Shabazz Napier: Winner on the court, unintentional activist off it

Shabazz Napier is a legend at the University of Connecticut for his play on the court. Off the court, he had a mindset that was ahead of both his and the NCAA's time.

By Daniel Priest

@dpriest3

Shabazz Napier was just a freshman beginning his career at the University of Connecticut in the fall of 2010.

The five-foot-eleven, 165-pound recruit out of Lawrence Academy was unassuming in size and slated to back up Kemba Walker, one of the top guards in the nation. Few could have predicted Napier’s career would lead to two national titles, numerous accolades and a spot among the greatest to ever put on a Huskies jersey.

While he became a decorated standout, in that fall of 2010, he was still a young kid adjusting to college life and learning about NCAA standards.

The 7 a.m. workouts were a new part of Napier’s routine and it was after those workouts that he learned of the bagel rule. Following those early mornings, often times jammed in before class, the coaching staff gave bagels to the players to eat.

A welcomed thing to do with little time to eat before running off to class, but the coaching staff also informed Napier that they could not provide cream cheese or any sort of spread to go with the bagel.

“If they put cream cheese or any spreading on it, it’s illegal. I was like, ‘are you serious?’ That to me was like, what? A coach can give you this, this, this but as soon as you go from putting cream cheese on a spread, then it’s illegal,” Napier said.

The “bagel rule” as it’s been known in NCAA circles was altered in 2013 to allow cream cheese and other spread to be provided, but for a then 19-year old Napier, that rule was the first instance towards him becoming an unintentional activist for the NCAA to modify certain rules pertaining to eating for student-athletes.

Napier would end up being a small, if unintentional participant, in trying to move towards bigger change.

On the court

From the moment he arrived in Storrs, Conn. Napier had a backcourt mate that he could learn from and compete against day in and day out.

Kemba Walker was the face of UConn, Napier was the freshman trying to prove himself.

“Kemba’s an explosive athlete type and Shabazz was a crafty workaholic who found ways to use his own ability,” said former UConn Coach Jim Calhoun who recruited Napier prior to his retirement in 2012.

“The thing is their personalities were exactly, exactly opposite. Kemba was smiling and killing, one that everybody loved, until he cut you, silently. I called him the Velvet Sword. You didn’t feel yourself getting cut by Kemba because he had that big smile on, but that was just his joy playing basketball. Shabazz was a trash-talking, driving guy.”

Quickly, Napier established himself as a key contributor for the Huskies in his freshman season. His play led to a nomination to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team and he showed up in key moments of the Huskies title run.

As the years went by, the accolades only grew. A team captain, All Big East First Team, USBWA District 1 Player of the Year, First Team All-American, Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year and of course a second National Title.

“It’s amazing what he’s done, really. I don’t think people realize he wasn’t the quickest guy, wasn’t the fastest, was an okay shooter, wasn’t that strong, I’m talking about a guy now six years in the NBA where the average life in the NBA is about three, three and a half,” Calhoun said about Napier.

Often times, Calhoun cited Napier as being tough, unwilling to give up and attacking obstacles head on. He referred to Napier as “obstinate” and that was one of his greatest traits as a player.

As Napier continued to ascend on the court as a standout player, off the court he was always honest and candid with the media.

By the NCAA tournament in his senior year, that came to a head when Napier made specific remarks to the media that caught fire and drew national headlines.

At the time of April 2014, Northwestern University was making headlines when the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago ruled that football players at the university were considered employees and could unionize.

The news had the potential to alter the scope of NCAA sports and student-athletes across the country, so naturally, questions spilled over to the NCAA Tournament and the nation’s best point guard spoke out.

Napier had said to reporters at the Final Four, “I don’t feel student-athletes should get hundreds of thousands of dollars, but like I said, there are hungry nights that I go to bed and I’m starving.”

He also commented: “I just feel like a student-athlete, and sometimes, like I said, there’s hungry nights and I’m not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities. When you see your jersey getting sold – it may not have your last name on it – but when you see your jersey getting sold and things like that, you feel like you want something in return.”

An important distinction in this entire exchange is that what happened with Northwestern was never about pay for play with student-athletes.

