In the NBA bubble, Chris Paul took it upon himself to stress the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and encouraged people to attend.
He has taken his own advice.
The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard has enrolled in a class at Winston-Salem State University, according to HBCU Buzz.
Paul’s parents attended the same school, and Paul went to high school in West Forsyth, just miles away from Winston-Salem.
When Paul graduated high school, he chose to play college basketball at Wake Forest instead of attend and HBCU. Now 35, he’s going back to his roots.
“Everyone in my family went to HBCUs except for me,” Paul said to ESPN. “You grow up in the south, you’re going to just have that culture and DNA in you.”
Chris Paul explains that his love for HBCUs comes from the fact that his whole family went to them. #HBCUWeek (Via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/TNVDPO7nSb
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) September 25, 2020
Paul spoke about HBCUs in most press conferences in the bubble in an attempt to raise awareness. He wore clothes to represent many of them during the interviews and on game days.
Big names have attached themselves to HBCUs over the last few months. Five-star basketball prospect Makur Maker committed to Howard, and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is the new head football coach of Jackson State.
Paul thinks that with the power and platforms that athletes hold, they can dictate where attention goes and they don’t need traditional powers to do it.
“Wherever the top players are, all the networks are going to go there,” Paul said.
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