The Tennessee state House of Representatives approved a resolution honoring former Tennessee State Tiger student-athletes who played for the Harlem Globetrotters after completing their college careers.

The legislature recognized Josh Grider, Clarence Wilson, Bobby Hunter, Mel Davis, Henry Kean, Joe Buckhalter, Tommy Gibson, Willis Thomas, Ernest Jones and Boyd Buie. These players played at a time when acceptance into the National Basketball Association was prohibited for African-Americans and the Globetrotters provided an opportunity for the men to continue their basketball careers.

“As a Globetrotter, a player could find an acceptance that could not be found elsewhere during the first years of the National Basketball Association,” the resolution reads. “These young men played for the love of the game, traveling from city to city playing exhibition games against all comers … These basketball legends, along with so many unnamed others, had a deep impact upon the world of professional basketball.”

Ex-Harlem Globetrotter John Kline, president of the Black Legends of Professional Basketball Foundation, attended the ceremony.  The resolution was sponsored by Brenda Gilmore, a Democrat from Nashville and a Tennessee State alumna.