Per SB Nation, they were pushing to accomplish a set of goals that included raising scholarship amounts, eliminating restrictions on legitimate employment and players ability to directly benefit from commercial opportunities, as well as a host of other goals.

Despite that, Napier’s comments set off a firestorm within media circles and his comments were used for more than he ever could have imagined.

Misinterpretation

Six years after this all unfolded, Napier never intended to attack the NCAA or start a coup with his comments. He was strictly focused on food, not getting a check.

“This is the thing that everybody don’t get. I said that way before and it just became news because of where we were at. I said that during the tournament, but it was early in the tournament,” Napier said of his comments.

David Borges covered UConn for the New Haven Register during the 2014 season, and he too recalls Napier making those comments earlier on than during the Final Four.

“He actually said it a week earlier at the Regionals in New York at Madison Square Garden. That’s when he actually made those quotes, and I think they ran the next day in one of the New York papers and it wasn’t a big deal,” Borges recalled.

“I don’t recall there being a lot of buzz over it. Somehow, the Associated Press or someone else, some national writer, sort of picked up on it at the Final Four a week later and then it became a bigger deal and he was asked about it quite a bit.”

Gavin Keefe of the New London Day has been covering UConn for over 30 years and he believes that Napier was doing nothing more than just answering the questions that were asked of him.

“Shabazz is a very honest guy and when you ask a question, he’s going to give you a very honest answer. He’s not going to hold back. He was very outspoken, he was a really respected leader on the team, so what he said carried more weight,” Keefe said.

“I think he knew that, but as far as being intentional, it’s just like he said, I think he was just answering the question. During that time, there was a lot of talk about NCAA reform and student-athletes getting more money and more support, so I think it was kind of a perfect storm in the timing of when he said, where he said it.”

Napier himself stated things were never intentional. He was only responding to what was being asked of him in the moment. Despite his modeset intentions, his comments did spark outcry and played a factor in NCAA rules that have since been changed.

The comments from Napier came as part of a maturing process he went through during his time at UConn, which included struggling at times with food and money management.

While at UConn, he had the choice of either a meal plan or a stipend to cover the cost of meals over the course of the semester. Napier chose the stipend, which he estimated to be around $5,500. He sent the money home to his mother.

Trying to take care of his family back in Massachusetts left him with limited money to pay for meals and no access to the dining halls on campus.

“It’s just very tough to expect a student athlete who knows not much about anything when it comes to living life on their own to figure out how to navigate through basically a work schedule of going to school and trying to play basketball, and trying to find the small breaks in between to get and get your snack or get you something,” Napier said.

“That’s a lot for myself - 17, 18 years old to handle...I know there were nights where I was like ‘shit, I shoulda grabbed me something’ I’m not at my full potential to perform for tomorrow at the highest level, but somehow someway we always did.”

Much like the actual intent of the Northwestern group, Napier was not necessarily clamoring for a paycheck. He was asking for education on how to live and some increased benefits and flexibility to satisfy his own means.

“When I’m a freshman and a sophomore, obviously as a junior and senior I got my stuff together and I understood how to do certain things, but as a freshman and sophomore, I didn’t,” Napier said.

“I wasn’t trying to get paid. I couldn’t even handle my own money then. Like $5,500, I had to give that to my mom. I can’t imagine what kids would be like if they had $70,000 or $100,000 in their hand. That’s something that can very well be very dangerous for kids, I was more so talking about let’s just be honest with each other.

“I’m 17, 18, 19 years old and you’re treating me like I’m an adult in the working space. Well, if you’re going to treat me that way, then you need to pay me or give me something to compensate for that. My thing was just making sure everybody was well fed,” Napier said.

He cited his own teammates and previous teammates who mentored him as a big influence for why he wanted to comment on the situation to begin with.

“The reason why I spoke upon it was because Terrence Samuel was my freshman, and I had to take care of Terrence Samuel as if he was my little brother. I had to make sure he ate when I was eating...Kemba used to do the same things for me, Donnell Bevy used to do the same things for me.”

For those who had been around Napier before, they knew he was never afraid to speak his mind and he had more than enough intelligence to back what he was saying.

