fake money.
- [Chuck D] Instead of being the $1.9 million man,
the fine print revealed he would earn less
than half that amount over his lifetime.
He felt misled and betrayed
and he wanted out.
- That bad contract triggered the turning point.
- [Chuck D] Leaving the ABA was Spencer's
only viable option.
So his attorney contacted the owner
of the NBA's Seattle Supersonics, Sam Schulman
to gauge his interest in the young superstar.
Hall of Famer, Lenny Wilkens was a player coach
with the Sonics at the time.
- Their own had talked to me and said that
we had a chance to get a young man
named Spencer Haywood and what did I think?
And I knew who Spencer was so I was saying,
"Wow."
I said, "If you can get him,
"that would make our team,"
because we didn't have a power forward
with that kinda skill.
6'8", 6'9" power forward that could dribble,
could pass, could run, all the things that as a coach,
that you want in a player.
(crowd cheering)
Then I found that there was going to be some legal
entitlements that might follow.
- Before I came along, you had to wait four years
after your high school class had graduated
in order to play in the NBA.
- [Chuck D] Although Spencer had only been
two years removed from high school,
Sam Schulman did the unthinkable
and signed the phenom for the '70-71 season.
Spencer was that good.
- Sam was willing to go the extra step
and where a lot of owners didn't wanna be bothered with it,
they were more concerned with their team and what not
but Sam wasn't afraid to take the challenge on.
- [Chuck D] But the budding star was about to leap
from the frying pan into the fryer,
encountering obstacles beyond his imagination.
- When he left the ABA, they sued him
for violating his contract.
At the same time, he was suing the NBA
for not letting him in because he hadn't been in college
for four years or his college class hadn't graduated.
And the NCAA had joined
the suit on the side of the NBA
because if Spencer won, they all of a sudden
would be losing athletes that otherwise
would be putting money into university and NCAA coffers.
- It's really difficult for a black man
to take those stance in that situation.
I mean, everybody would look at it now, like, yeah
you can do that now 'cause you got ESPN,
and you got Twitter, and you can make a social stance.
But it's very difficult back in those days
to make a stance.
- You should have the right to work.
You should have the right to earn a living.
You know, if you graduate from high school
and you're talented enough to make it,
why should we stop you?
(ominous music)
- [Chuck D] Golden State Warriors President Rick Welts
was a ball boy when Spencer joined the Seattle Supersonics.
And the anticipation was palpable.
- He was the biggest celebrity Seattle had ever seen
at any level.
Could he really, like be as amazing as everybody
said he was at such a young age?
And you know, how would it impact the other players
on the team?
I don't remember hostility, but I do remember it
being very anxious because somehow,
his arrival was gonna affect everybody in that locker room
but nobody knew quite how.
I can vividly remember that first game because
Spencer wasn't there pre-game.
We knew he was coming that day, he was flying in,
the locker room kind of was very anxious.
- A new city, a new team.
I was nervous, but excited to play my first NBA game.
I didn't know how the Seattle fans
and my new teammates would react.
- Players came out on the court to warm up before the game
and the stands were buzzing when this guy emerged
from the tunnel in a Seattle Supersonics uniform,
literally having to shake hands with his new teammates
on the floor and the crowd absolutely going nuts.
This was the biggest thing that had ever happened
in Seattle, Washington.
We had a bonafide star coming to play
for the Sonics.
(upbeat music)
- Seattle turned out to be the perfect place
for me to go through this battle.
The fans, the people of Seattle, they embraced me.
- Seattle was unique and when I first came here,
I was just blown away by the people.
How willing they were
to help you achieve.
- [Chuck D] But NBA players were a little different.
They weren't phased by the instant superstars.
Respect had to be earned.
Plus, some veterans worried that if the ruling
eventually passed, that a flood of young players
would squeeze 'em out.
- There's a little jealousy, naturally.
I don't think it should have been because
he was only gonna make it better for them.
So it was tough and it became a huge distraction.
- [Chuck D] Although Spencer won temporary injunctions,
allowing him to play for the Sonics,
he missed several games due to court appearances
and official protest from opposing teams.
