August 19, 2019
Following a January screening of “Emanuel,” a documentary about the deadly 2015 shooting of nine black worshipers at a church in Charleston, S.C., a throng of Howard University students jockeyed for handshakes and selfies with the film’s executive producer, NBA star Stephen Curry. according to the Washington Post.
Otis Ferguson, then a junior at Howard, hung back for a moment before catching the ear of the Golden State Warriors guard.
“Hey Steph!” Ferguson called out. “Let’s get in a round of golf before you leave.”
It was a well-calculated shot: In addition to being a three-time NBA champion, two-time MVP and perhaps the best shooter ever, Curry is a passionate golfer.
Ferguson didn’t hit the links with Curry, but they did engage in a brief conversation about their mutual love of the sport. In fact, Ferguson said, he had turned down an offer to play collegiately to attend Howard, which, like many historically black colleges and universities, doesn’t have a golf team.
That chat made such an impression on Curry that he is returning to Washington on Monday to announce that he is sponsoring the creation of men’s and women’s golf teams at Howard — bringing competitive golf to the university for the first time in decades.
[‘This era of athlete is unafraid’: Curry speaks up in D.C., again without White House trip]
“To hear somebody as passionate about the game as I was, all the while still pursuing their education at Howard . . . impacted me,” Curry said in an interview Saturday.
The cost of a collegiate golf program, including both operating expenses and scholarships, can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. While declining to reveal the exact amount, Curry’s team said he will make a seven-figure donation paid out over the next six years, aimed at giving Howard time to raise an endowed fund that would make the program self-sustainable
“No matter where you come from or what socioeconomic background you had, we all were that kid once upon a time that was just excited about finding out who they were as a person through athletics,” said Curry, who is encouraging these players to make an impact, as well. The student-athletes who join Howard’s golf program also will agree to volunteer in Greater Washington with Eat. Learn. Play., a foundation run by Curry and his wife, Ayesha, that encourages healthy development in children.
For decades, Howard had a Division II team, which university officials believe was discontinued in the 1970s. The new program being financed by Curry is believed to be the first time Howard will have a Division I golf program in the university’s 152-year history.
University officials say it will take about a year to hire a coach, recruit athletes and figure out where the golf teams will practice and play. One option, they hope, will be Langston Golf Course, the District’s historic black golf course — named for John Mercer Langston, Howard Law School’s first dean and Virginia’s first black congressman. Curry’s announcement Monday will be held at the course in Northeast Washington.
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