Thurl
Bailey: A Man as Big as His Vision of Life
Text
and photographs by Page Johnson
Thurl
Bailey is what my father used to call a tall drink of water...a
very tall one. At 6 feet, 11 inches, the former National
Basketball Association (NBA) star is a commanding presence wherever
he goes, but it is his spirit more than his physical size that
fills a room. When Thurl speaks, it is with a calm resonance that
conveys both the depth and the expanse of that spirit.
This
was especially palpable on Sunday, February 13, when Thurl addressed
an international crowd of over 500 at the Washington D.C. Temple
Visitors’ Center that included ambassadors and dignitaries from
Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. The event was part of the Visitors’ Center celebration
of Black History Month, a national event every February which
honors the contributions of black individuals in all fields.
In story and song, Thurl recounted not only his experiences as
a basketball player, but also his personal journey of finding
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Adults and kids of all ages listened--transfixed
by Thurl’s size and bearing--but laughing and commiserating with
him as he recalled his childhood efforts to learn basketball skills,
try out for a team, and repeatedly face rejection.
click
to buy |
 |
But for the youth in the audience, the evening with Thurl was
more than an opportunity to hear a famous athlete give a pep talk
about following dreams and never giving up. It offered them
insight into the life and mind of a popular sports star as he
faced a growing emptiness in his life despite money and fame.
Thurl looked out into the eyes of young men and women of various
faiths and cultures and told them that the Lord helped him exchange
that emptiness with a growing spirituality, and that he had to
learn to work as hard to find God as he did to learn basketball.
He then bore his testimony in song, confidently yet calmly proclaiming
his relationship with a loving Heavenly Father.
Who is Thurl Bailey?
Why was this man able to make everyone feel at ease and so
good just to be around him? I had known about Thurl, the basketball
forward who played for the Utah Jazz, but I really didn’t know
much about Thurl the convert to the Church, or Thurl the songwriter
who has released four CDs. Just who was this African American
who was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Landover, Maryland...who
sang in his Baptist choir as a youth...who played professional
basketball in the U.S., Greece, and Italy...who married a Mormon...and who accepted the covenant
of baptism himself when he was baptized in Italy? And why does he draw such large crowds of young
people eager to hear his story?
To find out, I searched his website ThurlBailey.com and
listened to selections from his CDs: Faith in Your Heart, The
Gift of Christmas, and I’m Not the Same. I noted the
unmistakable influence of R&B on his work, although the musical
sound is uniquely his own: the timber of his voice exudes a gentle
power and his arrangements reveal both the serious and lighthearted
side of his personality. It became clear that this was a man
not only of talent, but also of complexity. Yet I thought I knew
him and what to expect when my husband and I picked him up from
his hotel to take him to the Visitors’ Center for his talk.
But
I was unprepared for Thurl’s humble yet approachable and genuine
personality, or his towering smile, or his massive handshake that
engulfed my hand up to the elbow. He was so dignified, so calm,
so nice. Somehow he collapsed his huge torso into our
car and we drove to the Visitors’ Center, at ease with him as
if we were old friends. He explained he had just returned from
Hawaii where he had been one of the speakers to help raise money
for the Children’s Miracle Network.
Such
events are a main part of his life now that he has retired from
professional basketball; he gives lectures and motivational speeches
to business and church groups, helps with fundraisers, and participates
in community youth projects. His favorite is his own non-profit
youth basketball camp that he has run for 17 years, and most of
the money from “Big T’s Basketball Camp” goes to charities like
the Make a Wish Foundation. In addition, Thurl is a broadcast
analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah Men’s Basketball,
and his numerous civic and musical awards include the 2000 Pearl
Awards for Best Contemporary Recording and Best New Artist of
the Year. The NBA awarded him the Walter Kennedy Community Service
Award and he even does a bit of acting, most recently as Goliath
in a video scripture series for children.
From
Basketball to Baptism
When
we arrived at the Visitors’ Center, I saw for myself why Thurl
has the reputation of being a courteous and generous man. I asked
him if he wanted to stand in the foyer and greet people before
his talk, or to attend a reception downstairs in honor of a local
black artist named Lou Stovall, whose works were displayed throughout
the building. “I’d rather not interrupt,” Thurl demurred, choosing
instead to quietly visit a room with Black History displays.
