In a letter forgotten in the columns of Players' Tribune, Rudy Gobert confides like he had never done before, and a few days before the playoffs, the Wolves pivot looks back on several significant moments in his life. Key moments in his life which will allow the general public to better understand who Rudy Gobert is, the player and the man. The French pivot explains that this approach was born last year, at the very end of the season, when he decided to retire to Oregon. Far from everything, without a phone, or even a book. Just him and his thoughts.
Among his thoughts, the Wolves player returns to the racism suffered by his mother, from his own family. “It’s a painful memory, but one I must share. You see, every year my mother's side of the family would host this big Christmas dinner at a certain someone's house. My mother is white. My father is black. He is originally from Guadeloupe and was a professional basketball player in France when they met. My mother already had two white children from her previous relationship, and then I came into the world…” explains Gobert. “And for some people, that was a problem. After my birth, some relatives made it clear to her that she was no longer welcome on Christmas Eve if she brought me. »
A close relationship with his mother
In this story, the probable Defender of the Year develops his relationship with his mother. She protected him from racism, but also fought to make ends meet when Rudy's father returned to Guadeloupe. Nothing has been easy for the Goberts.
“One of my first memories is of going with my mother to a small store that this solidarity organization ran on weekends. For some reason it was a less booming time for us, and you could get free groceries and stuff like that” remembers the former Jazz player. “During the holidays, they had a whole table of toys that were given to all the children. My mother told me I could choose whatever I wanted for my Christmas present. I remember picking out this really cool toy and I was maybe six or seven years old. That's when I started to realize what my life was like at the time, compared to other kids, and to feel this feeling of happiness, mixed with sadness, mixed with hunger. »
A little later, Rudy Gobert starts playing and must make sacrifices to realize his dream of making basketball his life. His dream of one day stepping on an NBA floor, like his favorite players, must involve leaving the family home and his mother.
“A few months after I turned 13, I had the opportunity to join a basketball training center in a town called Amiens, a little further from my hometown, Saint-Quentin. In my mind, this opportunity was the way for me to pursue my dream and put myself in a situation where I could improve every day. We had two or three practices a day, plus school. As Amiens was far from home, I only returned on weekends. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I felt it was necessary and I made my decision. […] My siblings had already gone off to college and I was the only kid home with Mom. It wasn't until years later that I realized how difficult it was for my mother to see her youngest child leave home at that time. »
The tears of 2019
Racism, precariousness, and family estrangement allow us today to understand what happened to him in this famous sequence when the players selected for the 2019 All-Star Game were announced. Gobert's tears were the will to protect his mother, love and sacrifices for his dream and for the game.
“When it happened, I was caught off guard. I had a bunch of cameras in front of me after our workout and I started telling the reporters that it was my mom calling to tell me the news.” explains the pivot of the French team. “As she started crying on the phone with me, and for some reason I let it go. That’s what happens to everyone sometimes, I think, when we talk about our mother…”
Whether this moment was hijacked, mocked or mocked on social networks ultimately matters little to Gobert. It was a real moment. A moment like there should be a little more in basketball. This does not fit into entertainment, American entertainment. But it was a heartfelt emotional moment, regardless of the reactions on social media.
