Greatest Memphis sports story isn't good enough anymore

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — What would Larry Finch say right now if he were alive? What would he do?

Leonard Draper, the man who convinced Finch to attend Memphis State 50 years ago against the wishes of many in the black community here, and Vickie Finch, the woman Finch loved, were talking about it just the other day on the telephone.

“If he was around, knowing him and knowing what kind of heart he had, he would be out there fighting for change,” Draper said. “If I know my friend, he’d be right at the forefront fighting for change. If he was here now, he would be vocal. He’d be like most young black men. He’d be very disturbed with what he’s seeing.”

Think about that for a second.

It’s been almost 50 years since Finch and Ronnie Robinson and that historic 1972-73 Memphis State basketball team bridged the racial divide in this city just a few years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It’s a great story. Black and white in this town joined together behind Tigers blue and gray en route to the national championship game.

It’s also not good enough anymore.

That familiar narrative, that the escape provided by sports unifies us, is only temporary. It’s true here, and it’s true all over this country. The events of the past week only cemented this.

Sports can’t just bring us together in FedExForum or Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium for a few hours rooting for the same team anymore. It needs to be an agent of change again. Just like it was when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. Just like it was for Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe.

And just like it was for Finch right here in Memphis.

Because it’s been almost 50 years and, at least to Draper, the concerning and frightening images playing out across the...