For Tamir Goodman, playing college basketball did not always sync with his religion.Goodman, the first practicing Orthodox Jew to play in Division I college basketball, spoke at Northwestern about his journey with basketball and Judaism to about 25 students and members of the Jewish community at the McCormick Tribune Center on Tuesday night.
The recently retired professional basketball player attracted national attention as a junior in high school when he turned down a full scholarship to the then-number-one-ranked University of Maryland because of religious conflict. His message focused on faith and his goal of being a basketball player, along with the trials he had to undergo to achieve that dream. Goodman decided to attend Towson University, which changed its entire basketball schedule to accommodate his observance of Jewish holy days.
Goodman credits his good fortune in the “faith that Hashem (a Hebrew name for God) would bring him a better situation.”
According to Goodman, he fell in love with the game of basketball when he was five. “I wanted to dunk,” Goodman said. “Michael Jordan was everything to me, and I wanted to play just like him.”
As a seventh grader, Goodman tried out for and made the high school varsity team of the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, where he grew up, and he was the leading scorer of the team in eighth grade. As a high school junior, he averaged 35.4 points per game and shot to new heights when Sports Illustrated ran a four-page spread on him in the year’s Super Bowl issue, giving him the nickname, “the Jewish Jordan.”
Going into his senior year as the 25th-ranked high school player in the United States, he abruptly gave up his scholarship to Maryland when they tried to pressure him into playing during Shabbat on Fridays and wound up at Towson. He played for Towson until his sophomore year, when a reported altercation with his coach regarding Judaism caused him to leave the team. He signed with a professional team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, in Israel in 2002, which fulfilled his dream of being a professional player. It was there he met his wife, who he describes as “the greatest blessing of my life.”
Instead of focusing solely on sports, Goodman said his talk was about keeping faith and being observant of religious customs even in the face of adversity, while at the same time using the gifts he was given.
“I had to set an example, especially for all the kids who looked up to me,” Goodman said. “If I compromised, I would fail.”
Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, who heard about Goodman a few years ago and contacted his agent to ask him to speak at NU, said he agreed with Goodman’s lessons and encouraged members of the NU community from all faiths to learn from his story.
“Tamir’s message is important not just to Jews but to everyone because each one of us has commitments, whether religious or ethical,” Klein said. “His story, I believe will inspire us to be able to live our dreams and at the same time not to give up our commitments.”
Goodman is now working with a charity organization called Haifa Hoops for Kids, which collects money to send underprivileged youth in Israel to professional basketball games, according to Goodman’s Web site. After the success he has enjoyed, Goodman said he wants to give back to others.
“I’m dedicating the second half of my life to underprivileged kids,” Goodman said. “I feel that everyone has to find their ultimate blessing.”
From the success and fame, to the injuries and anti-Semitism, Goodman said he has learned to use what he was given to make himself a better person and player.
“I never gave up, and I always worked,” Goodman said. “Through injuries, through negative articles, I worked my butt off to get where I am.” [email protected]
