At the age of 24, the player had a revelation about Judaism as a religion: "I asked myself - how do I reach the level of righteousness" • Now he dreams of establishing a center that will combine Judaism and basketball
Amara Studmeier watches a high school basketball game in Las Vegas
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How to improve relations between Jews and blacks in the United States, Studmeier said recently, during a public debate.
The former player did not hesitate and immediately presented an action plan:
"I was thinking of a program ... a kind of educational center where students can play basketball or play their favorite sport, a center that will come during the day to teach a lesson. There is a lesson in one hour, for example, and you want to join? Rabbi Pinchas gives a lesson on the creation of the world, come "Come in, come in," he said.
The discussion took place during a zoom conversation between Studmeier, the basketball coach and former star of the NBA, and Dan Och, a billionaire who made his fortune from investing in hedge funds, organized by the Jewish Federation of New York.
Och burst out laughing and said there was no doubt that Studmeier had "come up with something."
He also promised that the federation would certainly act expeditiously to fund and develop a program in the spirit suggested by the basketball player.
Studmeier's idea combines his two loves - sports and Judaism.
In the conversation, the former star of the NBA All-Star team explained how he became interested in Judaism and its Hebrew African roots until he came to Orthodox conversion.
He also told of his decision to keep the mitzvos as a celebrity in the spotlight.
Now, he is promoting his unique Jewish vision for creating an affinity between two communities whose historical alliance has faded over the years.
Studmeier, now 38, said that when he was 14 he first learned from his mother about being a scion of the black Hebrews.
During his difficult childhood and after the death of his father when he was 12, the young Studmeier began to study on his own the Jewish history and the movement of black Hebrews.
After a while he began to delve deeper into the subject with the help of high school friends.
He was invited to play in the NBA immediately after graduating, but despite the dizzying experience, continued to explore his Jewish roots.
"On the table was a Bible book and not a book about the history of the West, a Torah scroll, various textbooks that are studied in school to try to understand what is going on here," he said as he sat in front of a library full of Jewish books.
At the age of 24, Studmeier said, he had a revelation about Judaism as a religion and as an "organized structure."
What ignited his imagination was the idea of becoming a kind of 'prophet' - especially after describing the many mistakes he felt he made in his personal life as a young athlete who starred through.
"The prophets always piqued my curiosity, how these 'companies' ran their lives, how they were in sync with everything from the point of view of the righteous. So I said to myself 'how do I get to this level?', It's a difficult task. Not easy but I'm sure it's possible." he said.
"And that's what gave me the love to keep searching, to keep trying to purify myself, to clear my character, to understand how to behave, how to speak properly, not to swear, not to say certain words, not to speak slander."
Studmeier kept these insights to himself until his first visit to Israel, in April 2010. His teammates, friends and journalists asked him what he was looking for in Israel, why he chose to visit it from all the resorts in the world.
He replied that he was learning about "my Hebrew roots."
As soon as things went public, a new chapter in his life began.
After knee injuries that halted his progress at the New York Knicks, he moved to Israel in 2016 to play for Hapoel Jerusalem, a team he has since acquired joint ownership of.
In Israel, his career as a basketball player has been revived.
He marched Hapoel Jerusalem to achievements and so did Maccabi Tel Aviv in which he played in the media.
But Studmeier's career after retiring from the NBA was not just on the basketball court.
He launched a line of kosher wines, underwent official Orthodox conversion and inaugurated a program at Hillel College to bring Jewish and black students closer together.
He is currently an assistant coach at the Brooklyn Nets and is studying business administration at the University of Miami.
In the Zoom talk, Och was impressed with the way Studmeier continued his Jewish studies and the way he reinvented himself after leaving the best basketball league in the world.
"I stopped being a first-rate celeb invited to all the fashion shows, to all the Metropolitan Museum gala nights, to all the opera premieres, to all the Broadway shows, to David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel's shows," he said.
"But Israel just attracted me ... it was definitely an experience for me, a humble experience. I had to become really humble, to move from this senior class to a class at the bottom of the ladder, but for the sake of Torah. That was the idea and that was the reason for my decision."
At the community center he dreams of establishing, Studmeier hopes to bring young basketball lovers together with the world of Judaism, and even if they do not want to go his own way, at least they can learn ideas that will help them in their aspirations and strengthen ties between communities.
"This is the kind of atmosphere I hope to build. So that these children who are not of Jewish background or do not know Judaism at all, will want to come play, have fun, and then hear the company 'speak Hebrew there and come home and tell mom' I heard about not slandering."
And Studmeier added: "I know short conversations seem unimportant but if you think about how they add up to many conversations over the course of a month, then friends want to join, and it will take a year, the community will change. The African-American community's attitude toward the Jewish community will change. In the air, there will be more understanding. "
