Dr. Ralph Rogers commenced his medical education overseas in Belgium, returned stateside for his Ph.D., then emigrated to acquire further training and exhibit his talents worldwide. With his sagacity, moxie and persistent urge to uplift his community, the diaspora is better for it.
The NBA Finals have concluded in the Mile High City. Another basketball championship, Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 3, ended a few weeks ago in Kigali, Rwanda. Dr. Rogers was present and sedulous. During this BAL season, 12 African nations (Mozambique, Guinea, Rwanda, Tunisia, Angola, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Mali and Nigeria) were represented.
In 2020, during the NBA “bubble season,” this cool, melanated physician worked his magic behind the scenes. He stood out in the relative lacuna of Black physicians–especially in sports medicine. Although confined to that realm during that segment of the COVID-impacted postseason, Dr. Rogers has always been assertive enough to envisage, choreograph and take action outside the box. His vista, whether in the United States, Europe (the U.K. is his home), or the Motherland, never vacillates.
Dr. Rogers, the founder and CEO of Rogers Regenerative Medical Group in London, is an orthopedics and sports medicine consultant. He has more than a few letters chaperoning his surname: MD, Ph.D, MBA, MSc. He will probably tell you what he does for a living if asked. He has treated elite athletes and people from various origins. As a physician, he is loved and respected. As a mentor, he is patient, honest, and blunt. Dr. Rogers will surely provide prospective students with all he can to help them succeed. Half-jokingly, he remarks, “I often get folks who see the [material] results, and they say, ‘I want to be like you.’”
His counter is usually candid, “This s**t takes time.”
THE VILLAGE
Bulwarked in a nurturing enclave of African-American physicians, dentists and oral surgeons while growing up, he is free-flowing with commendation to those from his New Jersey vicinage. “It takes a village. I am who I am because of the people around me. Growing up, I had nothing but Black neighbors, and they were doctors and lawyers, dentists, and MBAs. I was born in the Bronx but raised in Montclair, New Jersey. I never saw anyone other than a Black physician until I was in college [on a lacrosse scholarship] at the University of Delaware.”
That milieu served as a substantive catalyst. “I always knew that I was going to make it. I always knew who I was.”
Why sports medicine? He responds, “It’s because of Larry Doby; it’s because of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both of whom I know. It’s because of Jim Brown, Bob Beamon [whom my Dad coached], and let’s not forget Pele.” Dr. Rodgers continued. “I don’t identify with the NBA or Chelsea Club [soccer] as a means of excellence. I am the excellence. The real stuff is seeing patients in my practice every day.” One of his chief mantras is, “You do not have to be a professional athlete to be treated like one!”
At the University of Maryland, Rogers pursued his Ph.D. in exercise physiology under the tutelage of a mentor, who would also become a close friend, Professor Paul Vaccaro. During that interlude, he was also awarded a prestigious fellowship at the National Institute of Health. Upon returning to Europe, his career accelerated. “It was a great moment when I was asked to become the Medical Director of the London Sports Injury Clinic on the world-famous Harley Street. I am living the dream–just as the kid in the Bronx prophesied back in the 1950s. Belief is everything!” [1]
So is timing, which, along with blue-ribbon credentials, can unfurl life-altering actualizations.
STAYING READY NEGATES HAVING TO GET READY
Regarding his current position with NBA Africa, two individuals were paramount in providing him with this opportunity: Kim Bohuny and Amadou Gallo Fall.
Kim Bohuny has overseen the NBA’s global development since the 1990s, working closely with late commissioner David Stern. After working for Turner Sports in the mid-1980s, the Furman University alum was recruited to join the NBA after the 1990 Goodwill Games.
