Long Island University Blackbirds’ Boycott of 1936 Berlin Olympics
Still Resonates: Team to Be Inducted into National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Posthumous honors for athletes who upheld principles over Olympic dreams
Family members, LIU officials expected at April 26 ceremony

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Long Island University’s top-ranked 1936 Blackbirds basketball team, more than 70 years after refusing to compete in the Olympic games in Nazi Germany, will be inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, April 26, 2009.

Honors will be bestowed posthumously on the Long Island University team and accepted by Mary M. Lai, University senior advisor and treasurer emerita, at an induction ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 26, at the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame at the Suffolk Jewish Community Center in Commack, N.Y.

The 1936 games were the first to include basketball as an Olympic sport, and the top college hoops programs in the country had been invited to vie for the honor of representing the United States in Berlin. At that time, the Blackbirds had won 33 straight games over a two-year period under legendary basketball coach and innovator Clair Bee. As a Division I powerhouse, they were considered to be a sure bet to represent the U.S. and odds-on favorites to win medals.

With Olympic glory tantalizingly within reach, the team met in Coach Bee’s office to vote on whether or not to participate. The members, a religious mix of Jews, Protestants and Catholics, already had decided that if one man’s conscience told him he couldn’t see fit to attend, the whole team would not go. More than one player voted to boycott, and the team united in support of that decision. They sacrificed their Olympic dreams to uphold their principles.

“For three-quarters of a century, the 1936 men’s basketball team has held a special place in the history of Long Island University,” declared Mrs. Lai, who has served the University since the 1940’s. “These students displayed character and humanity, when they could easily have chosen to pursue dreams of Olympic gold and glory,” she said.

“The 1936 LIU basketball team members are true heroes and deserve to be honored,” said Lynne Kramer, Esq., chairperson of the Hall of Fame. “In their own way, they stood up for what they knew to be right, overcoming challenges and disapproval every step of the way. We hope by telling their story, others will be inspired to stand up for the rights of all as these men bravely did.”

Now with 18 NCAA Division I varsity teams at its Brooklyn Campus, Long Island University competes with some of the nation’s best athletes.

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Posted: March 19, 2009