前日裔美国篮球明星在球场内外鼓舞人心

前日裔美国篮球明星在球场内外鼓舞人心

Misaka was known as a better bowler than basketball player in his hometown of Ogden, Utah. But it was his skills on the court that would lead to college success and ultimately a historic contract with the New York Knicks, making him the first nonwhite professional basketball player in the NBA.

在他的家乡犹他州奥格登，米萨卡被认为是一个比篮球运动员更好的投球手。但正是他在球场上的球技成就了他在大学的成功，并最终与纽约尼克斯队签下了一份历史性的合同，使他成为NBA第一位非白人职业篮球运动员。

The 95-year-old Misaka, who died Wednesday, is being remembered this week for the hope he inspired both on and off the court, especially during a particularly painful chapter in American history.

现年95岁、于周三去世的米萨卡本周被人们铭记，因为他在球场内外都激发了人们的希望，尤其是在美国历史上一个特别痛苦的篇章中。

Misaka's parents ran a barbershop in the railroad town of Ogden, north of Salt Lake City. He was a natural athlete, said Bruce Johnson, who got to know him while making the 2010 documentary, Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story. He loved all kinds of sports, including tennis, golf and one Johnson wasn't expecting.

米萨卡的父母在盐湖城北部的铁路小镇奥格登经营一家理发店。他是一名天生的运动员，布鲁斯·约翰逊说，他是在2010年制作纪录片《超越:三坂寺的故事》时认识他的。他喜欢各种运动，包括网球、高尔夫球，还有一项约翰逊没有预料到的运动。

Rising star

冉冉升起的新星

As a student at Ogden High School in the 1940s, Misaka got his first taste of victory when his basketball team won state and regional championships.

20世纪40年代，作为奥格登高中的一名学生，米萨卡第一次尝到了胜利的滋味，他的篮球队赢得了州和地区的冠军。

After graduating, he enrolled at Weber Junior College — later known as Weber State University — where he and his team won two championships in 1942 and 1943.

毕业后，他进入了韦伯专科学院——后来被称为韦伯州立大学——在那里他和他的团队赢得了1942年和1943年的两个冠军。

More success followed at the University of Utah, where he's credited with leading the team to a 1944 NCAA championship. He was drafted by the U.S. Army in the middle of his college basketball career and was stationed at one point in Hiroshima, Japan, Johnson said.

更多的成功接踵而至，在犹他大学，他带领球队获得了1944年的NCAA冠军。约翰逊说，他在大学篮球生涯期间被美国陆军选中，曾一度驻扎在日本广岛。

Once he returned home, he went back to the university and back to the basketball court. In 1947, he helped the team win the National Invitation Tournament, the year he'd be drafted as a pro.

他一回到家，就回到了大学，回到了篮球场。1947年，他帮助球队赢得了全国邀请赛，那年他被选为职业球员。

What makes Misaka's story even more remarkable, Johnson said, is how much he accomplished during this time period, World War II. While at war with imperial Japan, the U.S. government forced Japanese Americans into internment camps across the country, including one camp in Utah.

约翰逊说，让米萨卡的故事更加引人注目的是他在二战期间取得的成就。在与日本帝国战争期间，美国政府强迫日裔美国人在全国各地的拘留营，包括犹他州的一个拘留营。

Misaka wasn't among those sent to the camps, but at times he experienced anti-Japanese sentiment during games. Some basketball fans would yell racial slurs at Misaka, or tell him to go home.

米萨卡并不在被送往集中营的人之列，但在比赛期间，他有时会体验到反日情绪。一些篮球迷会对米萨卡大骂种族歧视，或者让他回家。

"It was hard for Misaka because like he said he was already home," Johnson said. "He was just a kid so he didn't even know how to even take that."

“这对米萨卡来说很难，因为就像他说的，他已经回家了，”约翰逊说。“他只是个孩子，所以他甚至不知道怎么接受。”

But within the internment camps, Misaka became a symbol of hope, said Chris Komai with the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

洛杉矶日裔美国人国家博物馆的克里斯卡迈说，但是在拘留营里，米萨卡变成了希望的象征。

"Most Japanese Americans — because there (wasn't) a lot of good news going on during the war — were aware that he and his team had won the NCAA tournament," Komai said. "This is a huge boost because our community has always been one that really prides the high achievers and shares in their achievements."

卡迈说:“大多数日裔美国人——因为战争期间没有太多的好消息——都知道他和他的球队赢得了NCAA锦标赛。”“这是一个巨大的进步，因为我们的社区一直是一个真正为高成就者感到自豪并分享他们的成就的社区。”