Showtime® Sports Documentary Films Premieres ‘Stand’ - About The Life Of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Showtime Sports Documentary Films presents Stand, the feature-length documentary that explores the life of basketball prodigy Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf – born Chris Jackson in Gulfport, Mississippi – who threw flawless three-point shooters before Steph Curry existed and stood up for his belief as a social activist before Colin Kaepernick took a knee in protest of police brutality. Making her feature-length directorial debut, Joslyn Rose Lyons also interviews sports and entertainment luminaries, including Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O'Neal, Jalen Rose, Mahershala Ali, and Ice Cube who discuss Abdul-Rauf’s impact.

The film draws viewers into the tumultuous period in Abdul-Rauf's life as he faced racism and the angry brunt of American society for upholding his Muslim faith, which eventually cost him his basketball career.

Yolanda Baruch: Why was it necessary to tell this story? Why open that wound again?

Joslyn Rose Lyons: It's a great question. When I first started learning more about Mahmoud's journey, I was fascinated and inspired by the stand he took, the strength and the courage he brought to his life, that he wasn't willing to be marginalized just to a sport, that he was willing to use his voice in a way that a lot of people don't have the courage to use it. There are a lot of parts of Mahmoud's story that were left untold by the media because social media didn't exist at that time. There wasn't an outlet like there is today for Mahmoud to have a platform. [His] strength, courage, and using basketball to look at those aspects of Mahmoud's life activism.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: Thank you for the question; stories are powerful. We all have stories. Obviously, I always say that everyone's story is impactful in its own way. No matter if you're rich or poor. There's some similarities that we can pull from a person's story. But the timing was right. When you look at the social, political, and economic conditions that are happening in the world, you look at [Colin] Kaepernick taking a position, even now look at Kyrie becoming more vocal, you look at Lebron James and Chris Paul, it's a new environment, it's a new era where a lot of athletes are speaking out. So, in this atmosphere, the timing was right. Also, I had something to say by and large. But the older I've become, the more that I've read, the more I've accumulated experiences; I've felt more comfortable that, at this point, I could articulate them a whole lot better than I did then. All of those were reasons why I felt the timing was right.

Baruch: We are living in a social justice era, there are many Mahmoud like you standing up for their beliefs and speaking on injustices. What are your views on the number of prominent athletes willing to take a stand?

Abdul-Rauf: Times have definitely changed. We didn't have the luxury of social media then, so that the media could control the narrative much more. I received a lot of death threats and a lot of hate mail. Still, equally, so if not more, I received a lot of support mail from Whites, women, men, Christians, Jews, atheists, and agnostics, saying that they were in support, but if you were listening to the media, you would have never heard it to that degree. So social media shifted things; it allows you to hear the voices of so many others, which in essence, makes it easier for athletes to say those things, unlike before. It didn't resonate with me until I heard Dr. Harry Edwards say that when Muhammed Ali, John Carlos, and Tommy Lee [took] a risk, they should be applauded for it and supported. But when they took their position, they did it under the framework of the Black Power movement. When Kaepernick did what he did, he did it under the Black Lives Matter movement. He said when you and Craig Hodges and others did it, there was no movement and it was like you're in an ocean all alone with no paddle. I didn't think about it, so that's the difference between then and now. But it's still beautiful to see.

One more thing to add Richard Iton was a political scientist and he said he doesn't view protests as inherently revolutionary because once it becomes routine and accepted, it's easily molded and shaped into the dominant hegemony understanding of things. So people can make it fashionable, monetize it, and put it on shirts, and often it loses its force; this is the challenge in today's society with social media, and how people can hijack it for that purpose.

Baruch: Joslyn, did you ever want to reach out to Kaepernick regarding this documentary? Mahmoud, did you ever speak to him while he was going through his conflict with the NFL?

Lyons: I'll let Mahmoud answer that question because he has a book with Kaepernick Publishing. But yes, from Shaq to Jalen Rose to Mahershala, Ali, Steph Curry, Steve Curry, and Ice Cube, many voices of activism and athletes spoke to Mahmoud's story. We could talk to only so many people, but Kaepernick is a great part of the story, the storyline, and the message. In the movie, I have footage of Kaepernick's protests, showing his message and how it connects to Mahmoud's story. But I'll pass it to Mahmoud to speak further to Kaepernick.

Abdul-Rauf: I met. Kaepernick was going through his ordeal with the NFL; we had a mutual friend in the Bay Area. We met in a private office and spoke for about an hour. Neither one of us passed along advice because there's this stereotype that athletes if they take a position or do anything, have been told to do it like they don't have a mind of their own. So we just shared ideas and if it resonated fine. One of the takeaways I got from that hour that we talked was when he made the statement that this is the most free that he had ever felt. I remember saying to him what type of freedom enables a person to take those types of risks; that was a huge takeaway.

Baruch: Is society more receptive to social activism, especially from public figures like professional athletes?

