Portland Trail Blazers--Smarter Than Your Average Team

I have long hated the culture of stupidity that surrounds professional athletes. It's probably the worst in baseball, but in all sports, if you read a book or have an opinion that doesn't conform to evangelical Christianity or right-wing politics, you are seen as a freak.

So I was surprised when I read J.A. Adande's story about the Portland Trail Blazers taking a trip to see sites surrounding Martin Luther King in Atlanta before today's game with the Hawks. I thought, cool, but of course it's MLK Day and people might make exceptions for it.

But no,

The NBA schedule just happened to put the Blazers here at this time. Without knowing it, the league picked the right team. Chris Bowles, Portland's director of player programs, tries to schedule educational field trips when the team is on the road, adding a dose of black history to the usual NBA itinerary of arena-airport-hotel-mall-club. On this road trip, in Boston, they stopped by the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, which featured an exhibit on Massachusetts blacks in the Civil War. On their next stop, in New Orleans, they are scheduled to meet with Mayor Ray Nagin. Past visits have included the civil rights museum at the site of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where King was assassinated.

Wow. As if I didn't like this team enough, their staff is teaching the team about African-American history. Awesome.