Jemele Hill: NFL draft is a chance to combat old narratives about Detroit
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan kicked off its NFL draft festivities Wednesday night with a VIP event featuring football hall of famers Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Jerome Bettis.
It was a prelude to the group’s inaugural 3C Sports Conference, which takes place today and aims to help students, parents and coaches navigate sports at every level, with the three Cs in the title standing for community, culture and competition.
The event inside the Garden Theater in Midtown Detroit was filled with fans and members of the media, and hosted by sports journalist and Detroit native Jemele Hill.
Hill moderated a discussion with Sanders, Johnson and Bettis, as well as Lions defensive lineman Alim McNeill and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Each player on the panel shared their draft day memories and discussed a range of issues student athletes may face, from the pressures on players to new NCAA rules that allow players to earn money on their name, image and likeness.
“A big part of what’s happening is the kids are being overburdened,” Bettis told the audience. “It’s become a lot about the parents. It’s becoming a lot about the coaches. You’re seeing all these reality shows and all the sudden the emphasis isn’t on the kid but all on the ancillary things happening around the kid. So, we want to really focus on the kids again and show it’s all about them because every single kid started from somewhere.”
On the NCAA’s new rules, Sanders seemed enthusiastic.
“I mean the things it’s been able to do for so many kids it’s amazing for all sports, men’s and women’s,” Sanders said. “I love sitting on Saturday afternoon watching college football. I hope the game continues as it is and it doesn’t alter the game, but just as a college sports fan, it’s great to see kids compensated in that way.”
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Hill spoke about how challenges in public schools across Detroit affect youth sports.
“We look at how Detroit’s population has decreased, I see what impact that has had athletically,” Hill said. “Then when you look at the fact that it’s pretty much open school enrollment, and because of that it feels like a lot of concentrated talent that you used to come to know in Detroit doesn’t happen the same way anymore. So just as an outsider, seeing how public schools have been affected just by being underfunded by losing students, you know, by frankly more powerful kinds of sports factories, teams being able to cherry pick who they want. I just hope cities like Detroit aren’t left to hold the bag.”
As the city kicks off the NFL draft today, Hill said she hopes that people who visit Detroit will move past misconceptions that have long plagued the city.
“I think, just in general, there’s always stereotypes about what Detroit isn’t and so people can now see what it is and that relates to both the community commitment, community involvement as it relates to youth sports and then even just being a showcase for the NFL draft,” she said. “It’s like an opportunity for the city to help people understand that those old narratives that they have about Detroit don’t exist."
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @EricGuzman90
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jemele Hill: NFL draft a chance to combat old narratives about Detroit
