Series 5: The Black College Athletes Playbook

Starts March 2, 2023

  • "As parents we can not make our children successful. You can only give them the tools to make themselves successful."

    Kesha Richardson

  • Coach John Mosley of Netflix's Last Chance U

    Subject of Netflix's critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning sports docu-series Last Chance U

  • Dr. Davarian Baldwin Author of In The Shadow of the Ivory Tower How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities

    “Cities are repositories for many of our most pressing struggles and my scholarship positions me to wage battle for their liberator's future.“

  • David McGriff Owner of The McGriff Firm PC

    McGriff has been highly sought after by various artists to represent them in multiple facets of their artistic careers. McGriff represented the principal equity financier in the recapitalization of DreamWorks, LLC.

  • Kesha Richardson Mother of Recently Drafted Professional Athlete

    "As parents we can not make our children successful. You can only give them the tools to make themselves successful."

  • BONUS: Jamal Hill, Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Medalist, Founder + President The Swim Up Hill Foundation

    “Only about 3,000 (male) athletes will have an opportunity to receive a contract to play in a major sporting league, any given year. There is no limit to the number of contracts a brand can receive.”

DAVARIAN L. BALDWIN

“UNIVERSITIES ARE THE PROBLEM”

March 2, 2023 @5pm PST

Davarian L. Baldwin is a leading urbanist, historian, and cultural critic. He currently serves as the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and founding director of the Smart Cities Research Lab at Trinity College (CT). Baldwin is the author of several books, most recently In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities and is the text author of The World of the Harlem Renaissance: A Jigsaw Puzzle. He sits on the executive committee of Scholars for Social Justice and the national council of the American Association of University Professors. Baldwin also serves as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians and was just named a 2022 Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. His opinions and commentaries have been featured in numerous outlets from NBC News, PBS, and The History Channel to USAToday, the Washington Post and TIME.  

COACH JOHN MOSLEY

“THE NEW WORLD OF COLLEGE ATHLETES”

April 6, 2023 @5pm PST

Once a Husky, always a Husky: Named one of 50 Most Impactful Coaches in JUCO Men’s Basketball, head coach and alumnus John Mosley returns to East Los Angeles College for his 11th season as Head Men’s Basketball Coach. He enters the 2022-23 season with a 214-55 record during his tenure in Huskies’ green and has led the program to nine-straight CCCAA State Playoff appearances. Coach Mosley and his ELAC men's basketball program are currently featured in the 2021 season of Netflix's critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning sports docu-series Last Chance U. John Mosley Jr is the men's basketball head coach at East Los Angeles College, which was recently featured on Netflix's Last Chance U.

He is a full-time faculty member for the Kinesiology Department and works with The Male Leadership Academy at ELAC, a program that supports the vision of underrepresented Men of Color and supports their success at the Community College.

Coach Mosley has found success on and off the court, winning at basketball and helping young men reach their potential.

DAVID MCGRIFF

“NIL & THE EFFECTS ON BLACK ATHLETES”

May 4, 2023 @5pm PST

Attorney extraordinaire, David McGriff, has over two decades of experience representing clients in the areas of Intellectual Property, Corporate Law, and Sports and Entertainment Law. 
McGriff is a graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of Law, where he was a member of the Communications and Entertainment Law Journal. Starting his career in Entertainment Law with two New York-based firms, McGriff has counseled and represented numerous companies in various stages of development, production, financing, and distribution of film and television projects.

McGriff has been highly sought after by various artists to represent them in multiple facets of their artistic careers. McGriff represented the principal equity financier in the recapitalization of DreamWorks, LLC. Mr. McGriff has represented either the financier or the production company as it relates to distribution or financing in over 40 films. In addition, McGriff has negotiated the intellectual property and life-story rights to several film projects, including: “The Conjuring,” “Annabelle” and “The Conjuring 2.”

McGriff currently represents musicians, rappers, record producers, movie producers, content creators, and professional athletes. Mr. McGriff also represents several collegiate athletes, protecting and monetizing their intellectual property in the form of name, image, and likeness (NIL). 

With NIL being a relatively new field of law as it relates to collegiate athletes, McGriff has quickly made himself an expert and ‘go-to’ attorney for athletes requiring intellectual property representation. Mr. McGriff has negotiated and finalized NIL deals involving such companies as Apple/Beats by Dre, Showtime Television, Original Retro Brand, Continental Tires, It’s Personal Sports Apparel, American Eagle, Onyx Trading Cards, Topps Trading Cards, Da Bobbleheads, LLC and Crypto.com.

With his extensive experience in advising start-up entities on corporate formation, structure, finance matters, and representing entertainment executives, Mr. McGriff has established himself as one of the most competent and knowledgeable attorneys in his field.

KESHA RICHARDSON

“THE CHALLENGES OF RAISING A BLACK ATHLETE”

June 1, 2023 @5pm PST

Kesha Richardson is the mother of a recent college athlete turned professional football player. She is also a corporate event planner for one of the largest insurance companies in North America.  She also has 18 years of experience being a Football Mom.  Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and spent her adult life raising her children in a college town in Central Illinois.  She is a graduate of Illinois State University and a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.  

Kesha balances the single motherhood of three sons, career, philanthropy, and sports.  She is a mother of  D1 collegiate and professional-level players.   She has found a passion for helping other football moms and young athletes navigate this world of sports from a mother’s perspective.  

Kesha is actively involved in her community.  She serves as a Deputy Registrar and Election Judge in her county.  Volunteers regularly at the Midwestern Food Bank and IHSA Girls Softball State Tournament.  Kesha is also a charter member of her local sorority chapter, the local National Pan-Hellenic Chapter, and the American Outlaws of Bloomington-Normal Soccer Supporters.  

When she is not planning events, volunteering, or sitting in the football stands, Kesha is in her workshop making custom wood pieces for clients, painting, crafting, or curled up watching a good movie.   

CHARITY PARTNER

CJ Morgan was a wrestler the same age as Kesha’s son.  CJ was a student and athlete at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he studied Law and Legal Studies.  He passed away on June 6, 2019, due to a training accident at West Point.  His family and teammates continue his legacy through this scholarship fund. Help keep his vision of uplifting leadership alive by making a difference in a student’s life, by donating to the Christopher “CJ” Morgan Memorial Scholarship Fund.

BONUS JAMAL HILL

“BRANDING LESSONS FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES”

June 29, 2023 @5pm PST

When he was only 10 years old, our speaker Jamal Hill was taken to the hospital after the right side of his body went numb.  By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was almost entirely paralyzed and could only speak and move his head. He stayed in the hospital for months while paralyzed before he recovered with reduced motor function in his arms and legs.  But for many years he tried to hide it even while competing in high school sports. He was a very strong competitive swimmer and also played basketball.  He received a swimming scholarship to Division III Hiram College in Ohio where his major was physics.


It wasn’t until Jamal was age 23 that he finally stepped out of the proverbial “disability closet” and shared his diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), an inherited condition that causes nerve damage in a person’s feet, legs, hands, and arms, with the public. Even today, from his knees to his toes, he says it feels like he is walking on prosthetics.  From his elbows to his fingertips, he has about 30% nerve capacity. 


It was at that time that Jamal’s swim coach convinced him to pursue a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Team.  In the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, he won a bronze medal.  Soon after his return to Southern California his commitment to teaching young people to swim grew to new heights through the work of the, Swim Up Hill Foundation, a non-profit he founded in 2020.


This is a story of determination and perseverance, enhanced by athleticism, and wrapped in a pleasant and optimistic personality.

CHARITY PARTNER

Swim Up Hill Foundation, www.swimuphill.org