Basketball, Religion, and Me
By Dia Fortenberry
If you were to ask Dia in middle school what she thought her life would entail in the next ten years, basketball and Islam would not have been her answers.
I did not play any team sports until my eight grade year, let alone, touch a basketball until my freshman year of high school.
Until then, my identity rooted deep in music and school. I enjoyed playing the trumpet. Before basketball began taking me places, my involvement in the band did. I was a part of the small ensembles that performed at school while also actively pursuing solo competitions.
My first encounter with basketball was very off-putting. I coined it a “boy-girl” sport in middle school because the girls on the team were strong, mean, and had already been playing for years. And honestly, the game looked chaotic to me. So I chose volleyball.
This didn’t go too well for me. The girls were taller than me and all played on the same club team. I knew I would not be able to afford this club experience, so I never brought it up to my mom. Plus, in my eyes, I was just the band and books girl.
I gave volleyball another chance at my new high school after moving to New Orleans. Still, I could not find the enjoyment in volleyball that I was seeking. Content with my failure in volleyball, I continued to excel with my trumpet. After volleyball season was over, I had no reason to be in the gym unless it was for gym class. On my way to class one day the athletic director stopped me and said:
“Say, how tall are you?”
“I don’t know, I think 5’9.”
“You wanna play basketball?”
Inner me was screaming no.
Outer me simply stated I didn’t know how to play. If it was never for that serendipitous occurrence, I do not know if I would be where I am today.
Right after that, I went into the locker room and ran into two girls on the basketball team. After expressing my concerns about my conceptions of the game and not knowing how to play, they assured me that they initially shared the same feelings. I agreed to try it out. Besides, the coach made a good point: if I didn’t like it, I could quit.
I remember my first couple of practices, trying to get the hang of full court lay-ups. I recall how much pain my back was in when dribbling a ball for the first time. Most notably, I remember the cheers of my new teammates when I successfully executed a proper left handed lay-up for the first time.
Things went into full swing after that. I had not played a game but I could tell I liked basketball a lot more than volleyball. Here I was free to actually use my body and showcase my speed and quickness. It was during these beginning stages when I fell in love with the sport. It’s like ice skating or ballet or painting. This new form of creativity I discovered revealed another side of myself I didn’t know existed.
Meanwhile, I became very close with my assistant coach. He also happened to attend the same church as my grandmother. As the season progressed, we would regularly work out outside of practice times to help bring me up to speed with the basketball scene. 6 am practices? Coach Hailey and I would be there at 5:30 am. During the weekends, we would always get in a minimum of two hours in. It was hard work, but at this point, it didn’t feel like it. I was just in sponge mode, trying to soak up everything that my new coach was pouring into me.
I went on to win four consecutive MVP awards in high school. While we never won a conference title, we did advance to the tournament my senior year. We lost to our rivals and my career was over. But I didn’t feel any loss. Basketball was still so new to me.
I also came onto the AAU scene relatively late. I did not try out for a team until the end of my sophomore year. I guess my coaches thought I knew the importance of playing on a summer team — I did not. Nor did anyone in my family. I tried out for this team called the Angels at the suggestion of my head coach. It was a relief knowing I would finally be able to play with girls at my growing level. The first time I walked into the gym and saw that team practicing, I was back to square one: feeling like I knew nothing. On that team were girls who would go on to play for the University of Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Florida State. Their offense was quick, passes were sharp, and their shots — all net. And it goes without saying that these ladies had no problem with left handed lay-ups (haha!).
I was blessed to have struggled on a team with these great players and coaches for two years. And a struggle it surely was. I was no longer the quickest and my eyes were opened as to how far behind I was in the basketball game. I continued the work ethic that I began with my coach in high school and translated it with my new journey on this AAU team.
I have to thank my mom here because at this point I wasn’t driving. She would take me not only to every practice around the city, but also to every optional work out that our coach put on. When the extra workouts made me feel hopeless, my mom reminded me that I was not allowed to quit and that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by working hard.
I was a role player on that team and only got in at two or three minute intervals, once or twice a game. All of that translated into even more success at my high school.
I was confused and frustrated during my junior year when I was named the captain of our team, which I didn’t anticipate receiving at all. All I knew to do was what I do. And doing what I do equated to leading my team by example. However, I did not have the voice to confront my teammates or express how I really felt in certain instances. I was brand new to the game! My capability to score, or get however many steals a game had no bearing on my ego because, like I said, I HAD JUST started playing. This was the first time basketball taught me two lessons I could apply to every part of my life: 1) do not shy away from confrontation if it is necessary and 2) hard work pays off.
