On the other end of the phone, Edward Ireland fell silent, and after a long time, he asked, "Are you going to bring in players of African descent?" Like MLB's Brooklyn Dodgers? ”

"You saw the news too, right? MLB Major League Baseball has brought in a player of African descent, and we're falling behind. Chen Qiang said.

"Why are we bringing in players of African descent?" Edward Ireland asked.

Chen Qiang was stunned, he didn't know how to answer this question.

In Chen Qiang's view, black athletes play basketball, this is a natural thing, there is no "why", put it in the future, but in a slightly level professional league, it is strange that there are no black athletes.

However, the United States in the forties still had a serious policy of racial segregation, which did make many people ask "why".

"I want to try something new." Chen Qiang replied.

"Getting African-Americans on board, this kind of attempt is not going to end well." Edward Ireland spoke.

"I didn't try it, how do I know if there is no good result?" Chen Qiang asked rhetorically.

"Even if I support you, other teams don't necessarily want to support you, and most players don't want to play with African-Americans!" Edward Ireland explained.

Chen Qiang couldn't help but think of a scene in the movie "Forrest Gump", when Forrest Gump's University of Alabama allowed black students to enroll, which was protested by a large number of students, white students could accept Forrest Gump as a "fool" as their classmate, but they were unwilling to accept any black students to study in the same classroom with them.

It's the same in sports, where many white athletes don't want to play on the same field as black athletes, they don't want to be in the same car as a black person, they don't want to use the same locker room as a black person, and they don't want to be teammates.

Thinking of this, Chen Qiang couldn't help but sigh lightly, and then continued: "So what I need is an African-American athlete who is good enough, and he needs to be better than others." Because in sports, the ultimate competition is strength, as long as the strength is strong enough to defeat the opponent and win, then everyone can shut up! ”

"Well, if you insist, I'll keep an eye on it for you." Edward Ireland spoke.

After putting down the phone, Chen Qiang rubbed his temples helplessly.

I have to say that black athletes are really suitable for the sport of basketball, and basketball has become more exciting because of the addition of black athletes. If you look at the superstars of the future NBA, black players will make up the majority and white will be a handful, which is enough to prove the status of black athletes in basketball.

Of course, the position of black athletes in the NBA is also won by strength, and they are stronger and perform better on the court, which naturally squeezes white people out of basketball.

Chen Qiang knows that if you want fans to recognize black athletes, and want players to accept black teammates, the key is to look at strength, if black players can play far beyond the strength of white people, then the NBA recruits black athletes, and people have nothing to say, after all, competitive sports are the pursuit of victory, and professional teams recruit more powerful players to join in order to win, which is also understandable.

"Russell and Chamberlain, they're still in elementary school! It would be nice if they had grown up, and with the strength of these two, they would definitely be able to conquer fans all over the United States. ”

In the era of Russell and Chamberlain, no one questioned the ability of black players anymore, and more and more black players began to enter the league, but unfortunately, these two basketball gods are still children now, and their era will not be until ten years later.

Therefore, if Chen Qiang wants to introduce black athletes into the NBA, he will inevitably encounter a lot of resistance.

Edward Ireland was very efficient, and it didn't take long for Chen Qiang to send him a list of players of African descent.

The list of players is not long, only a few people, which shows that there are not many black people who play basketball in this era, and even fewer can play a little famous.

There is only one name on the list that Chen Qiang is familiar with, and that is Earl Lloyd.

"Earl Lloyd, if I'm not mistaken, was the first black athlete in history to appear on the NBA stage. It seems that he still has to be chosen as a breakthrough. ”

Historically, three black players were drafted in the 1950 NBA Draft, and they were the first black players to land in the NBA. The first person to be drafted in the draft was Chuck Cooper, and the first black player to appear in a game was Earl Lloyd.

Earl Lloyd, whose father was a coal miner, attended a segregated school as a child, and after graduating from high school, Earl Lloyd was favored by a basketball coach at West Virginia State University and was able to attend college.

