Review: ‘On & Coppin’

On & Coppin is a documentary about an HBCU basketball team at Coppin State University. It is shot with a collection of old footage, pictures, sketches, and interviews.

 The documentary is a celebration of Ron “Fang” Mitchell who transformed the school’s basketball team, leading them to unlikely success in the 1997 NCAA tournament. Coppin State is located in a majority black and impoverished part of Baltimore. During the documentary an assistant coach noted how difficult it was to get students to come to Coppin once they saw North Avenue. An ex-player described the poor conditions of the dorms which were located off campus. The narrator brushes it off, pointing out that most of these kids were from south Jersey or Philly so rampant poverty and violence couldnt be too off-putting. Coach Fang nonchalantly adds, “Yale is in a tough neighborhood.” 

Today Fang proudly owns his reputation as a “tough man.” A few seconds of team footage show him screaming and berating his players on the bench. An ex-player, Antoine Brockington, explains by saying he felt Fang “knew how to get the best out of his players.” Anger and toughness were apparently a palpable force behind the team. When describing the 1993 team that took him to greatness he uses the word tough to describe all of the (Black) men on his team. Star player Terquin Mott said, “I was angry before every game, like I’m going to rip someone’s head off.” In his words he was told by Fang, “I’m bringing you here to fucking dominate, dominate the opposition.” 

One of the most useful functions of Coppin State basketball was their road tours. Fang would take his team on the road to play larger universities who would foot the bill. Coppin coaches recall how Fang’s success bankrolled other Coppin teams. “If I was going to be a prostitute I want the big money” Fang says with his hands up almost innocently. Considering the conversations surrounding minorities and sports the pimping analogy is apt. The documentary concludes with Coppin’s NCAA tournament performance in 1997. During one of the games there was an altercation between Coppin State and Howard University, instigated by Terquin Mott. They allude to the fact that Coppin, or rather Terquin, won the fight. The documentary treats us to some sketches of black men with basketball heads punching each other.

Coach Fang uses the word respect constantly when talking about his players’ motivation. He wanted this small impoverished school to be recognized and accepted in the world of college sports. He believed that if he worked hard and accepted nothing less than victory he could achieve his goals. In an emotional speech at the end of the documentary, Fang says he’s happy his players are role models who have felt some degree of success and recognition. At the very end he even says he loves them. This comes close to convincing us that this is simply a story about true grit.

On & Coppin is a story about men of color who were denied respect from birth and fought tooth and nail for it. During reconstruction Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois debated whether it would benefit Black people to push for systemic change or if they should work hard to fit into American society and succeed. Washington believed that if you work hard enough in your marginalized caste you can achieve the respect this country denied you. But when you try to endure exploitation enthusiastically you just get more abuse. You get a black man berating his “tough” unpaid black students about “going brain dead” on camera. In the end you’re still the tough, angry, violent black boy they always knew you were. Maybe with a little extra time in the spotlight and a pat on the back for the entertainment. 

A lot of Fang’s behavior seems like American sports as usual, but when directed towards young men of color it just looks like an emotional minstrel show. Especially if it’s hard to point out how the players benefited in the long run. Despite the damage our elders may have done, despite the damage done to them, their success ensured a place for us in the future. Ron “Fang” Mitchell was a key part of one of those success stories.