In college, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was relentlessly harassed by Mississippi State fans.
At the time, Abdul-Rauf, who grew raised in Mississippi but chose to play for LSU’s rival, was known as Chris Jackson. He was a predecessor to Steph Curry and Colin Kaepernick as a precise long-range shooter and social justice martyr, respectively. His path, which resulted in him being blackballed from the NBA for choosing to sit during the national anthem, was detailed in “Stand,” a documentary on Showtime.
The sharpshooter was the topic of a Sports Illustrated cover story in 1989 that revealed he did not know his father, and the Starkville crowd screamed, “Who’s your daddy?” at him incessantly.
In the documentary, Abdul-Rauf stated, “When I walked onto the court and the fans saw my body, I heard the loudest jeers I’ve ever heard.”
On the game broadcast, Bill Raftery, who even back then resembled an elderly figure, quipped that he thought the booing were directed at him, but they were actually directed at Jackson.
Shaquille O’Neal, Abdul-LSU Rauf’s teammate, stated in the video, “I don’t want to use the R-word [redneck], but they were different… It irritated him during that game.”
Dale Brown, the LSU coach at the time, described the chanting as “sickening” and “ridiculous” and stated, “I could vomit.”
In the present day of the film, Abdul-Rauf explains, “There was no respite.” In that stadium, there was a palpable air of racism.
Shaq referred to Abdul-40-point Rauf’s performance during LSU’s 87-80 loss as the best he’s ever witnessed.
“Greatest performance I’ve ever witnessed in basketball history,” he said. “I’ve seen Jordan, Barkley, Isiah, Magic, Kobe, and Penny, but I’ve never witnessed anything like that before.”
Joslyn Rose Lyons directed “Stand,” which debuted on Showtime in early February under her direction.
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