Sport: Southern Hospitality

The Minneapolis Lakers' rookie star Elgin Baylor (TIME, Jan. 19) had previously run into the peculiar brand of hospitality the South reserves for Negroes. Last November in Charlotte, N.C., he and the Boston Celtics' Bill Russell, along with five other Negro players, had been barred from a downtown hotel. Baylor vowed then he would not play again in any city where he was segregated from his fellow players. Last week in Charleston, W. Va., Baylor made good on his promise.

The Lakers checked in at Charleston's Kanawha Hotel. The hotel clerk refused to give a room to Baylor and his Negro teammates, Ed Fleming and Alex ("Boo") Ellis. Angrily, the whole squad stalked out, registered at a Negro motel. "They were not even polite at the hotel,'' Baylor fumed. "They told us we couldn't even get in a halfway decent restaurant."

Fleming and Ellis played as advertised against the Cincinnati Royals, but Baylor sat adamantly on the bench in street clothes, watched as the Lakers dropped their fifth straight game. At game's end a little white boy expressed disappointment that Elgin had not played. Said Baylor: "Son, I'm a little disappointed myself."