He was unassuming and thoughtful as he walked around the room
looking at memorabilia and art from both America and Ghana.
But
a man of that stature cannot go unnoticed for long. Slowly, shyly,
people started to approach him, and within minutes visitors and
missionaries formed a line to have their pictures taken with Thurl
Bailey. As if he had all the time in the world, Thurl obliged
by signing programs, posing with enchanted fans, and chatting
up teenagers. He didn’t talk about being a member of the Church;
his testimony was in his demeanor and his sincere interest in
others.
The
one thing he did request was a moment alone before he had to speak,
and Elder Christensen, the director of the Visitors’ Center, took
him to one of the empty theaters. I assumed Thurl needed a break
because he was still so jetlagged from his recent trip. Instead,
I found him using the time to pray and ask for spiritual guidance.
As
Thurl made his way to the stage, fans again stopped him for autographs
while sister missionaries reached out to shake his hand. Once
on the podium, Thurl sat next to Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah),
certainly a novel pairing for the tall senator who rarely gets
to look up at someone else. Elder Christensen welcomed
the dignitaries in the room: His Excellency Fritz K. Poku, Ambassador
of Ghana; His Excellency Simbi Mubako, Ambassador of the Republic
of Zimbabwe; His Excellency Kassahun Ayele, Ambassador of Ethiopia;
and Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Minister-Counselor from the Embassy
of Ghana.
Sen.
Bennett spoke briefly about the newly dedicated Temple in Ghana
and the Church’s commitment to make the people of Ghana a part
of its “world-wide fellowship.” He introduced Ambassador Poku,
who pointed out numerous ways the world has been enlightened by
the contributions of African Americans.
When
Thurl rose to speak, he dwarfed everyone in the room. He said
later he felt humbled, however, to have the opportunity to speak
before so many dignitaries and he hoped to visit their countries
one day. He then became a compelling storyteller, using candor
and humor as he reminisced about basketball, his marriage, and
his spiritual struggles. He told how he tried to emulate his
idol and one of the hottest stars of the 1970s, Julius Erving,
known by fans as Dr. J. As Thurl practiced hook shots
and free throws, he’d become Dr. J, suddenly making the
fast break down the court to score the big win in the final “nail-biting”
seconds of an imaginary game.
The reality, however, was that Thurl was still a lanky teenager
whose skills didn’t keep pace with his growing height—He couldn’t
even make his junior high school team. No matter how hard he
practiced and prepared, he was cut year after year. In fact,
his coach told him to give up basketball because he didn’t “have
what it takes.”
By
ninth grade, however, a new coach saw something in Thurl’s efforts.
Potential he called it. In fact, the coach was willing
to work alone with Thurl one hour every day before and after practice.
That was the encouragement and personal attention Thurl needed
to propel him into the fast lane of professional sports. After
finally making it onto his junior varsity team, he moved quickly
to varsity where he became co-captain in his senior year. From
the hundreds of college recruitment letters, he chose North Carolina
State, and he was on the team when they won a national championship.
In 1983, he was the 7th pick of the Utah Jazz in the
first round of the NBA draft, and in his very first game, the
man he was sent out to guard was his hero, Dr. J himself. The
potential that a caring coach saw and patiently developed
in a willing young man was becoming a reality.
Uprooting
to Salt Lake City, however, was a geographical and cultural eye-opener
for Thurl, although he thought Mormons were “awesome.” Before
long, he discovered the unique phenomenon known as Church Basketball
and he marveled at the tenacity with which Mormons play the game.
His new Mormon friends also kept giving him copies of the Book
of Mormon, so he started to read it to get to know
his neighbors better. But he also wanted to know more about Jesus
Christ, since he had always been “on a journey or search for the
truth.” He struggled to understand why the Priesthood in the
LDS Church had been denied to blacks for so long, and it became
a stumbling block that he could not get beyond.
During
his years with the Utah Jazz, Thurl married Sindi Southwick, a
Church member from Richfield, Utah, who had been one of the coaches
at his youth basketball camp.