Earl Lloyd was a brilliant college student, leading West Virginia State to two CIAA championships and a single-season unbeaten streak. After Earl Lloyd entered the NBA, he was also the main player of the team, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, which can be regarded as a qualified starter.

According to Earl Lloyd's autobiography, his career was not comfortable, due to the serious racial discrimination at the time, Earl Lloyd was often spat on by fans or thrown a coin to hit him on the head when he played on the field.

……

The introduction of black athletes has been a long process, and it took decades for the NBA to fully embrace black athletes among fans, and even in the 21st century, the former owners of the Clippers have made racist remarks. So Chen Qiang didn't expect this matter to be done overnight. Chen Qiang plans to have black players appear on the field first to see how the fans and the team react.

However, a letter sent from China completely disrupted Chen Qiang's next work plan, and his plan to introduce black athletes had to be suspended.

The letter was sent by Dong Shouyi, in which he asked if Chen Qiang planned to participate in the London Olympics next year.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the work of the All-China Sports Association also stopped, and the only thing that could be done was to expel a few traitor members who had defected to the Japanese. After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the National Sports Association also resumed its work, but because the domestic situation was still chaotic, the so-called "resumption of work" was only a nominal matter, and the government basically had no money to allocate to the National Sports Association, so that the Sports Association could hold sports events, and the Sports Association naturally had nothing to do.

At this time, Zhang Boling was the president of the National Sports Association, but because the National Sports Association did not have any funds, Zhang Boling, the "president", was only in name only, and he couldn't do anything.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been Zhang Boling who asked Chen Qiang if he planned to participate in the London Olympics, but Zhang Boling did not do so, obviously on purpose. Zhang Boling regards Chen Qiang as his son and nephew, and the two have a close relationship, if Zhang Boling asks Chen Qiang in person, I am afraid that it will be mixed with personal feelings. Zhang Boling was not sure whether Chen Qiang wanted to participate in the London Olympics or not, and he was also worried that if he asked in person, it would put pressure on Chen Qiang, so Zhang Boling did not participate in this matter.

Chen Qiang knew Zhang Boling, and he knew that Zhang Boling didn't ask in person, because he was afraid that he would be in a dilemma. So the matter of asking Chen Qiang whether he would participate in the London Olympics fell on Dong Shouyi's head.

Dong Shouyi was also a well-known physical educator at that time, he successively served as a professor in the physical education departments of Peking Normal University, Beimin University of Minguo, Peking Women's College of Arts and Sciences, Northwest Associated University, Zhejiang University and other schools, and served as the director general of the National Sports Association and a standing member of the Sports Committee of the Ministry of Education. Dong Shouyi also participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the head coach of the Chinese basketball team, and after the Olympics, he went to European countries as a member of the Chinese sports delegation. After the Berlin Olympics that year, Chen Qiang also participated in this delegation, so he and Dong Shouyi are also familiar with each other.

The director general of the Chinese delegation to the 1948 London Olympics was also Dong Shouyi, and Dong Shouyi was also a member of the International Olympic Committee, so it was very appropriate for Dong Shouyi to send a letter asking Chen Qiang whether he would participate in the London Olympics.

In modern China, there have been three members of the International Olympic Committee, the first of which is Wang Zhengting, who was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee as early as 1922, and is also an old qualified member of the International Olympic Committee.

The second is the old man of the Kong family, who became a member of the International Olympic Committee because of Wang Zhengting's recommendation. Wang Zhengting felt that China's sports industry was backward, and in order to develop the domestic sports industry, he recommended Mr. Kong to become a member of the International Olympic Committee. At that time, Mr. Kong was in an important position and held the country's financial power, and Wang Zhengting felt that Mr. Kong "had the power and money", and if he could become a member of the International Olympic Committee, he would definitely vigorously develop the domestic sports industry, and at least the financial allocation would be easier. It's a pity that it backfired, and after Mr. Kong became a member of the International Olympic Committee, he did not make half a dime contribution to China's sports industry.

The third IOC member is Professor Dong Shouyi. He was also the first member of the International Olympic Committee in China to work professionally in sports, and in the future he also served as the president of the Basketball Association.