“He always spoke his mind and it was good quotes,” Borges said of Napier. “He said things that were sometimes controversial because he didn’t mince words, so I wasn’t surprised A.) because I had heard him say things like this before and because B.) he was not a guy who was going to hold back anything when he was talking to reporters.”

“I don’t think he was on some sort of crusade to do this, but he was just asked a question and he gave an honest answer and I think he honestly believed what he said. He wasn’t trying to start a revolution or anything like that,” Borges said,

Though he was his ex-coach at the time this unfolded, Napier still had support from Calhoun in the matter.

“The right way for him was when he had the microphone. Did he think of that? I’ll tell you one thing, he’s smart enough to think of that. People listen to the guy who’s MVP of the National Championship. As I said, I would never underestimate him physically and I would never - because he’s so damn smart and he’s tough - if you want someone to lead the charge, he’s a good guy to lead the charge because he’s going to go hell bent to the cause. I think when he saw something and he saw he didn’t have money in his pockets at times, the stipend became a big deal,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun, who continues to coach now at the DIII level with Saint Joseph’s University, is in favor of student-athletes receiving extra benefits and aid if they need it.

“You can’t legislate equality. It’s never been done and that’s very difficult to do. But, you can legislate opportunity. I think the opportunity to make money on scholarship is a good thing,” he said.

For Napier, the next best step would be monetary education. If players are to receive money, they need to know what to do with it.

“You put yourself in the shoes of a kid who came from nothing and all of the sudden has $70,000 to play with for whatever they want to do. Unless they’re going to teach these kids how to take care of their money, how to put some money in investments or real estate, then we can talk about that, but they’re not teaching these kids about that stuff so it’s hard to really expect them to know what to do with that money,” he said.

The bottom line is no system is perfect and in Napier’s eyes, self-evaluation of outdated rules will always be a positive for the NCAA.

“I don’t think the NCAA is bad people. I think this is a great opportunity for players to play and people to be exposed to the highest level, it just needs some fixing up.”

It may have never been his intention, but Napier’s comments are a part of why rules have changed and will continue to change in the future. It is not a big deal in his own eyes, but it matters for generations of student-athletes to come.

Ramogi Huma is the the Executive Director of the National College Player’s Association - a group that strives to protect future, current and former college athletes. He recalls Napier speaking up as something that opened the door for change.

“Definitely,” Huma said of Napier’s impact. “If you ask the NCAA, nothing players ever do results in real changes, but as we know it’s when players launch law suits and really put pressure on the system, that’s when we see changes. The higher profile, more successful the player is, the bigger voice they’re going to have.”

It was only days after Napier’s comments in 2014 that the NCAA announced modifications to rules regarding what players could and could not eat.

Among the changes were students being granted unlimited access to food from their university, with no limits or restrictions in place. A rule change that certainly would have helped out a 19-year old Napier who sent his money home to help his family out.

He isn’t the sole reason for changes like this happening, but the voice of the best collegiate point guard in the nation undoubtedly put pressure on the NCAA to act.

Huma also backed Napier’s calling for educating student-athletes on how to handle finances, especially when they first arrive on college campuses.

“They’ll move heaven and earth, even put players in a pandemic without health and safety mandates, but these same schools aren’t providing financial skills workshops to freshman to the point where they feel comfortable handling money,” he said.

“It’s ridiculous and it’s a failure. These are supposed to be the schools educating players - if anything that’s an indictment of the colleges and NCAA sports that claim to be educating these athletes,” Huma added.

Napier never specifically led a call of people to attack the NCAA, but simply speaking the truth and being honest did cultivate at least some form of change.

“He was never worried about saying just the right thing, he said the things he believed in the most. Politician he’s not. He’s a leader in many, many ways because he’s willing to stand up,” Calhoun said of the man who turned out to be one of his most decorated recruits ever.

Napier did what he’s done his entire life. Spoke from his heart and said what he truly believed himself.

“I’m very proud he can stand up, especially when he knows what he’s talking about. I remember talking to Shabazz a little bit afterwards, he knew exactly what he was talking about,” Calhoun said.

This story was originally published on in the March 2021 edition of Basketball Times Magazine.