They are now the parents of three children: BreElle, 9, Brendan,
7, and Bryson,
1. Thurl also has three other children from a previous marriage:
Chonelle, 22, Thurl,
Jr., 19 and TeVaughn, 15.
Thurl
was later traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he stayed
for three years before joining a team in Athens, Greece. That
year in Europe was a difficult one for the family because they
felt out of place in such a different culture, yet for reasons
he himself couldn’t explain, Thurl felt compelled to join a struggling
Italian team. Though it ranked 18th out of 18 teams
at the time, he and his teammates took the championship the next
year.
Yet
Thurl believes that sports success wasn’t the reason he went to
Italy. Instead he says the Spirit guided him there to prepare
him for the next part of his life. He and Sindi had just had their
first baby, so she stayed in Utah while he got settled. Alone
in a new country with few friends who spoke English, he called
home often and he began to take stock of his life. As he crisscrossed
country borders to play at sports events, border guards kept asking
him the same three questions that sound familiar to Church members:
Where are you coming from, Why are you here, and Where are you
going?
He
thought about his new family and the purpose of families in general.
Sindi confirms that the birth of their daughter inspired her husband
to search for ways he could improve their whole family life.
Once again, Thurl needed a coach, a personal teacher to train
his heart and mind in spiritual things just as his boyhood coach
had trained his body. He admits that he was also so lonely that
he was willing to talk to anyone that spoke English, but he finally
asked Sindi to call the missionaries.
Through
the missionaries and the mission president of the Italy Milan
Mission,Thurl found the teachers, friends, and inspiration he
was looking for. To his recurring question of why blacks had
been denied the Priesthood until the Revelation of 1978 restored
it to all worthy black males, President Halvor Clegg responded
simply, “It wasn’t
time.” In those few words, Thurl could finally see wisdom.
It made sense to him
as he considered the relative “readiness” of both whites and blacks
to deal with change
over the years. This was the spiritual yet practical answer that
Thurl had been seeking,
and on December 31, 1995, his father-in-law baptized him into
the Church. He received the priesthood shortly afterward and
currently serves as Elders’ Quorum President
in the Hughs Canyon Ward in Holladay, Utah.
A
Role Model That’s Real
Now
that I’ve met him, it’s easy to see why Thurl Bailey is such a
popular youth speaker. Teenagers recognize the parallels in their
own lives of being left out, lonely, or in need of someone to
love and help them. In his down-to-earth style, Thurl relates
what he has learned about Gospel principles by telling his life
story, and he sends a subtle message that he believes we should
all become “coaches,” motivating those around us in word and deed.
He thanks his parents for instilling in him a desire to succeed,
to be good and kind. He honors his wife by recognizing her talents
as a mother, a wife, an athlete, and a manager of his hectic schedule.
He tells the youth about “this thing called agency” that allows
them to make choices even though they will make mistakes. In
fact, Thurl reminds them that Heavenly Father “tests us all the
time.” So say your prayers, he counsels, and don’t forget to
say thank you.
On
this Sunday evening, Thurl spoke to an audience of wide-ranging
faiths and cultures, of ambassadors, missionaries with investigators,
and youngsters in jeans. He raised his expressive hands and gave
them this advice: “The thing you’re looking for is only as far
as the edge of your bed.” Then he sang his testimony, sharing
his joy and gratitude to the Lord for staying beside him “all
the while.”
Four boys from the Leesburg Ward, Ashburn Stake.
Left to right: Cam Young, Devon Alcala, Thurl Bailey, Cameron
Bird, Jamie Bird
Perhaps
the most vivid example of Thurl’s impact on this particular night
was the response of Devon Alcala, a newly baptized 15-year-old
boy from Trinidad: “Thurl was so great and inspiring. He’s a
humble, not flashy kind of guy. He just did his own thing and
had success. I came here from Trinidad with my Dad and I missed
the rest of my family. I was lonely just like Thurl was in Italy.
Then my friend’s dad, who was my basketball coach, invited me
to hear the missionaries. I did what Thurl did--I just gave them
a chance. I found out myself that there’s a place for everyone
in the Church.”
Friends
and Brothers: Thurl
Bailey’s latest CD produced with Marvin Goldstein and Billy Dean.
