Virginia (34-3) started the season with 16 straight wins before the first of two losses against Duke. Its only other loss came to Florida State in the ACC tournament semifinals. The Cavaliers opened the NCAA tournament with double-digit wins over No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb and No. 9 seed Oklahoma. Then came three close calls: First a 53-49 win over 12th-seeded Oregon in a game that was tied with four minutes to play. Then an 80-75 overtime win over No. 3 seed Purdue, highlighted by Diakite’s game-tying shot in the final moments of regulation. And finally Saturday’s 63-62 win over Auburn, with the winning margin coming on three Kyle Guy free throws with less than a second remaining. That was Virginia’s 10th win against a ranked team this season, a school record.<doc-sep>Editor’s Note: Lisa Woolfork is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Virginia, a Public Voices Fellow with the Op-Ed Project and an organizer with Black Lives Matter Charlottesville. The views expressed here are hers. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) — As the gleeful image of Kyle Guy on the digital cover of Sports Illustrated suggests, the University of Virginia’s Men’s Basketball team’s victory at the NCAA tournament on Monday is a story of redemption. The men’s basketball team made history last year when they were the first top-ranked team to be eliminated from the tournament by a number 16 seed, the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). A few nights ago, they became the first men’s basketball team in our university’s history to win the NCAA championship. University of Virginia Lisa Woolfork The fortitude, skills and resolve this team deployed on their journey to the pinnacle of college hoops belies conventional expectations. Unfortunately, some have seized on this moment to transform these student-athletes’ Herculean victory into a panacea, a pivot and a public relations pitch to erase the trauma of the white supremacist attacks of 2017 that forever marked the University of Virginia and its home, the city of Charlottesville. Writing about the unifying possibilities of the championship, David Toscano – who represents Charlottesville in Virginia’s House of Delegates – was recently quoted in the print edition of the local newspaper as saying, “If there were Antifa or white supremacists [out in public in Charlottesville after the team’s win], they were all wearing orange and celebrating together.” This baffling claim dangerously naturalizes “white supremacists” as just another set of fans and not a well-organized group that marched with torches, attacking students and community members on campus 20 months ago. This problematic false equivalency was later revised in the paper’s online edition, replaced with a softer version of the same outrageous claim, “There were no white supremacists and no antifa, only happy fans in orange and blue T-shirts celebrating together.” This feel-good moment is pernicious in its assumption that a sports victory is all that’s required to bring out the best in “both sides.” Such attempts are harmful to our community and to the country. The notion that a sports team can magically erase the pain and anguish inflicted on Charlottesville by white supremacists minimizes the severity of our trauma. It also diminishes the years of work these student-athletes, many of whom my colleagues and I have had in our own classrooms, performed in the service of their athletic goals. They are NCAA champions. They are students who worked diligently in their courses and on the court. They are not hand sanitizer. Their accomplishments should not be used to conveniently expunge traumatic racist history or clean the reputation of this city. It is tempting to believe that the team’s victory is an opportunity for Charlottesville to turn to a fresh page in its history. As UVA politics professor Larry Sabato told The Washington Post, “It’s certainly attracting a great amount of positive attention, which is a nice antidote to the avalanche of negative attention” following the violence of August 11 and August 12, 2017, which he pointed out involved many protesters, most from out of town (while neglecting to mention that two of the main white nationalist organizers were UVA graduates). There is a narrative emerging in Charlottesville, one that seems impatient with frank conversations about racism and white supremacy. This way of thinking positions the city of Charlottesville’s reputation – in the words of some local officials – as the most damaged victim of the 2017 summer of hate.Those who hold this view might agree with Sabato’s assessment of Charlottesville as “a lovely small town.” They might also concur with his claim that “It’s heaven to live in,” a perspective that overlooks completely the increasing gentrification, black family displacement and untenable affordable housing crisis at the very borders of the university. The same article quoting Sabato also quoted City Council member Wes Bellamy and framed his comments as drawing “parallels between the narrative of the city and the team.” Bellamy said: “We both took a blow…But we got up and pushed harder, and we’re better because of it.” Even when people try to resist the narrative arc of redemption, some media outlets are so wedded to the tidiness of that story that they have tried to frame commentary to fit. Consider UVA media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan’s interview on PBS NewsHour following the big win. When asked if the victory represented a new story for Charlottesville, Vaidhyanathan was rightly explicit: “I think this victory will be among the great moments in Charlottesville history as we look back, but it will not — it will not wipe out the tremendous pain, the tremendous violence that has built Charlottesville, that has built Virginia, that has built the United States of America, right?” Yet the interview was titled “How the ‘Hoos of Charlottesville Could Help Heal Their City.”An interview title may seem like a small thing to most, but for those of us who live in Charlottesville, it’s a false narrative about many of our lives. To be sure, Charlottesville and those who love the University of Virginia have a great reason to celebrate. These student-athletes overcame an unprecedentedly brutal 2018 tournament loss with focus, determination and poise in 2019. This is a remarkable feat that illustrates grace under pressure. What it is not is a reset button on history. It is not an excuse to resurrect the dangerous illusion of an idealized civil Charlottesville. Rather than project a savior narrative onto the UVA men’s basketball team, we could take a much humbler approach and try to learn from their recent accomplishments. We could accept that though the team has labored to reach the pinnacle of success following a hard loss, Charlottesville has yet to ascend those heights. One lesson we might wish to adopt from the team is that hard work is a key ingredient of redemption. It is not given; it is earned.<doc-sep>However, the rest of the first half soon settled into a back and forth display of stunning shot making and ideal balance. The defenses thrived. The offenses countered. After the frigid start, Texas Tech went on an 18-4 run, making five three-pointers during that span, to take a 25-21 lead. As the teams traded blows and Virginia took a 32-29 lead into halftime, the game became a testament to the importance of valuing each offensive possession and having the nerve to make a play whenever a sliver of daylight presented itself. The teams combined for 10 three-pointers before halftime, and you had to appreciate how hard and smart they worked for those buckets.<doc-sep>MINNEAPOLIS — A year after exiting the court as a picture of embarrassment, the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in the men’s N.C.A.A. tournament, Virginia left wearing a crown on Monday night. The Cavaliers defeated Texas Tech, 85-77, in overtime for the university’s first national basketball championship, which carried with it immeasurable redemption. “Forget last year,” Virginia’s Ty Jerome said. “This is everything you dream of since you’re a little kid.” This title game was the first in 40 years between men’s teams that had never been there before. The last one was the showdown in which Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team beat Larry Bird and Indiana State in Salt Lake City.<doc-sep>
In the United States, a city known for racial tensions and violence welcomed home the national men’s college basketball champions on Tuesday. Charlottesville, Virginia, is the home of the University of Virginia (UVA). The UVA men’s basketball team, the Cavaliers, defeated Texas Tech for the national championship Monday night. The game was played in Minnesota. Less than 24 hours later, college students and other people were celebrating in the streets of Charlottesville. Supporters gathered outside the school’s basketball stadium to give the team a hero’s welcome. Students broke into cheers as they waited for the players. Some retold stories of the Cavalier’s successful season, which included several last-minute victories. The crowd cheered when the team finally arrived with the championship trophy. Many people were so happy they cried. UVA men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett said he was pleased to see the victory bring so much happiness “in light of all this community’s been through.” He added, “There’s an amazing story that has been written from this and I think it’s going to encourage a lot of people.” The cheering was a marked change from nearly two years ago, when a protest organized by white nationalists led to violence in Charlottesville. A few years earlier, a national magazine claimed a violent rape had taken place at the university. The story was later found to be untrue. “We were due for some good coverage for a change,” said Matilda Foster, as she waited for the basketball team to arrive on Tuesday. She said the Cavaliers’ success has united the city and surrounding area. David Toscano once served as Charlottesville’s mayor. He said the team has helped unite the community in ways few other things can. “This is a really big event for this…city,” he said. Charlottesville and the University of Virginia have had several painful incidents. In August 2017, white nationalists gathered to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led Confederate forces during the U.S. Civil War. They fought with people who went to Charlottesville to protest racism. Later, a white supremacist drove his car into a group of people, killing a woman and injuring others. In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine published a story that described UVA as a school where sexual attacks were common and often unpunished. A woman named “Jackie” told the magazine she was raped by seven men at the university in September 2012. An investigation by police in Charlottesville said there was no evidence to back up her claims. Rolling Stone later withdrew the story and apologized. Also that year, a UVA student was murdered after leaving a Charlottesville bar. In 2010, a student killed his former girlfriend, another student. Finally, last month, city schools closed for two days over online racist threats. Police later arrested a 17-year-old boy. UVA basketball team fan Heidi Price came to welcome the national champions. “It’s a great day,” she said, pleased to put the past behind her. I’m Jonathan Evans. The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in this Story stadium – n. a large building that is used for sports events, musical performances and other shows trophy – n. an object (such as a large cup or sculpture) that is given as a prize for winning a competition coach – n. someone who trains or educates others encourage – v. to give support, advice or hope to