The basketball world has an important influence on the general culture of the United States and was once again awarded at the Oscars. The project led by Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen Curry as army producers called “The Queen of Basketball” won the statuette for best short film and emulated what was done by Kobe Bryant, a former Los Angeles Lakers player who died in a helicopter crash in early 2020, four years ago.
Almost two months after the death of Lusia Harris, the protagonist of the audiovisual material, she was reminded as the one who scored the first basket in the history of women's Olympic basketball and was the pioneer in being officially selected in a draft by an NBA team. Ben Proudfoot directed the documentary and nurtured his team with the knowledge of some passionate about sports and interested in honoring the story of Harris as one of the great pioneers.
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts whether there is an audience for women athletes and wonders if their stories are valuable, entertaining or important, let the academy award give the answer,” Proudfoot said at the awards ceremony held in Los Angeles. Harris is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame just like O'Neal and will surely be a member of Curry once he retires.
One of the striking details in the production is that even the four-time NBA champion center, considered one of the best in basketball history, did not know the history of the player. “I didn't know who I was at first,” O'Neal said earlier this month. But the film and the involvement of Shaq and Stephen contributed to the spread of the story of the referent more and more. Even the Golden State star wore sneakers at the beginning of the month adorned with the phrase “Queen Lucy”.
Notably, Lusia helped Delta State University win three consecutive national championships in the 1970s and won a silver medal for the United States at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Harris was selected by the New Orleans Jazzman in the 1977 NBA draft, but she was pregnant at the time and never tried to stay on the team. In addition, his family attended the awards ceremony on Sunday.
Proudfoot took advantage of winning the Oscar to publicly ask President Joe Biden to get the release of two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, who is imprisoned in Russia. The athlete was arrested in mid-February after arriving at Moscow airport, where Russian authorities found cartridges in her luggage for vapers that allegedly contained a cannabis-derived oil, according to various local media. Griner faces a penalty of up to 10 years of pressure under Russian law.
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