How De’Aaron Fox’s raw display of emotions was a victory for Black masculinity
Anyone who was not fortunate enough to catch the tail-end of the Elite Eight game between Kentucky and UNC missed arguably one of the greatest postseason matchups in NCAA history. While North Carolina ultimately came out on top thanks to the go-ahead jumper by Luke Maye, the countless members of Big Blue Nation were left devastated.
None were more distraught than Kentucky’s freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox. Through tears, Fox still was able to still conduct his postgame interview in professional manner.
Critics that still believe Fox and Kentucky’s other one-and-dones were solely focused on reaching the NBA are blissfully ignorant at best, detrimentally oblivious at worst. At age 19, Fox’s willful display of emotion shows not just how passionate he was about winning, but the game of basketball in general.
At the end of the day, losing is a part of the human experience. Everybody has lost at some point in time. The way one reacts after losing reveals a lot about their character and seeing the tears stream down Fox’s face as he struggled to both comfort his teammate as well as conduct an interview brought back memories.
Despite not being on the same level as Fox, as a competitor and former student-athlete, I felt his pain. My high school basketball career was anything but eventful yet, its abrupt ending left me emotionally battered for a long time.
After three underwhelming seasons, Tower Hill basketball had finally reached the playoffs and was matched up against prep school rival Archmere. Midway through the fourth quarter, our best player, Peter Smith, fouled out. While my ball-handling was more Dwight Howard than Kyrie Irving, I could shoot and our team’s scoring had become noticeably anemic since Smith’s exit.
This was my chance, I said quietly. I tried to catch my coach’s eye, nothing. Teammates avoided my gaze.
As the game headed into overtime, I began to get antsy. Better late than never; this was my time to shine, I thought to myself. My knuckles turned white as I fiercely gripped the chair.
With 2 seconds left on the clock, Archmere’s Tyler Burns, now playing at the University of Delaware, drove left and released a 5-ft. runner. I watched in awe as the ball hit the top of the square and sank through the net. To make matters worse, again, I had not touched the floor since halftime warm-ups.
While there were undoubtedly some racial politics behind my lack of playing time, my heart sank to my knees nonetheless. Not only had I not played in my final game, we had lost in the worst way possible.
As the final buzzer sounded, the crowd roared and students rushed the court. I stood on the sideline, frozen in time, still trying to piece together what had just happened. Initially, I was furious at everybody: the coaches for not putting me in, my teammates for not stepping up after Smith’s disqualification and even the fans for congratulating us on such a dismal performance.
Eventually my anger gave way to devastation. Still holding on to the notion that men don’t cry, I held in my emotions, refusing to let my teammates or coaches think that they had wounded my spirit. Only when I was alone did my emotions finally get the best of me.
I wasn’t necessarily disappointed that I didn’t score or because we lost; what hurt the most was knowing that I couldn’t help my team win. Unbenounced to me, my false notion of masculinity made it appear that I did not care about the game’s results. It was quite the opposite: I just wanted my opportunity to show how much I wanted the win.
Society has forced Black men into a box where we are expected to be emotionally detached, immoral social deviants. This misrepresentation has been made worse by a whitewashed media. Fox’s display of raw emotion on a national stage was in direct violation of these assumed social expectations.
It has taken me three years to come to the realization that my response only perpetuated these negative stereotypes. Therefore, I commend Fox for doing what I could not. Although my tears would not have changed the outcome of the game, it would have been a victory against the false perception of Black masculinity.
Fox’s display of passion will certainly do him wonders at the next level. If he chooses to forgo the rest of his collegiate career, any team that passes on Fox will ultimately regret it. Not one player in this draft has embodied Fox’s combination of passion, love for the game and skill.