- Once I received my injunction to play,
I walked out on the floor and the announcer came on,
"Ladies and gentlemen,
"we have an illegal player on the floor
"and this game will not count.
"It is under protest."
- [Chuck D] Away teams would often refuse to play
if Spencer was on the floor,
which enraged fans.
- Thousands of fans booing and yelling,
throwing bottles on the floor and screaming things
that I had heard in Mississippi long before.
This is unreal.
I felt like I am right back where I started.
- [Chuck D] At one away game, Spencer wasn't allowed
to be on the property of the arena
so he was relegated to stand outside in the snow.
- It was brutally cold and I'm 20 years old,
a kid standing out there.
But I did understand the battle.
My mother always said, if I didn't stand up for something,
you'll fall for anything.
- But Spencer didn't back down.
Even though he was
fighting on behalf of his own career,
his fight had consequences for everybody
who was in similar circumstances.
- Once you take a league to the Supreme Court,
you're gonna be labeled a troublemaker.
That's just the way it is.
- [Spencer] I knew that I had to fight.
What else do you do?
All I wanted to do was just play basketball
and save my mom.
- But I think he was particularly cut out for this mission.
He was incredibly strong and wise beyond his words
because it was life experience that had gotten him
to that point in time.
- The legal battle wiped out my first season.
I spent more time in court
than on court.
When the world was against me, Lenny Wilkens was there
to take me over the hump.
- There was no one to kinda mentor him
and I could see that.
So I thought that well fine, I'll take the time
to help him because we all need somebody
to encourage you and we became friends.
You know?
- [Chuck D] But one fateful evening in Milwaukee,
the tide began to turn for the ostracized player.
- Kareem reached over and gave me a dab,
which solidified the idea that game is on
and we gonna show the world who are the two best players
in the NBA.
- [Chuck D] That public endorsement by one of the league's
most respected players is what finally broke the ice.
Soon, fans and other players followed suit.
After a series of injunctions and legal maneuverings,
the case made its way to the US Supreme Court
and in March, 1971, the judges,
including Thurgood Marshall, voted seven to two
in Spencer's favor.
- When I found out we had won the case,
I felt free again.
I felt that I could go into an arena
and just play basketball, something that
I have always loved.
I mean, I got the disease and I was a player
that truly, truly loved to play basketball.
I remember Thurgood Marshall telling me,
"Spencer, you're gonna always be ostracized
"for this so be prepared.
"You might have bright days of playing
"but somebody's gonna always bring this
"to your attention and there's gonna be some anger
"so be prepared, young man, be prepared."
- [Chuck D] The Hardship Rule was implemented,
which allowed players to enter the league early
as long as they could prove financial need.
- The case was won when the attorney said,
"Well we gotta prove that you a hardship case,"
and Spencer said,
"That's not a problem."
He said,
"All you gotta do is
"go down to my hometown and take some photographs
"of how we were living."
And he did.
And he brought 'em back and showed 'em to the juror
and that was it.
- Guys like Michael Jordan, Lebron James,
Kobe Bryant, they all came into the NBA
under my ruling and made millions of dollars
because they didn't have to wait for the four years.
- Guys like Spencer are important and significant
because we're reaping all the benefits today.
And God bless these guys, what they make today,
but I think they have a moral obligation
to go back and look at what guys like Spencer
did for the NBA.
- [Chuck D] With the distraction of the lawsuit gone,
Spencer became unleashed.
He was listed on the All NBA's First Team in 1972 and '73.
His 29.2 average during his second season
and 13.4 rebounds during his third
are still single season records for the Sonics to this day.
Spencer dominated in four NBA All-Star games
while with Seattle.
And during his last season, he led the Sonics
to their first play-off showing.
During his five seasons with Seattle,
Spencer averaged 21 points
and 12.1 rebounds per game.
- When you look at his numbers like,
those numbers can't be true.
You know, those numbers can't be true.
- This guy had his physical ability.
I mean, the long arms, the big hands.
He could pick the ball up like it was a grapefruit,
you know, and that's amazing.
- He was young, he was handsome, he was single, he lived in
a high rise apartment building, he lived in a way that
the rest of us could only imagine.
