Central State Basketball Teams to Honor Coach John McLendon with "This Game is No Secret" Warm-Up Shirts

The Central State University basketball teams will wear "This Game is No Secret" warm-up shirts this week, joining teams across the nation in honoring the legacy of Coach John McLendon and celebrating Black History Month.

"This Game is No Secret" commemorates a historic 1944 basketball game in which Coach McLendon's North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central) secretly faced Duke University, defying Jim Crow laws that prevented Black colleges from competing against white institutions. At the time, Black colleges were barred from participating in both the NCAA and NIT tournaments.

Coach McLendon became a trailblazer in the sport, making history as the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. He later guided his teams to three consecutive NAIA national titles in 1957, 1958, and 1959, cementing his legacy in basketball history.  With just 23 black head coaches in college basketball's five major conference, ERACISM was founded to work with college athletics departments to advocate to bring forth sustainable change through education, awareness, and action in the basketball coaching ranks.  

The Central State men's team will wear the shirts during their upcoming game vs Spring Hill, as they honor McLendon's impact on the game and the fight for racial equality in sports.

To learn more about Coach McLendon and "This Game is No Secret," visit www.eracism4ever.com.