Gary Charles and Black athletes

Black high-profile athletes are the norm, as Black people have dominated the sports industry for generations. History acknowledges the racial barriers athletes broke through by being better than their competitors without the same access to resources. Athletes like Jack Johnson (the first Black heavyweight champion), Frederick “Fritz” Pollard (the first Black person to play in the NFL), and Jackie Robinson all have made their mark in sports history and the civil rights movement. Gary Charles, another athlete, is making history and creating change on and off the court.Charles is an unheralded legend in the world of “grassroots basketball.” Hailing from the Roosevelt section of Long Island, NY, Charles founded a grassroots basketball program that has produced more than 20 NBA players, helped direct the legendary ABCD Camp, and started the Fab48 Tournament, which four years ago was changed to Las Vegas Big Time which was the original name of the Tournament that Sonny Vaccaro began in 1995.
While Charles was content with helping the youth on the basketball side, in 2020, he decided to take his leadership and wisdom off the court to speak on the racial reckoning that was going on.
“During the protest for George Floyd and other countless deaths due to police brutality, I felt compelled to say something, and I recorded a video and posted it online, and it went viral,” Charles said. His video addressed everything going on, but he also addressed the White community, “ I understand you’re uncomfortable from the marching every day, but understand we as Black people are uncomfortable every day.”
Due to the support of the video, Charles used his pool of connections to come up with a way to support the community, and the birth of the Advancement of Black In Sports (ABIS) organization happened. ABIS is a non-profit organization with a mission to boldly advocate for a culture of equity and inclusion in advancing racial, economic, and social justice for all in sports.
“Too many athletes are broke after they retire from their sport. We want to change that narrative and give the younger athletes the tools to handle their money,” Charles said, stating that 78 percent of professional athletes go broke after retirement due to poor financial decisions. “ You don’t know what you don’t know, and with the creation of this program and the support I received from Black coaches, administrators, Black athletes, lawyers, and civil rights advocates, among others, we were able to open the door and start things in a big way.”
With the recent addition of NIL( Name, Image, Likeness) to college and high school players, Charles emphasized that this was the perfect moment to get these kids into financial literacy classes as soon as possible, so they understand the responsibility and have the knowledge to handle the money coming their way. “ Once we get the coaches’ attention, they want their kids involved in every capacity. We teach life in our classes, so once the students see what’s going on, they immediately tune in, and you realize the lack of teaching these students receive in school when it comes to life.”
Charles and ABIS celebrated their 3rd annual Champions & Legends Fundraising last month honoring impactful figures in the sports world like Sashi Brown, president of the Baltimore Ravens: ABIS Executive of the Year Award; Paxton Baker, minority owner of the Washington Nationals: ABIS Ulice Payne Ambassador Award; The 1982 Cheyney State Lady Wolves, first and only HBCU women’s basketball team to compete in the NCAA Division 1 Final Four Championship: ABIS Trailblazer Award, and many more people.
If you would like to support the organization, visit www.weareabis.org.