catmandoo
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posted 08-03-2020 03:20 PM
Despite his troubles after leaving UK and the current movement to remove Adolph Rupp’s name from the arena where Kentucky plays basketball, tom Payne said he’s proud he went to UK and was the first African-American player to play at Kentucky.
“I don’t have a lot of bad things to say. Did I go through a lot? Yeah I did but life is about overcoming,” Payne said. “I can’t make excuses about who I am as a person and not be accountable for what I have done and then not be forgiving. For me it is hard to get involved in something just because everybody else is saying. I am not just going to jump on the bandwagon for anything.
“If you remove a name from a university what is that really going to do? It is going to hurt a lot of people. It is there, entrenched there. Coach Rupp is still in the history of this country. Whether you like or don’t like him, he is a mythical figure. Just look at that before you begin to act. Look at his humanity, his family. When you tear down somebody, look at the legacy he left and the people behind him.”
Payne doesn’t deny race relations can and should be better and is currently working to help young African-American men deal with those issues and more in Michigan where he lives. He also thinks those like the African-American professors at UK calling for removing the name Rupp Arena should have reached out to him since he played for Rupp.
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
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