Abdul-Rauf: That's a great question because of social media; the perception is it's more acceptable. My pushback is we didn't have the control then that we have now, to hear the voices because you can't capture the voices in the barbershop, on the planes, in the gym, and these are conversations people have been having for years, [but] people can have fake [social media] accounts. They can say what they want to say, and they can get it out. But definitely, the perception of it is that it's more acceptable now than it was before. I would lean towards agreeing with that because of social media, and it's a different generation. People are becoming bolder with a whole bunch of things but there are nuances.

Lyons: There's more opportunity for people to be heard because of social media. So it makes me question, is it more acceptable or [are there so] many outlets for us to be heard that there's no option to silence us because we can't be silenced anymore? That could be the question I would ask in response to your question.

Baruch: Social media appears to have given more power to the people.

Lyons: It's a louder microphone, and there are more microphones. We can't turn on our phones or computers and interact with the world without hearing how people feel about what's happening.

Abdul-Rauf: This may be corny; I'm working these ideas out as we go. But I wouldn't say necessarily, at this point, say, more power; I would say it has given us more of a voice because we communicated it; it doesn't necessarily translate into power. If we can talk about all these things happening, we're still being incarcerated at a higher rate for smaller crimes. You look at the social conditions, the politics, and the economy; is it translating into power? Or do we have more room to communicate and express ourselves? I struggle with how it translates into more power.

Baruch: That's fair. How are you treated as a Muslim? Especially when people know who you are and what you stood for during that time.

Abdul-Rauf: For the most part, people approached me from a position of being grateful for what I've done, but also they almost always mentioned how they feel on principle and the conviction that I have, and come from a place of respect 97% of the time, and I'm grateful, they see that in me, even though we all have our flaws. I'm big on communication; I'm a people person, so it doesn't matter your ethnicity or religion; if you want to sit down and talk, I try always to make myself available because this is how we grow as individuals. We get to understand and know each other. Understanding doesn't necessarily mean we have to agree with and respect the person's position but at least we can understand how people think the way they do and do what they do. So I'm always trying to welcome that, and people feel that from me. I'm always big on giving them space to express themselves and pay attention to what they say. I think I'm treated very well.

Baruch: It takes work to go against the grain and become ostracized. Are there any other social justice issues that you are passionate about today?

Abdul-Rauf: There's a host of them, whether it's foreign, domestic, there's climate issues, pharmaceutical issues, the food industry with chemicals, the educational system, everything. You have the prison industrial complex, with people getting locked up for crimes, especially the Black population, for small misdemeanor crimes and spending years in prison; there's a host of things. I read almost anything under the sun, and if it involves something I see as unfair, I gravitate to it because I hate bullying and when things are unfair. People have a right to access information and the basic necessities. We live in a country where you have over 14 million people that don't have health insurance. Then the cost of health insurance, you have to decide whether to pay your mortgage or save your life. You have third-world countries that often provide better service; you don't pay for education, and health care is taken care of through tax dollars. It's almost like every time we turn the corner, they're taking something from us, and so I have issues with that, yet people want to talk about how exceptional America is; these are issues among many.

Baruch: Joslyn, what is the biggest lesson that you learned in telling his story? Mahmoud, what was the biggest lesson you learned from that time of your life that you carry on now in the present day?

Lyons: That's a great question, Yolanda; it's tough to answer with only one. I learned a lot in the journey; I have always felt that the result of a movie is like the tip of the iceberg; it's a byproduct of everything you learned along the way. But the journey of making Mahmoud's film, learning more about his life, and uncovering things I didn't know I would find was incredible and powerful. One of the main things I learned from Mahmoud's story and directing this movie Stand is that it's okay to be fearless in the face of your struggles. There's this idea that we need a permission slip at times when things are hard to be fearless. We sometimes cave, go the other way, or feel like we need to dim our light; Mahmoud's shined brighter, and to me, that is incredibly powerful. I would hope that people will also take away from Stand and from Mahmoud's story that you can shine your light, even when everything around you is dark because in the darkness is actually when the light shines the brightest if you look at the stars, that's their brightest at night.

Abdul-Rauf: Our stories will continue evolving as long as we live. The importance of not waiting until the last minute, because you never know when that last minute will arrive. She mentioned the word fearless. As long as I'm living and as I come across stuff, even if it's small, I will share it because you never know what you say or what a person may hear from your experiences or your story that could benefit them. So for me, the important thing is not to wait, whatever, you know, whatever you feel, share it and try to leave a legacy and an impact of doing something right even if it's against yourself, and keep moving on.

Lyons: When Mahmoud was sharing about time, there's a song that I licensed; it's our title track in the movie; it's called "Now Or Never" by The Roots. One of the lyrics Black Thought has in the song is it's now or never, and it resonated. The song found me. I was listening to music trying to figure out what song to license, and [it] spoke to me. It's because of Mahmoud's story. I've always been fascinated by time just as a concept like what is it and Mahmoud's story is evergreen, it's timeless, but also Mahmoud acted in a way that's it's now or never, it's not tomorrow, it's not later, let's take the stand now. We have a voice, and we have this moment, and that song worked with this movie.

Stand premieres Friday, February 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime and will be available across the network's on-demand and streaming platforms at the premiere.

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.