Tamir Goodman is the only observant Jew to ever play basketball in college and professionally, without ever playing on Shabbat. Since he began playing at age six, he has had nine major injuries and recovered from three “career-ending” ones. Whether playing in his Baltimore, Md. high school, at Towson University, or professionally in Israel or for the Maryland Nighthawks, he has played every basketball game wearing his kippah. Schmooze talked to Goodman, 27, about religion and basketball.

schmooze: You’ve said that you used basketball to spread your Jewish pride. How has basketball highlighted your Judaism?

Goodman: I always felt like I was very proud to play with my kippah. Even though I was playing against non-Jewish players, I always made sure to wear my kippah and try to show Jewish people that in our professions and in our going to shul, we serve Hashem in everything we do. We should always be proud of who we are.

schmooze: How did you work around your challenges?

Goodman: One time we were playing on a Thursday night in Boston. On Shabbat I walked to the Jewish community from the team bus. The next morning, it took me over two and a half hours to get back to practice in the snow. When I got to practice I was 15 minutes late. I never thought that I was going to be late, and after the game that Saturday night, I was punished. The coach was like, ‘Tamir, if we’re going to do this, if we’re going to change the schedule and everything, you have to be here on time.’ Even though I did so much to get there and everything. But I respected it, and it worked out
well, thank God.

schmooze: You didn’t play on Shabbat for the Maryland Nighthawks game. Was that a big problem?

Goodman: The owner was really positive about it, so he made it good. My teammates were very respectful. I’ve noticed over my career that if you’re proud of your Judaism, many times people who aren’t Jewish will go out of their way to help you be a better Jew.

schmooze: You have had quite a few injuries. How did you work through them all?

Goodman: I always knew that Hashem gave me my basketball talent and what he wanted me to do with it, and I was always able to fight back. Not for myself, but to continue trying to play for Kiddush Hashem. Even though the doctor said I wouldn’t be able to play anymore, I was able to fight back three times. I have had seven major injuries in nine years and three career-ending injuries that I was able to come back from, including a knee replacement. I’m glad to say that from every injury I have grown physically or spiritually, and have found a greater blessing. Basically, when you’re training and playing, it takes your whole emotion, your body and your soul, and such determination. Every year I’ve been knocked down, and I couldn’t understand why I was always getting knocked down. Every time I had a good game, the next day I’d get hurt or have an injury.

But today I understand it. Today I work with Haifa Hoops for Kids, an organization that helps underprivileged and special needs kids through basketball. In the beginning of my life I only knew success. Hashem would carry me against the best players in the world. But after nine years of being knocked down over and over again and being ridiculed, I became a much better person. I became much more sensitive, and there’s no way I would be able to do Haifa Hoops for Kids if I hadn’t been knocked down so many times. It’s a beautiful continuation.

schmooze: Did basketball ever affect your Judaism?

Goodman: Very much. It’s helped me become closer to Hashem. Everybody in this world has their specific talents and their mission that Hashem will trust us with, and our job is to give back to the world through our talents. For me, it was so evident through basketball. There are so many lessons you can learn through basketball that you can apply to Judaism: overcoming adversity, growing every day, teamwork, responsibility. All of that you learn through basketball, so it really helped me with my Judaism.

schmooze: Was there any time when you questioned your Judaism?

Goodman: One time, my lowest. I never questioned my Judaism, but the one time I was most broken in my life, physically, spiritually and emotionally, was after my coach got fired in college, and they brought in a new coach who assaulted me, mentally and physically. After that, I remember looking in my closet the next day and was like, ‘I don’t even want to wear any of this.’ And when I finally had the strength to come back from that, that’s when I really, really learned. Sometimes in life, it’s like revisiting our hardest challenges or biggest setbacks helps us spring forward and find our biggest blessings, and for me that’s what happened. If I had not gone through that, I would have never been able to play a professional career.

schmooze: How did you have the strength to come back?

Goodman: How did I have the strength? I guess I was always very close to Hashem, and I always wanted to be Hashem’s basketball player. After being so broken, I said, ‘This isn’t what I’m about, and I’m not going to let this situation take me off of my mission.’ And somehow I got the strength to start training again, and I grew from it.

sarah FREISHAT