Princewill Pius
At St. Mary’s, Mahershala Ali became disillusioned by the school’s treatment of its players. As he told Rolling Stone, he’d been recruited on the premise of education and family, “but when we got there, you suddenly felt disposable, like a product,” he said. “That felt callous to me. Especially as black boys, I think we felt betrayed.”
Ultimately, Ali acknowledged that, although he was an “OK” player, “I don’t think I had the approach or mentality that would sustain a successful sporting career,” he told The Guardian. “I was sort of caught between the worlds, where I think my mentality was more suited for the arts over athletics.”
“I experienced a very clear, palpable transformation while in college,” Ali wrote in 2011. “I started writing and performing my poetry. I competed in poetry slams, and began to take my academics more seriously… I did better in college because I started to understand how I learned, as well as the concept of ‘finishing’ began to take root. I can’t say I retained much of the information from my classes, but I understand how I learn, and I understand beginning, middle and end, which in turn leads to finishing. I can’t think of two tools more powerful or useful in the ‘real world.'”
Ali went on to study drama at New York University, but his big break didn’t come until he moved to Los Angeles years later.
Written by: Nicki