And I think people, people really gravitated to that.
- My friend, Phil Knight had a little shoe company
called Nike and he wanted a big star to promote his shoe.
He offered me stock in the company or cash and
my agent decided to take the cash option.
I have lost a lot of sleep over that deal
because I would have had millions of dollars.
Billions, raining money.
- [Chuck D] In addition to Lenny Willkens,
Spencer was lucky enough to be coached
by the great Bill Russell.
Seattle was a magical time for the NBA star.
- I think he was the first bonafide real pop celebrity
that the city had ever had.
He owned the town.
- [Chuck D] He may have owned the town
but in 1975, the Sonics traded Spencer
to the New York Knicks.
What seemed to be a spectacular move for the Sonics
would prove to be the stimulus
for Spencer's downfall.
(upbeat music)
The 25 year-old from the Mississippi backwoods
was suddenly thrust into the chic Manhattan social scene.
- The Knicks are huge in New York
and it's a tradition and a legacy
that any native New Yorker appreciates.
And I watched as much of them as I could
while I lived in New York.
- [Chuck D] His teammates were future Hall of Famers.
Earl the Pearl Monroe and Bill Bradley,
who welcomed Spencer's arrival.
- He was an extremely congenial teammate.
He was somebody that was easy to work with,
he was someone who didn't hold any kind
of negative feeling about any of his teammates,
and he wanted to win like each of us did.
- [Chuck D] And they needed to win.
- [Sports Announcer] Spencer Haywood.
Oh, he could do things with the ball.
- [Chuck D] Although the Knicks had struggled
in previous seasons, they still had a hardcore fan base
and when a reporter asked a simple question,
young Spencer put his foot in his mouth big time.
- Someone yelled out,
the Knicks was expecting me to save the franchise,
so I said,
"I shall save."
I didn't think about it at the time but
boy, did they beat me down for years after that.
- I also had the experience of being
the savior when I came in 1967.
So when he came, he was gonna be the savior, right?
And of course, there isn't one person whoever
can be a savior.
- Everywhere I would go in New York,
fans would shout out,
"What happened, savior?"
Especially if we lost the night before.
New York fans are very smart
but they can be very vicious.
- There's no one grooming you, mentoring you
on how to handle professional stardom.
You're figuring this out on your own.
- When, you know, it got a little rough,
I figured well, I might as well share with him
my experience of being spit on,
and having coins thrown at me, and everything else.
I think that meant something to him
and it certainly meant something to me
to be able to share that experience with somebody
who's kinda going through it.
- [Chuck D] Spencer went from a comfortable role
on the Sonics to being the new guy under a microscope.
He held his own, but New Yorkers don't play
and it wasn't enough.
- [Sports Announcer] And there they go.
Spencer Haywood.
- I was in the top 10 in scoring and in rebounding
my first year with the Knicks.
But it was the first time in 10 years
the Knicks were out of the play-offs
and boy, did the fans let me know it.
- New York can love you when they love you.
And when they hate you in New York, they hate you.
- I watched him play in New York and I thought
he needed somebody there to kinda look out for him.
Because he was a young guy.
And now all of a sudden, you're exposed to so much.
- And that somebody
came in the form of a Somalian model, Iman.
It was 1976
and Iman was fast becoming the It Girl
on the New York fashion scene.
And man, she was incredible.
She was off the charts.
Iman was just 21 when she and Spencer married.
- He told me,
"Hey, I got married."
"What?
"You got married?"
"Yeah, I married Iman, she's a model."
"Oh my God, you married her?"
So he was Mr. New York.
A superstar with a superstar wife and
all the trimmings that go with that.
- [Chuck D] Iman was worldly beyond her years
and exposed Spencer to wealthy taste makers,
artists, and musicians.
- You have this beautiful man
and this statuesque woman, they were beautiful.
They were beautiful people.
I think New york loved them.
- [Chuck D] In 1978, daughter Zulekha was born.
Spencer happily embraced fatherhood.
- Zulekha was the best thing that ever happened to us.
It gave us a sense of family
and we just smothered our young daughter with love.
