Page 86 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Wooden on Leadership
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out of his way to introduce Rafer Johnson, a former UCLA
basketball player I had coached and later an Olympic gold
medalist. Rafer’s introduction included his athletic credits,
but it concluded by saying that he was in New York repre-
senting the entire UCLA student body. He was its president.
UCLA students, predominantly white, had elected a black
student to represent them. There were other schools with
the same ideals, of course, but on that night, Ed Sullivan
provided visible evidence to the Alcindors of what UCLA
stood for.

Scholastic merit: UCLA’s academic standards were high.
Student-athletes who attended our school received a good ed-
ucation. And they graduated.

Credible, heartfelt testimonials: Lewis had also received a let-
ter from a former UCLA basketball player who vouched for
the ideals and standards of our school. It came from the win-
ner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Ralph Bunche, who had
written on his own initiative. Dr. Bunche was black. Jackie
Robinson, the first black professional baseball player in the
major leagues, had also written a letter expressing similar
sentiments.

Blind to color: Willie Naulls, a member of the New York Knicks
who had been an All-American at UCLA, informed Lewis that
John Wooden was color-blind when it came to race.

Values and standards, ideals and principles mattered to Lewis
and his parents, Cora and Lewis, Sr. They also mattered at UCLA
and to me. Good values are like a magnet—they attract good
people.