Report: Black coaches to wear towel in John Thompson tribute originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The death of the legendary John Thompson Jr., just days before the longtime Georgetown coach’s 79th birthday, shocked the college basketball world in August.
Thompson is a titanic figure in the landscape of college basketball, both on the court as a brilliant coach who won the NCAA Tournament in 1984, and off the court as a crusader for the rights of African-American players and coaches.
Thompson was known for draping a towel over his shoulder when coaching, and as a tribute to his memory, a number of Black coaches will be doing the same during the opening week of the college basketball season.
According to ESPN, multiple coaches are planning to honor Thompson by wearing a towel over their shoulder for the entire 2020-21 season.
In an upcoming memoir about his life, Thompson said he started wearing the towel as a tribute to his mother who wore one over her shoulder when she worked in the kitchen.