Iman and I were a very public couple
but once we had Zulekha, we wanted privacy.
And New York people and New York fans,
they gave us our privacy and let us live.
- People would come up with him and with my mother
and talk to them or ask for their autographs.
New Yorkers tend to really leave you alone
and let you just do your thing.
When he was home from a game or from a stretch of time.
He spent as much time with me as he could
because he knew that it was only a matter of time
before he had to leave again.
So we were very close.
(upbeat music)
- He wasn't conforming to what anybody else
thought he should do, he was living his life
the way he wanted to live his life
and he had it all.
- [Chuck D] And that included magazine covers
and partying with the New York elite.
- We hung out with Andy Warhol, Estee Lauder,
and all of the beautiful, beautiful people of New York.
- Spencer and Iman were probably the first
President and the First Lady of New York.
This is why reality television is so popular today
but the same curiosity about stars existing
back in the seventies.
Fans loved him and it didn't hurt that he could play.
- [Chuck D] Spencer was a VIP at New York's hottest clubs,
where doing coke was the norm.
- [Michele] Back in the seventies,
cocaine was presumed to be,
you know, hip, and few people acknowledged
that it was even addictive.
I mean, you'd go to clubs and people were snorting cocaine
in the bathrooms and it was considered
a recreational drug, something maybe
a little more powerful than alcohol.
- I was not surprised that athletes
became part of that scene because they literally
connected the African-American community
and the glamor class at the top.
- [Chuck D] Spencer was closing in on age 30
when the 1979-79 Knicks season began.
- [Spencer] I was injured for most of that season
and only played a handful of games,
averaging 18 points per game and six rebounds.
It seemed like my New York dreams were fading
for me and my family.
- [Chuck D] Spencer was considered past his prime by some.
New York was beating him down and basketball
was no longer fun.
But 30 games into his third season on the Knicks,
Spencer was traded to the New Orleans Jazz.
- I thrived in New Orleans.
But mid-season, the Jazz announced they were going
to move to Utah and that was not going to work out
for Iman and her fashion career.
Luckily, the Lakers were looking for
a big power forward so Kareem and Magic
could concentrate on scoring.
So they signed me for the 1979 season.
- [Chuck D] Pat Riley, who dubbed Spencer Woody,
was the Lakers' assistant coach
for most of the 1979-80 season.
- His reputation was of a massively talented player.
Somebody who could really play the game
and also would be a great compliment
with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- Spencer's timing was extraordinary.
I mean, he could palm it, he could block shots so well.
You know, you look and he have 20 point,
five, six blocked shots.
Or you'll look up and he'll have 10, 12 rebounds.
- We had Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes,
and so all of a sudden, our team started to look like
it might be something.
- [Sports Announcer] On the turnover, Haywood gets inside...
(upbeat funky music)
- [Chuck D] Feeling good about his move to LA,
Spencer dove into the Hollywood party scene
soon after he arrived for the pre-season.
- Freebasing had just come on the scene.
So I tried it one night at one of those lavish parties.
That first hit was like nothing I've had before.
I knew
I was in trouble.
It took me on a demonic trip.
- When you're young, and strong, and good looking
like he was, you think you can overcome a lot of things.
And I'm sure he felt it was going to affect him.
That he could weather it.
But no one does.
- Unless you bring it into practice
or unless people can really take a look at you
in a game and say,
"You know, there's something not right with this player,"
then usually, you didn't know.
- [Chuck D] But the cracks were beginning to show.
Spencer was often late to practices and faked illnesses
just to miss games and get high.
All he could think about
was his next hit.
(ominous music)
- I sabotaged my whole year.
Not that I chose to do it, but the drug chose it for me.
I came to the Lakers after the second half of the season,
averaging 25 and 12.
By mid-season, I watched my game go down to 16 and seven.
- [Chuck D] But the Lakers as a team were doing great.
It was early 1980 and they had made it into the play-offs
without much help from Spencer.
As a result, head coach Paul Westhead
kept him on the bench.
- The straw that broke the camel's back with Woody
was the fact that he wasn't playing
and he was furious.
He was a competitor and he wanted to play.
