Corliss Williamson was chatting on local Sacramento sports radio last night, and he talked a little bit about his college fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. I had never thought twice that future NBA players would join fraternities in college -- the whole pitch at my school was parties, chicks, and maybe a scholarship or something. Future NBA stars doing time at the uni would not seem to need help getting such things.So color me surprised by Omega Psi Phi's big league roster, which includes not just Big Nasty, but Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Vince Carter, and THE Shammond Williams.
Those Omega Psi meetings in the 20s must have been killer, too: Count Basie! Langston Hughes! Miles Davis' pop!
It might also be worth noting that Ahmad Rashad is also an Omega Man. Remember that the next time Ahmad scoops the hell out of Bryant Gumbel on a Shaq puff piece. (Also, Ahmad's wife Felicia Rashad was famously Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Bill Cosby is Ahmad's fraternity brother. Omega Brothers get hooked up!)























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-13-2007 @ 11:07AM
Marlon said...
Granted Que's may have a lot of members that are athletes, but Alphas overall have more prominent members, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Owens, Thurgood Marshall and etc, I can go on forever as to how many members we have.
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4-13-2007 @ 12:40PM
A.F. Morrison said...
Don't hate! Prominent is relative, OMEGA also has it s share of "prominent" members who are NOT pro athletes, Dr. Charles Drew, Benjamin E. Mays, Earl G. Graves, Rev Jesse Jackson, Astronaut Charles Bolden, I too could go on forever, as I'm sure so could members of the other Greek organizations about their "prominent" members!!
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4-13-2007 @ 2:06PM
adramp said...
I wouldn't claim the Rev. Jesse Jackson. That term Reverend is used very loosely for a man with an out of wedlock child and a history of race baiting.
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4-13-2007 @ 6:51PM
amd77j said...
If you're talking strictly athletes,then I'm more impressed with the historical Black fraternity for athletes, Kappa Alpha Psi (Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Eugene "Mercury" Morris,etc), which boasts a pantheon of jocks.
That said, I'm actually more impressed with the long line of African leaders from Phi Beta Sigma and African-American leaders from the preeminent and first African-American fraternity (the "granddaddy" of them all!), Alpha Phi Alpha, who ain't too bad in the athletes "thang"-Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Lenny Wilkens, Eddie Robinson, UCLA's Woody Strode and Kenny Washington, Walt Bellamy,Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Wayne Embry, Charles Haley, Paul Robeson, Mike Powell, Eddie Tolan, etc.
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4-17-2007 @ 7:47PM
Monica said...
By the comments, it looks like all frats can claim prominent members in all walks in life.
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4-19-2007 @ 5:34PM
Isiah Boyd said...
TO THE PERSON WHO MADE THE FIRST COMMENT DO YOUR RESEARCH BROTHER NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE ATHLETES WE ALSO RANK SUPREME IN ALL OTHER CATEGORIES FROM MUSIC TO POLITICS TO SPORTS TO THE SCIENCES SO DON'T ET ON THIS SITE AND TRY AND DWNPLAY MY FRATERNITY. DO YOU RESEARCH BROTHER ROBERT CLIFTON WEAVER, CHARLES R. DREW, THE REVEREND JESSIE JACKSON, WILLIAM COUNT BASSIE, RONALD MCNAIR, COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG, AND SO ON AND SO. AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THIS EVERYONE WHO I NAMED CHOOSE OMEGA WE DIDN'T CHOSE THEM. THEY WERE ALL LIVING WHEN WE INDUCTED THEM INTO THE FRATERNITY.
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4-20-2007 @ 9:22AM
Sean said...
Fellas...this is not 3rd grade when boys boasted about how much better their toy was than everyone else or that "my daddy can beat up your daddy". As men who happen to be in various fraternities, we should be proud of all the accomplishments of our brothers, independent of which frat they belong to. These good men were good men well before they joined our frats.
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4-26-2007 @ 9:31PM
KastroNupe said...
Brothers, It seems to me that we should be addressing the author of this article about his comment of the purpose of becoming a member of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO) is for women, parties, etc. Our fraternities are not about wine, women, and parties. The author should be informed that our BGLO were formed for noble reasons. It is an insult to all Black Fraternities and Sororities to think them members are there for parties and chics. The long roster of prominent Kappa Men, Omega Men, Alpha Men, Sigma Men, and Iota Men if for a hell of a good reason. Needless to say that Mr. Ziller is clueless to the lifelong commitments that distinguish BGLO from the beer, chic, or something fraternities.
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5-20-2007 @ 12:16AM
SoTrue said...
As the daughter of a Que I must say that I've seen nothing but good come out of my father and uncles. Not only in the Omega fraternity but also in the Alphas, Kappas, Sigmas and Iotas each organization can claim many prominent brothers that have crossed the sands but it's not just about big names is it?? How about the community service that each organization commits to. It shouldn't be about who's the biggest and the most OWT fraternity, although that's impossible to do in the college settings. Honestly, maybe it's because I'm a female, but I have love for each and every of the organizations, they say something about who you are as a person and where your headed in life. Don't let some man who's obviously oblivious to the fact that fraternity's aren't all about party's and girls have all of you coming out of character. This is just one opinion from one female who doesn't know it all but knows enough.
OH.....n i wouldn't mind pledging Delta either!!!
T.
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7-02-2007 @ 7:08PM
thinice said...
This is totally true there is no need for us to sit here and belittle each others organizations because we all work for the uplifting and mission to better the society in which we live in. I am amazed that we did not address the author of this article as to why he did not mention that these young men had to excel in the classroom before they were able to join this particular organization. See this is why BGLO are looked upon as organized gangs and are misrepresented. WE (ALL BGLO) need to stop trying to outdue each other and work on improving the literacy rate, help in promoting awareness for HIV/ AIDS, and countless other community service oriented activities.
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