Cats get 'history lesson' on MLK Day

Martin Luther King Day did not go unnoticed or uncelebrated by the University of Kentucky's basketball team.

UK Coach John Calipari noted how the holiday could be a teaching moment for his players. Toward that end, he invited P.G. Peeples, the president and CEO of the Lexington Chapter of the Urban League, to speak to the players before practice.

"Kind of an old-fashioned history lesson" is how Peeples described his 30-minute discussion with the players. He said he spoke to the players about King's philosophy, the inequality in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, the obstacles put in King's path and the advancements made.

"How life is better today for some of us and they have benefited from that," Peeples said. "They should know it and appreciate it and be thankful for what people went through in the '60s."

King's dream of a color-blind society in which equality exists for all remains unfinished business, Calipari said he told the players.

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