But you can't play somebody who's high
and he's coming to games high.
- The nature of this drug,
you start doing things that you never thought
you would do and you shut yourself off in bathrooms
and it just shoots all through your body
and in through your brain.
It was so demonic, it was as if I could see the devil
crawling through the light bulb.
By the end of the season, I watched my game
go down to seven points and five rebounds.
And I was 20 pounds lighter.
- It became obvious that Woody wasn't right,
very obvious, and we could see it.
- [Chuck D] It was the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers
in the NBA Finals.
After an all night coke bender, Spencer took
a few Quaaludes to bring him down
before their morning workout.
- We had just come out of a film session
and during the session, he was in the back of the room,
he had absolutely fallen asleep.
When we went out on the court then to practice,
we get in the circle and we stretch and then,
you know, sometimes you have to lay on your back and stretch
and he fell asleep there on the court.
- [Chuck D] Coach Westhead was fed up
and kicked Spencer off the team during the 1980 Finals.
- We went on to win the championship that year
and Woody wasn't part of that.
And I felt bad for him.
- It was brutal what they did to me.
I didn't get my full play-off share,
they didn't allow me to receive my championship ring,
my pictures were removed from the championship.
It was the most inhumane thing you could do
to a teammate and a family.
- [Chuck D] His career, friendships, and marriage
were hanging by a thread.
- Iman and I was having problems because she was not
an abuser of that drug.
And she didn't understand what had happened to her husband.
- [Chuck D] Spencer may have blamed the system,
but Will Robinson blamed himself.
- [Will On Tape] As he will tell you,
that was a fall, 'cause I wasn't around.
If I had been around, it wouldn't have happened.
- I know that Will was disappointed.
And I also got the feeling
that Spencer walled him out.
He was probably embarrassed
because Will had been his dad and done so much
for him in his life.
- [Spencer] I shut everyone out.
I was in my own demonic world.
- Here was somebody who not only had the gift of
his athleticism, but also had worked so hard
to become such an incredible player
and to see it just evaporating and to see it
happen so quickly and so visibly,
just incredible sadness.
- If you do it enough, it's gonna take you down.
And so that was sad for me to see that
when it started to affect his life.
- [Chuck D] At just 30 years old,
Spencer's reputation was shot
and the NBA career he once fought for was all but forgotten.
- I was a broken man, wondering how it all came to this.
- [Chuck D] His best friend, Wiley, has a theory.
- I've always said to Spencer,
"I thought you dabbled in this
"because of what they now call
"post-traumatic stress disorder.
"What you went through with that court
"manifested itself later
"and this was a way of coping without even knowing
"what coping was all about."
- [Chuck D] But Spencer would have to learn
new coping skills in Italy,
where the Lakers sent him to finish out his contract.
- I wasn't allowed to go to any other team in the NBA.
But in order to get the contract I just earned,
I had to go.
- [Chuck D] But playing ball in Italy
was just what the doctor ordered.
- I saw changes in Spencer.
Italy was a breath of fresh air, a chance to reflect
and get his game back.
He looked good, he was clean,
and he enjoyed basketball again.
- [Chuck D] After his year in Italy,
Spencer played for the Washington Bullets.
But halfway through his second season,
Iman was in an automobile accident.
He left the team to care for her in New York,
but he knew he couldn't stay there for long.
- There was no way I could stay in New York
and stay clean and sober.
- [Chuck D] Spencer moved to the quiet suburbs
of Detroit with Zulekha
but the distance took its toll.
Soon, his 10 year marriage and playing days were over.
(dramatic music)
Spencer sent out on a pilgrimage for answers.
- A big part of my recovery was going to Egypt
to learn my history that was missing from my life.
It taught me that my tribe of people
had went through so much
for me to
squander it, everything away
just because of some white powder.
And Egypt really turned me around for sure.
(bluegrass music)
- [Chuck D] During his lifelong quest of self-discovery,
Spencer revisited his Mississippi roots.
- Sheesh.
Wow.
My gosh.
This is my house, man.
Wow.
It's nothing.
Nothing left.
I didn't think it would be burned down, I really didn't.