Holding Dong Shouyi's letter, Chen Qiang was full of hesitation and hesitation.

Chen Qiang has lived in the United States for many years, he has money, a family, and his own business, and now he is also a well-known entrepreneur, let him return to the Olympic Games, appear in front of the public as an athlete, Chen Qiang always feels a little weird.

And if he participates in the Olympics, Chen Qiang must also undergo recovery training. Although Chen Qiang has training space and ten times the training time, which can allow Chen Qiang to recover his body to the best condition before the London Olympics, sports training is very hard after all, and it takes a lot of hard work and sweat.

There is a saying that it is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to return to a hard life when a person is used to being comfortable. The same is true for athletes, who can endure the rigors of training day in and day out, but when retired athletes come back, it's hard to get back to the same intensity as before. There are many athletes in history who choose to come back after retiring, but it is very rare that they can fully recover their competitive state after their comeback, and even many athletes find that they are unable to adapt to the life of athletes after their comeback.

What's more, by the time of the London Olympics, Chen Qiang will be 34 years old, and this age can reach the standard of "veteran" in any sport. Chen Qiang is still engaged in track and field, which is originally a project for young people, and at the age of 34, he has already passed the golden age of track and field athletes.

However, Chen Qiang also knows that if the Chinese team does not have its own, it will be a plate of loose sand, and it is not even as good as a plate of loose sand!

In the previous two Olympic Games, only Chen Qiang was the "hanger" who could win the Olympic gold medal in China. Now, after many years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, China has already suffered a lot of vitality, and China's sports industry has been stagnant for many years. If Chen Qiang does not participate in the Olympic Games, then the Chinese team will inevitably have no results.

And Chen Qiang also knows that in the 1948 London Olympics, the situation of the Chinese team was particularly bleak.

When China participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, although it did not achieve much, the government had funding, private donations, and football retreats all the way to play exhibition games to earn money, and the round-trip ferry ticket money was enough. After arriving in Germany, Germans also eat and drink, even if they are not used to eating Western food, there is absolutely no problem in filling their stomachs.

However, in the 1948 London Olympics, the government did not provide funds, and the private sector did not donate much, even if the number of delegations was reduced as much as possible, it was still not enough to make up the ticket money for the whole group. The Second World War wiped out the British family, and the British at this time were also very picky, and even paid for food, which was undoubtedly worse for the already poor Chinese delegation.

In order to save money, the Chinese delegation brought their own food to participate in the London Olympics, athletes brought rice and noodles from China, and then cooked in London, many athletes did not even have enough to eat on weekdays, hungry to participate in the competition, some athletes in order to save rations, in the days when there is no competition, simply eat only one meal a day.

Based on this, it is impossible for Chen Qiang to sit idly by, and Chen Qiang is not short of money, although a little money flows out of his fingers, it is enough for the Chinese delegation to eat and drink.

"Am I going or not going?" Chen Qiang leaned back on the sofa and muttered to himself.

Esther heard Chen Qiang's muttering and walked over from the side, although she couldn't understand Chinese, she knew what Chen Qiang was worried about.

"You still want to go to the Olympics, right?" Esther asked.

"At next year's London Olympics, I'm 34 years old, what else to toss!" Chen Qiang shook his head.

"Why can't you compete in the Olympics at the age of 34? The key is whether you want to go or not! Or are you worried that you're going to lose the game? Esther asked.

Chen Qiang shook his head: "If you only focus on one or two events, you will have no problem winning the gold medal." ”

"If you can win, why don't you go? Or do you feel that the Olympic gold medal doesn't mean anything to you anymore? Esther asked again.

Chen Qiang was slightly stunned, and at this moment he finally realized that he participated in the Olympic Games not just for an Olympic gold medal, but the meaning behind this Olympic gold medal!

"It's true that I don't need an Olympic gold medal to prove myself, but I never participate in the Olympics for myself, but for the honor of my country! Now, my country needs me, and I have to stand up! ”

Thinking of this, Chen Qiang finally made up his mind, and he said: "I'll go, I'm going to fight in the Olympics again!" ”

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