[ESPN] When Liberman is eventually given medical clearance to make his Northwestern debut, which he expects will be “pretty soon,” he plans to wear his yarmulke on the court. (Northwestern is making two versions for him — purple and white for home games, and purple and black for the road.) That will make him only the second yarmulke-clad player in Division I basketball history. The first such player was Tamir Goodman, the much-hyped “Jewish Jordan,” who played for Towson in 2000 and 2001. But disagreements with a new coach derailed Goodman’s college basketball career early in his sophomore year, leaving Division I hard courts yarmulke-free until Liberman’s arrival this season.
And get this: Liberman, who’s 6-foot-10 and was fifth in the nation in blocked shots for Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles in 2011, also plans to wear tzitzit — the specially knotted fringes or tassels worn by observant Jews — on the court. The tzitzit will be underneath his base-layer undershirt, and the fringes will be tucked into his shorts. Goodman didn’t wear tzitzit while at Towson, so Liberman almost certainly will be Division I’s first tzitzit-clad player. Mazel tov!
Really? In the game though? I don’t know how I feel about that. Pretty ballsy. Talk about losing your intimidation factor. Probably the least intimidating 6 foot, 10 inch basketball player of all-time, right? Has to be. I would just knock his Yarmulke off if I was playing against him. Then what? They’d have to blow the play dead. Really curious to see how this unravels.
Ps. Kudos to him for going against the grain and being bold though. I respect this guy big time. I’ll be rooting for Liberman and his Yarmulke.
I’m not sure why you would “just knock his Yarmulke off” if you were playing against him. Why would that be necessary? If you were playing against someone wearing a crucifix on a chain, would you just grab them by it? It’s not funny because it makes no sense. Also, in your Tweet, you mention a “Jewish Yarmulke.” It’s just a yarmulke. Sort of like, you are not an ignorant ass, you are just an ass.
Wow, is this what passes for journalism over at Pen State? This guy is an extremely insensitive asshole. You’ll be out of a job before you can say the phrase, “but i didn’t mean too” with any reputable journalism organization. It’s ignorant scum like you that brings shame upon us all.