There was a lot of serious drug use here.
And somebody been smoking crack outta this here.
It's the way it is.
I mean, you get an abandoned house,
some people squatters
and use drugs or whatever.
Discourage of drugs.
Between these two.
The alcohol
and the drugs.
Total destruction.
But that's life.
I didn't intend to go this deep into it
but that pipe set it off.
- [Chuck D] Spencer never forgot the city
that gave so much to him.
- This is Circle Drive Commons.
I built these along with my partners in 1992.
- He came from a background
where people helped him succeed.
And what he's doing is paying back.
- I was not only building here,
but we were rebuilding this whole city
and it was also rebuilding my life inside out
so this is part of my therapy.
- [Chuck D] Also therapeutic, was creating
his Spencer Haywood Foundation,
offering vocational training to the Detroit community.
He immersed himself in civil service,
using his story as a cautionary tale.
- I brought him in to talk to the kids
and he mesmerized them with his stories about
the Olympics and about playing
in the National Basketball Association,
but he also told them about the drugs.
And they were hanging on his every word.
- I am very proud to say
I have been clean for over 28 years.
I have four beautiful and accomplished daughters.
Zulekha graduated from Michigan State University.
Isis graduated from UNLV.
Shaakira is working on her Ph.D. Courtney has two Masters
and she gave me my first grandson.
- [Chuck D] Spencer's been married to Detroit native,
Linda, for over 25 years.
- He's a hard worker, he's always looking for new ideas
and he likes to just, you know,
explore different opportunities.
He doesn't look as threatening as one might think
because of the height.
He's always teasing little kids when they walk by.
He's like,
"Hey, little fella,"
and they look up at him because he's so tall
but he's always been a prankster and jokester and
happy-go-lucky kinda guy.
- Linda has been an amazing life partner.
And Iman found love again too.
She married the legendary artist, David Bowie,
and he was a good guy.
He even invited me to be his guest
at his concert in Detroit.
- [Chuck D] But Spencer's no slouch.
In 2007, the Seattle Supersonics finally
retired the almighty number 24 jersey.
And in 2015,
the Seattle Seahawks presented Spencer
with their highest honor, the 12th Man Award.
- Sometime you feel like people have forgotten,
but Seattle has not.
Those are two great moments that I am very grateful for.
- The sad thing about the whole Spencer Haywood
and guys like that is
the guys today are really reaping the benefits.
We got guys making 20, 30 million dollars a year,
and God bless these guys what they make today.
But I think they have a moral obligation
to go back and look at what guys like Spencer
did for the NBA.
- [Chuck D] Over the years, Spencer hasn't been shy
about giving the young guns a history lesson.
- The first time I met Mr. Haywood, he cursed me out.
He went up to me and said,
"You know who I am?"
I said, "No,"
he just grabbed me.
"Well you need to know I paved the way for you.
"If it wasn't for me leaving early,
"you wouldn't be able to leave early."
And I was like,
"My bad, brother."
- I think a lot of people don't understand the history
of Spencer Haywood.
He was the first to open the doors
for a lotta people to come through.
Without Spencer Haywood there wouldn't be Kevin Garnett.
- [Chuck D] Spencer was content.
His demons had been eradicated
and his goals had been reached,
except one.
The Hall of Fame.
In the 35 years since playing professional ball,
Spencer has watched a myriad of current
and future Hall of Famers benefit greatly
from the early entry ruling that he's responsible for.
But ironically, the Hall of Fame had eluded him.
- And unfortunately, his career was book-end
by the court challenges on one end
and then the drugs on the other end and the
tremendous basketball skillset that was on display
for the better part of 14 years
was more or less forgotten.
I think that's why it took so long
for him to really get due consideration
for the Hall of Fame.
- So I would say,
"You know, we just have to pray
"and stay focused and stay positive,
"it's gonna happen if it's meant to be."
- People didn't talk about, you didn't see him on
ESPN highlights.
- And for a great player who clearly was blackballed,
clearly was blackballed
to not be in the Hall of Fame, should have been in there
probably 10, 15 years ago realistically.
There's a lotta jealousy on reporters.