Over 20 years ago, she was part of a contingent traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa, to bring a formal basketball camp to the vast, massive continent. “Players from some 22 African nations arrived at ‘Africa 100 [basketball camp]’ with fever-pitch eagerness just to play. Some arrived wearing sneakers a few sizes too small, and some [were] wearing no shoes. When each received a pair of sneakers, ‘They were jumping out of their skin. They were so excited,’ said Bohuny. ‘We had to invest in the continent at every level.’” [2]
Recently, Ms. Bohuny was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in the NBA.” Currently, she is the Senior Vice President for International NBA Basketball Operations.
Amadou Fall, a former player at the University of the District of Columbia and a magna cum laude college graduate, became the President of the (BAL) Basketball Africa League in 2019. Before that, “Fall was Vice President & Managing Director of NBA Africa, where he worked with local federations, corporations, NGOs, and other key stakeholders to grow the game of basketball across the continent. He helped open the NBA’s office in Johannesburg in 2010 and, over the next decade, oversaw the league’s grassroots development efforts and partnerships with marketing, media, and consumer products companies in Africa.” [3]
GRATITUDE
Dr. Rodgers has served as a galvanizer to countless young men and women pondering a career in medicine. I happened to be one of them.
“It’s all about motivating others within the community so that they can do it too and giving opportunities to others who are less fortunate. It’s also about putting an arm around troubled youngsters with great minds and saying, ‘Hey, my man, you can do it.’ I have been extremely fortunate to [meet] great Black and white people who have helped and inspired me throughout my career.” [1]
Few things eclipse coming full circle. Maintaining focus is relatively fluent when one’s spirit and intrinsic percussion function as a lodestar, synchronized with their delegated path. Despite what others may think, it’s as if you know the punchline to a complexified riddle. Unearthing one’s mission and purpose is virtually euphoric. It is coequal to hitting the sweet spot. The following step is the cultivation of that bestowal. This necessitates putting in work.
My first encounter with Dr. Rogers occurred nearly 30 years ago as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. He was completing his Ph.D. and teaching a few exercise physiology courses. I was blown away by his teaching approach, presentations, and the potential for one-on-one interaction with a physician resembling me.
On a late afternoon during the spring semester, the annual mid-Atlantic glacial spell toward the latter portion of February broke. The temperature zoomed to a little above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and at the time, Dr. Rogers was inundated with some other assignments, allowing his class the option to take the day off. “If you’d like to stay to listen to the lecture, great. But if you have other things to do, enjoy the weather. This [material] is my stuff right here, so don’t waste my time.” As most of the class cleared out, a few hard-core students remained. Once again, I was impressed by the lecture, and this time, I made it a point to introduce myself to him after the class.
He was collegial and professional, carrying himself with remarkable aplomb. During my introduction, I made it a point to let him know that I was a premed student considering becoming a physician. Grinning, he looked up. He said, “Why don’t we step into my office?” Upon arrival, he looked at me and said, “First and foremost, I want to tell you that I’m proud of you. I don’t even know you, but I’m proud of you. The reason is we need more Brothers like you within the field. It’s a long road, but it’s well worth it. If there’s anything that you need from me to get there, consider it done.”
Over time, I would ascertain that the skin was undoubtedly kin. His only form of required “repayment”: be there for the subsequent legions of Brothers and Sisters (whether in medicine, law, business, humanities, etc.) at a moment’s notice.
Dr. Rodgers has practiced medicine and received specialized training in Belgium, England, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, Rwanda and other nations. Astuteness notwithstanding, both the journey and the requisition for knowledge continue. When asked where he is headed next in his career, his retort is simple, “Wherever God takes me!”
With his spirit and the alacrity to share, the world is within his valence.
Words by Dr. Eric Hawkins (Dr. Hawk/@MDHawk on Twitter)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Pressley, Daron. “Passion To Purpose: Dr. Ralph Rogers.” Black Enterprise. Blackenterprise.com. October 26, 2015.
2. Prisbell, Eric. “NBA Season Preview: Basketball’s Melting Pot.” Sports Business Journalism. Sportsbusinessjournalism.com. October 17, 2022.
3. NBA Careers. “Amadou Gallo Fall.” Careers.nba.com. August 2022.
