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spin off channel of Indian Rodeo News.com

 

Recognizing Native American Professional Athletes:

Notah Begay:

Jacoby Ellsbury

 

Williams Kastner hosts Grand Slam Sports Law and Entertainment Seminar May 15, 2009

pictured below: Debora Juarez, Gabe Galanda, Tex G. Hall, Gina Marie Scarpa, Gyasi Ross.  NABI recieves $500.00 from Williams Kastner
 

May 21, 2009

Williams Kastner Tribal Sports Law Grand Slam
Seattle, Wa 

It was a hot nice spring Friday, when WilliamsKastner  held their Indian Sports Law seminar at their office conference room in Seattle, Wa.    This was the first round of the seminar and all tribes and tribal leaders were invited to attend with a complimentary ticket to the Seattle Mariner’s game after the conference where the Mariners were playing the Boston Red Sox, and guess who everyone got to see play, Jacoby Ellsbury, Native American short stop player for the Sox.  

The seminar was a very informative and emotional moving meeting with the panel attendees who spoke on each area of sports.  Opening the seminar was WilliamsKastner attorney Debora Juarez followed by Gabe Galanda.  Debora gave a emotional moving speech on her study she did on the death rate of Urban Native American youth, the numbers were astonishing and she iterated she had not even began to research the youth mortality rate across Indian Country on the reservations.  She spoke of the need to have role models for our Indian kids in sports, giving them inspiration to use their talents and eventually get to where the professional Native American athletes are today.  Gabe spoke about the need to support athletes on a professional level once an athlete is signed to a major team, they need support to continue to be successful and WilliamsKastner is working to provide this level of support and recognize the Indian athletes as we see are now playing for the major sports teams.

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They then introduced the Guess speaker  “Tex G. Hall” former chairman of the National Congress of American Indians.   Tex spoke about his history in sports, for those who do not know Tex, he started out playing basketball and became a star player winning many national Indian basketball tournaments.  He also toured outside of the US, playing basketball.  Tex shared his thoughts of seeing many talented kids, including his own family, becoming star athletes, on their way to a pro career then to lose track by the downfalls of success, falling to substance or drinking abuse, many do not receive continued support of recognition from their tribes or leaders, if they had that, or top notch representation of a good agent, they would have stayed on track in their sports career.   He then spoke of the need to have a sports law program like WilliamsKastner where there are knowledgeable industry experienced legal representations to help the athletes in keeping on track to succeed once they get going as a professional athlete.  

There were other speakers for each area of sports, WilliamsKastner attorney Anthony Broadman spoke about the legal world of Professional Boxing, and another WilliamsKastner attorney Roy Schick spoke about his experience with the Horse racing industry.  Gina Marie Scarpa of the NABI, spoke on the history of  how she started the tournament, her goals in helping the high school basketball kids get opportunities to get in front of College sports recruiters to help them get into college basketball scholarships.  We do not see any Native basketball players making it to a College level, if we do, we don’t hear about them.  With that, she spoke on how she first became acquainted with Tex G. Hall and he helped her with forming the tournament. This was a happy moment for myself, as my nephew Adrian Komaromy, who played for the White Swan Cougars basketball team returned to State in 2008 placing 3^rd, he and his fellow Sr. team mates (Brady Carl and Travis Van Pelt) traveled to Phoenix to participate in the tournament, and they gave the big time team from Montana a run for the championship.  Though none of the boys were approached by recruiting agents, it gave them a taste of playing other tough Indian basketball teams across Indian Country.  Gina Marie, talked about the need for future support for programs like hers and programs to support other areas of sports for our kids, who need that extra step up to become recognized  by Colleges and be recruited,  quoting her “we are rich in talent with our Indian kids in sports, they need our support, not just locally but on a national level to help them get out in front of College recruiters so that they receive equal opportunity just as the other athletes receive in getting a education and career playing in professional sports”.   Following Gina Marie, was Gyasi Ross,  Native inspirational speaker and Attorney, he spoke about his history of growing up on the rez in Browning Montana, and he talked about his “idol” who played basketball, and how this person went from being famous to becoming a user of alcohol and drugs.  He talked about seeing so many kids talented in sports, and rodeo, who had the chance of becoming a professional and then not getting the support from the tribes and leaders, and watching these kids just stay on the rez, not getting a education, not playing sports, and dropping off into becoming another average player.  He spoke about supporting the efforts to kick things up and calling out to the tribes and tribal leaders across Indian Country in supporting the athletes, and keeping them from falling to the stereo type of staying on the rez, they need our support to keep going strong and getting to the level of professional sports like Jacoby Ellsbury, Notah Begay, and other athletes who are currently playing pro sports.  

Gina Northover-Moore: CEO/Editor Indian Rodeo News.com

I followed after Gyasi,  speaking about the history of Indian rodeo, where it started, recognizing the regions of where you will find rodeo as a second nature to Indians such as the Great Plains, and the Navajo Nation, the ranches of the Western States.  I talked about the national rodeo organizations, being a former Miss Indian Rodeo and representing the Indian National Finals rodeo, I talked about the regions that make up the INFR, the original founders of the INFR, Fred Gladstone, Bob Arrington, Pete Fredericks, and Mel Sampson, then a brief history of the Intertribal Ag Council and the newly Native Women in Ag program.  I introduced the newly formed International Indian Rodeo Finals, that offer youth events so that kids can qualify in  a youth event and go to the world Indian rodeo finals and take home the championship saddle and buckle, for a kid that means everything to them.   I spoke about the current professional bull riders, such as Wiley Petersen, Spud Jones, the NFR champions like Tuff Hedeman, Blair Burk, Tee Woolman,  Tom Reeves, and last year’s Bareback champion Bobby Mote, and the first Native American woman to win the WPRA All Around, Debbie Robbins, Navajo, and former INFR champion roper.   I spoke about the need for role models for our kids, to educate them about horses, ranching, raising livestock, whether it be, cattle, sheep, horse, or small cats, dogs, rabbits, anything that a kid can be involved in and receive applause for their efforts to take care of animals, as it is part of our heritage of being Native Americans.  I directed to Tex Hall in the audience the need for continued financial support to invest in our youth, the tribes and tribal leaders in their own communities need to invest in a kid who is a shining star in their perspective sports and the need to support in a financial means like Gina Marie’s program, Indian Rodeo News.com, and other programs we are not aware of or future programs for other sports where Native athletes are soaring. 

In closing were other speakers in attendance like Randy Bardwell owner of Native Threads,  Harris Teo Jr. of Yakama Juice.  It was a great start to future seminars.  Be looking for the summer programs such as NABI, and continue to support our Native Athletes.  

Gina Northover-Moore
CEO/Editor

May 21, 2009