If they don't like a guy, they're not going to
give him the credit and respect he deserves.
- And I think it took a while for people
to refocus on what he meant to the history of the game
and there was some healing probably that had to happen.
And time away from the end of his career
I think eventually helped that.
- [Chuck D] After more than three decades
of being passed over, Spencer had finally gained
peace and understanding.
- I realized something my mother always taught me.
It's in God's hands.
- [Chuck D] But 2015 brought divine intervention
during a televised pre-game discussion.
- But I think in this era, one and done,
I think the NBA Hall of Fame would never be complete
until the first guy who made it possible for myself
and all the guys to go pro, Spencer Haywood.
- Charles is an incredible guy.
He says what's on his mind.
- For him not to be in the Hall of Fame is a travesty.
- He's gonna tell you exactly what he thinks,
whether you like it or don't like it
and I like that about him.
- We have this argument every year about one and done.
We had it X amount of years ago
about not going to college at all.
So I've been on both ends of the spectrum
talking about it.
- Charles Barkley was like a guardian angel
for me that night.
- It's like as soon as you take your eye off of something
and you reach a place of acceptance around that,
then the blessings just come.
- Personally, I told him, I said,
"Be patient.
"I'm pretty sure it'll come through."
And sure enough, it did.
- [Chuck D] After almost 35 years and two false alarms,
Spencer got the call.
He was finally going to be inducted
into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Everything was drained out of me
because it was such a battle to get there.
I shed a tear
and I felt the presence of my mother at that moment.
- [Announcer] Welcoming Spencer to the Hall of Fame
are Charles Barkley, Lenny Wilkens, and Bill Walton.
Ladies and gentlemen, Spencer Haywood.
- September 11th, 2015
Spencer Haywood joined his Hall of Fame class
and I couldn't have been happier for him.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you all for
letting me join this great fraternity
of great athletes
and I mean, truly special and great athletes
and great human beings.
- I was so happy for Spencer because he deserved it.
- Spencer Haywood is in the Hall of Fame
'cause he was one of the greatest players,
trail blazers ever.
- This day wasn't about me.
It was about people getting to know my story.
And if I could overcome adversity, so could they.
- I'm really happy for him because I know
this is something he wanted pretty much all his life.
- And remember, guys, I had game.
It was not like I just did this Supreme Court thing,
I had some serious game.
Thank you and God bless you.
- I'm really proud of my dad for this accomplishment.
For him, this is something that he's wanted
his whole life and I think this is something
that he's been waiting for to kinda complete his career.
- He's in a different place emotionally
and spiritually also.
He knows who he is now.
- Woody knows we know he knows
that he messed up, you know?
But in the end, the good man took care of it.
And he's right where he belongs.
He belongs in the Hall of Fame with the rest
of the great players.
- He doesn't have to worry about it anymore.
- I hope
that these young guys go back and look at his journey.
You know, 'cause it's an amazing journey.
- [Chuck D] However amazing, Spencer knew his journey
wouldn't be complete until he retraced his steps
that got him here.
(bluegrass music)
- I love it here.
This is my birthplace.
The people here are genuine and have always supported me.
My oldest buddies and I made memories
I will never forget.
- You know, I could dribble the ball.
I knew I couldn't shoot over you but I'd be trying.
- I'm not gonna let the opportunity pass,
could I have your autograph please?
- I sure will. - I appreciate it.
- You knew me when I was knee high.
When I got lost downtown.
- That's right.
Belzoni's proud of ya.
- Everybody knows Spencer Haywood.
I mean, he's the biggest thing that ever happened
to this part of the world.
- Everybody in Humphreys County is very proud of him
because what it does, it gives
our kids encouragement.
It lets them know that you can come from
a small place like Silver City
and you can achieve great things.
And all you have to do is put forth the effort, you know?
And if you do that, you'll be just like Spencer.
- [Chuck D] In 1968 when Spencer returned from Mexico,
the people of Silver City wanted to hold
a homecoming parade for their returning hero.
But Spencer
didn't go.
- My mother really wanted me to attend that celebration
but I had gotten too big for my britches
and I had erased that part of my history.
