BOOK REVIEWS the Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA

book reviews

The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball By John Matthew Smith. Published in 2013 by University of Illinois Press (344 pp., $24.95 USD, paperback) Reviewed by Damion L. Thomas, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

A number of recent books have focused on the athletes who have contributed to the civil rights movement during the “Athletic Revolution” of the 1960s and 1970s. Similarly, The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball, by John Matthew Smith, uses the UCLA Bruin basketball program as an entry point to the social and political tensions that played out on college campuses as the Bruins were in the midst of a basketball dynasty. Smith’s contributions principally lie in his discussions of the civil rights movement, but also the anti–Vietnam War movement. By placing John Wooden at the center of his analysis, Smith aptly demonstrates the generational and political differences that existed between John Wooden and several of his most politically engaged athletes, including Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. As such, the central tension that this work explores was between activist student athletes—who were reflective of a youth movement that challenged authority, racism, and the Vietnam War—and those who sought to maintain traditional social arrangements and authoritarian control in collegiate athletics. The Sons of Westwood depicts John Wooden as an exemplar of the archetypical, conservative “good man,” who believed that hard work, strong moral character, and habits were more important than talent. Born in Indiana, Wooden was an elite collegiate basketball player who identified his success with the Victorian values, religious beliefs, physical conditioning, and notions of manliness that emerged out of the Muscular Christianity movement. A former Navy lieutenant who enlisted during World War II, Wooden was idolized as a champion of character, traditional values, and apolitical sport. Smith foregrounds the central role that African American athletes played in the development of the UCLA dynasty. UCLA had long been perceived as a rela- tive “racial paradise” for African Americans because of the success of the school’s former African American superstars, including Rafer Johnson, Jackie Robinson, Kenny Washington, and Ralph Bunche. Largely influenced by the success of former black alumni, star recruits such as Walt Hazzard, Mike Warren, Henry Bibby, and Lucius Allen chose to attend the school. As African American athletes across the country raised questions about their treatment on predominantly white campuses, and in broader society, UCLA was not immune to similar protests. However, the revolt of the black athlete did not derail the team’s athletic success, even as players raised concerns about their treatment and sought to be active in the civil rights movement. Smith argues that Wooden’s ability to minimize racial tensions

79 80 Book Reviews at UCLA caused many in the sports establishment to view him as representative of conservative values. Civil rights issues were not the only social issues to which Wooden had to respond. Smith’s skillful discussion of the political unrest on college campuses because of the prolonged war in Vietnam is perhaps the major contribution of this work. In an insightful analysis of the relationship between Coach Wooden and Bill Walton, the most controversial white basketball player in the 1970s, Smith effectively demonstrates how Wooden was able to navigate the cultural clashes between politically involved athletes and the conservative sports establishment. Smith argues that Wooden respected the autonomy of athletes to have differing political views, while maintaining his coaching authority. By setting rules regarding practice, habits, and team rules, Wooden was able to earn the respect of Walton by acknowledging him as a well-rounded human being, but simultaneously maintaining his strict control of the basketball program. Smith’s work effectively demonstrates the conservative response to the social and political issues that dominated college sport during the UCLA dynasty as well as the battles waged between Coach Wooden and his players. Where the book is less convincing is in its discussion about how this dynasty changed college basketball. Certainly, the team’s success contributed to the heightened visibility of the sport as television revenue began to increase. However, the book does not demonstrate how the team’s success was transformative to the game.

Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues Edited by Janice Forsyth and Audrey R. Giles. Published in 2013 by UBC Press (268 pp., $35.95) Reviewed by Courtney W. Mason, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

This edited book is a welcome addition to the relatively limited body of scholar- ship on Aboriginal peoples and sport in a Canadian context. In the introduction, the editors rely on both historical and contemporary entry points to not only situ- ate the importance of sport in Aboriginal communities, but also to broaden the field of analysis to the material realities and forms of racism that many Aboriginal Canadians encounter in sport and in society. In the first chapter, Forsyth examines the experiences of Aboriginal children in the residential school system. In several respects, this chapter provides the historical context that frames many of the other issues tackled by authors in the chapters that follow. She carefully examines the colonial histories that shaped Aboriginal lives and bodies through residential schools. Along with her other works on this topic, this is a significant contribution as few scholars have investigated this subject. She demonstrates how Aboriginal bodies became both the affect and site of colonial discipline and power relations. The Foucauldian lens had a lot of potential in this chapter. Her subtle introduction of biopower and surveillance were relevant, but it would have been more convincing if she provided evidence about how discipline was exercised in these contexts or the impacts it had on Aboriginal bodies and subjectivities. The author does make a critical point about the absence