As senior year approached, I realized my time with basketball would soon be coming to an end and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I was still playing trumpet at this point and it remained elemental to who I was, but basketball unleashed another side of myself that created so many new, exciting, and scary experiences for me.
Attempting to play at the next level, I sent my highlight film to the schools I got accepted to with the hopes that the coach would consider allowing me to join the team and be around the sport again. I was not expecting a Division 1 offer. I was just hoping for some type of response.
The coach from Millsaps was texting me early on in the summer following my graduation but I paid him no mind. I realized continuing my basketball career could not be a viable option and I did not want to get someone tied up in my indecisiveness. But by June, I was emailing that same coach my highlight film unaware that he was testing me a month ago! After an embarrassing laugh I told him I was definitely interested in being a part of his program in Jackson Mississippi.
I expected to be on the club team, have a squad of seniors to emulate, and gruel in practices similar to what I had done during AAU play. Boy was I wrong (again!). I was the leading scorer and rebounder that year. 80% of the plays ran through me and I averaged about 30 minutes a game. I was also elected by the coaches on the conference to the first team all-conference team.
During this entire process, I had always been rather inquisitive to life’s bigger questions. I grew up Baptist all my life and so did my family. I had no extreme misconceptions about Islam except ISIS. I already figured that their group was not indicative of the entire Islamic culture. I remember thinking: there are too many Muslims in the world for them all to be so angry and violent.
I was first seriously introduced to Islam toward the end of my freshman year of college by a guy who grew up in the religion. He was very free with his knowledge of Islam and filled in a lot of the blanks to the religion like the how, what and why of Muslim life. It was really interesting and spoke a lot of the identity I was forming as a new, independent college student. That summer, I went home and practiced my first Ramadan — the Islamic month of fasting. While back home in New Orleans, I connected with a community and formed a bond with a lot of sisters who were practicing the religion. That month was hard for me both physically and mentally. I confronted a lot of questions involving purpose and intention of life. The accountability that Islam presented gave me the tools I needed to reach and accomplish what I ultimately wanted. This includes all aspects: spiritually, economically, physically, and emotionally. I converted to Islam at the end of that Ramadan on a day called Eid-al Fitr. I recited a phrase that I came to accept in my heart. It goes “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is his final messenger.”
When I came back to school my sophomore year, I attempted to cover the Islamic way. When it came time for basketball season, things became slightly problematic. I started wrapping my hair up with a bandana and wearing long sleeve shirts. Later, I tried my first sports hijab and wore tights as well. I never found it odd. The only questions my teammates or coaches asked were regarding a waiver I needed to play in it. Thankfully by my junior year, Nike came out with a sports hijab. The Nike hijab gave me a more uniformed look and definitely made me more confident in wearing it on the court.
In the summer of 2018 the men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled to Costa Rica. This was the first time ‘basketball will take you places’ came into fruition for me and it was right on time. As I was going down my spiritual journey, being able to see and interact with different people in another part of the world opened me up to how blessed I really truly am. Serving others through the rice and beans ministries as well as giving other women the chance to compete in the sport was amazing! It was not about the games played, it was about affecting change and supporting others. When I left Costa Rica, I possessed more courage to continue my journey because I knew that inspiring others to walk their journey is what I really wanted to do.
| We cannot stand up for something and not be ready to defend it.
Not much else had changed on the outside for me, but a lot was changing on the inside. Naturally, it affected how I lived on campus and what I chose to do with my time and energy. Very quickly, a divide began to build between me and others. I think for a long time I took for granted being ‘nobody’ on the court. I didn’t have to lead, explain myself, or communicate much. But as I continued to lead my team and conference in scoring and steals, things changed. People wanted to know how and why I do what I do. Why do I cover on the court? How do I train over the summers to perform optimally in season? Because I was still in my journey with Islam it was sometimes difficult to articulate those things.
But this is when basketball taught me another big lesson: the onus of communication falls on me and me alone. When people misunderstand, are intimidated by, or confuse your character as something else, the burden is on me to erect the situation. Don’t get me wrong, if blatant and unforgiving ignorance comes my way, I do not believe it is my responsibility to overwhelm myself trying to educate folks. However, you cannot stand for something and not be ready to defend it.
My career at Millsaps has been nothing but successful thus far. We won a championship my sophomore year and I have been first team all-conference every year since I have joined. This past season was a rebuilding year and we added a lot of new pieces to the team. I am hoping that next year I can show out, have fun, and win another championship with Millsaps.
With success comes problems and challenges to my character. There was and still is a lot of journaling, reflection, pain, and growth in store for me. Yet, I would not do anything differently… except… learning how to shoot sooner.