On my mother's death bed, I asked her,
"What would be the most disappointing thing in my life?"
She said,
"Not making it
"to that parade.
"Because it was a day that everybody was going to celebrate
"the joy of what I had done to raise you kids from nothing
"and I wanted that celebration."
And I just sit there and cried.
I see now that Spencer Haywood Day wasn't about me.
It was about thanking my mother and the city of Silver City
and Belzoni and those people
wanted their celebration
and I cheated them out of it.
(tranquil music)
- [Chuck D] But 47 years later,
Spencer got that second chance.
- Spencer Haywood's Homecoming Celebration,
here in Belzoni...
(crowd cheering)
- [Woman] The whole community heard that young Spencer,
who was a tall, handsome man is in town.
The school said,
"You know, Spencer didn't make it to the Spencer Haywood Day
"but he's here now.
"Let's show him some Mississippi love."
♪ All the way to the Olympics ♪
♪ He's been all the way to the NBA ♪
(cheering)
- Thank you so much.
And it's good to be home.
I remember making my first basket at McNair High School.
(cheering)
- [Woman And the gymnasium was rocking with cheerleaders,
and old teachers, and old teammates, and old classmates,
so let us give
Spencer Haywood a second chance
to show you that we really love you.
- I did not expect this and I am thoroughly
pleased and very honored
that you have done what you have done here.
And all of you young people up there, just remember,
I was just like you.
Sitting here sometime and wondering,
"Am I gonna ever get out?
"Or am I gonna ever do something big?"
You can do it too.
Right here in Belzoni.
You can do it today.
Just keep your mind in the books.
So you got a chance, and you got a chance,
and you got a chance.
Do what you can and make sure
that you continue to grow strong.
So thank you.
(cheering) (tranquil music)
- While the Civil Rights movement was making strides
throughout his life, Spencer was busy
breaking barriers of his own.
His story is a testimony that we all can overcome
and his impact will be felt long after we're gone.
- I want hope,
not the Hall to be my legacy.
(triumphant music)
- [Sports Announcer] Blocked by Spencer Haywood.
Haywood goes to work.
- Some say I was a militant, a renegade,
and a troublemaker.
I am basketball Hall of Famer, Spencer Haywood.
- [Woman] Can something good
come out of a place called Silver City?
And the name of that something good is Spencer Haywood.
(upbeat music)
♪ Change never the same revolutionized the game ♪
♪ Renegade free the mind ♪
♪ Who they blame free agent's names ♪
♪ Supreme Court change ♪
♪ What ballers got today ♪
♪ The league is hot history all but forgotten ♪
♪ Untold truth rotten ♪
♪ Behind the rock and three point shots ♪
♪ Yeah everything and nothing to lose ♪
♪ Out of school ♪
♪ The Spencer Haywood rule ♪
♪ Here the Supreme Court stayed and debated ♪
♪ Through these young cap ballers appreciated ♪
♪ Price the hands of Haywood he paved it ♪
♪ So he made it ♪
♪ Hey would you let the man in ♪
♪ Yeah I'ma spit it again ♪
♪ These days the league is so hot ♪
♪ Now everybody want what ballers got ♪
♪ History is not as popular ♪
♪ Thus many fans forgot ♪
♪ No NBA like it is today ♪
♪ So y'all just thank Spencer a lot ♪
♪ What y'all see on TV so big so huge ♪
♪ Thank the basketball gods ♪
♪ We began with restrain ♪
♪ We're owning the ownership game ♪
♪ Broke it open for so many names ♪
♪ That go pro from having no shot ♪
♪ Losers man who gave it a change ♪
♪ Oh yeah he got game ♪
♪ Hey it would never be the same ♪
♪ He freed the game ♪
♪ Hey it would never be the same ♪
♪ He freed the game ♪
♪ Hey it would never be the same ♪
♪ He freed the game ♪
♪ Hey it would never be the same ♪
♪ He freed the game ♪
♪ Everything and nothing to lose out of school ♪
♪ The Spencer Haywood rule ♪
♪ Rule ♪
♪ The Spencer Haywood rule ♪