NBA superstar Chris Paul didn’t know much about lacrosse before he became executive producer on the film Crossroads, the stunning story of an upstart lacrosse team from a mostly African American community in North Carolina. Paul told ESPN, “In the African-American community, it’s basketball or football. No one ever puts a lacrosse stick in your hand, ever. So to see how Coach Selkin and his family take these guys in as well as Mr. Walker, I still get goose bumps when I watch it.”
Now Paul has a pretty good chance of seeing those goose bumps turn into an Emmy Award too, since Crossroads was just nominated. (The other Emmy nominees for Long Sports Documentary are Strokes of Genius, Shot in the Dark, Momentum Generation, and Love Means Zero.)
Interestingly, it’s widely believed that African-American football sensation Jim Brown was perhaps the most dominant lacrosse player the US has produced. Yet despite Brown’s success — he was a two-sport sensation at Syracuse — lacrosse has remained largely — not exclusively, but largely — a sport played by well-to-do suburban whites. Crossroads should be a change agent.
Here Paul talks about the film and its effect on him.
