When social media championed a groundbreaking Punjabi-American basketball player victimized by racial insult

Darsh Singh with his immortalized jersey, by virtue of being the first turbaned basketball player in the NCAA

A career in intelligence with America’s National Security Agency, currently managing financial portfolios and hedge funds for highly socially responsible corporations, co-captain of the basketball team at Trinity University, and all-round nice guy.

Doesn’t sound like anyone would have the heart to denigrate somebody like that, would they? They would, and did, and guess why? All because of a turban and a beard. We’re talking about Darsh Preet Singh, the first turbaned individual to play basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Texas-born and bred Singh was the target of a cruel, toxic, ignorant and xenophobic social media post:

Stories of unjust racial victimization aren’t uncommon, but what isn’t common is the flipside of the coin – tales of people standing up for the sufferers. But the stirring incident that followed reaffirms belief in human kindness and beats down the platitude that “chivalry is dead.”

Darsh’s friend, Greg Worthington, defended his friend with this powerful statement:

"I know this guy and his name’s not ‘Muhammad.’ He’s not Arab, he’s Punjabi. He’s not even Muslim, he’s a Sikh. His name is Darsh Singh and he’s a US citizen, born and bred. That jersey he’s wearing in this pic, it currently sits in a Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC because he made US history as the NCAA’s first turbaned Sikh American basketball player for Trinity University in my hometown of San Antonio.

“He was co-captain of that team when he played there. He’s worked in US Intelligence with the National Security Agency in the past and currently manages financial portfolios and hedge funds for some of the most compassionate companies in the US. Above all those things, he’s a really nice guy, very funny, and he’s a great friend of my younger brother whom I was more than happy to befriend myself."

Needless to say, the post went viral, with more than 13,000 shares and 35,000 likes (of which one is mine). Even the Smithsonian Institution, one of the largest chains of museums and research centers in the US, voiced their support with this tweet:

I want to #BeLikeDarsh because his jersey was @Smithsonian @NMNH. That’s #SeriouslyAmazing. https://t.co/V7D1XmlZN8 pic.twitter.com/g2RatYgBdV
— Smithsonian APA (@SmithsonianAPA) December 8, 2015

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Singh, no doubt deeply touched by the gesture, thanked Greg and everybody who shared in his defense, through this piece in a local newspaper:

By voicing his (Greg’s) thoughts, he was combating hate, fear and ignorance through education.

“Never before did I realize the power one node in my network could have in creating a more compassionate society. The post went viral, with over 35,000 likes and 13,000 shares. I witnessed hundreds of friends, old and new, rally around shared values of truth, education, and compassion.

“Silence sends a message to those who are suffering from prejudice that you believe they should be victimized. It also sends a message to the perpetrators that you agree with their actions.

“By speaking up and engaging in thoughtful dialogue with groups that have very different backgrounds than us, we can break the walls of ignorance in our communities and connect with each other on a deeper level.

In turn, this strengthens our local neighborhoods through personal relationships and increases the resilience of our community.”

Greg’s post indubitably caught the attention of students, alumni and others associated with Trinity University. And with college basketball having a cult following, it most certainly must have struck a chord with one sports lover after another.

This truly, is one for the history books, where sport and human compassion came together to not just extinguish the inflammatory nature of ethnocentrism, but share the light of decency.