An Owens Returns To Berlin

Public Eye's Brian Montopoli is writing weekly dispatches for CBSNews.com while living and working in Berlin as part of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship Program. He will return to Public Eye in October.

But Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete, scuttled those plans. He won four gold medals, catapulted to international fame, and was even cheered heartily by German fans.

It's been 70 years since Owens took over the Olympic Games, and Germany has changed immeasurably since his triumph. Just as in 1936, however, there is an Owens in Berlin.

Chris Owens, Jesse's 27-year-old great-nephew, has joined professional basketball team Alba Berlin.

"It's an honor — that's how I look at it," Owens said. "It's a great thing to have Jesse Owens as your great-uncle. That's how I look at the situation. It's not really like a burden, it's more like a privilege."

You might remember Owens from his college days. He played first at Tulane and then at the University of Texas, where he became a star. In those days, it looked like Owens would have no problem scoring a lucrative contract and a firm spot on an NBA roster.

In his senior year, however, Owens badly hurt his knee. The injury required surgery, and Owens' stocked dropped.

He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, and then traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. Owens, a power forward, saw little playing time in Memphis, and he was cut at the end of the season.

He was shaken by the experience, and took a year off. He then resurrected his career in Europe, playing in Sicily, Spain and Greece before signing a two-year contract with Alba Berlin, with the option to leave after one year.

Until this year, Owens was living a fairly typical life for an American basketball player abroad. He was busy adapting to new cultures and hoping he might eventually work his way onto an NBA roster. When he came to Berlin, however, he suddenly became a symbol.

Sitting courtside at Alba's 8,862-seat stadium in Berlin, Owens talked about his new life.

"I don't feel any extra pressure," Owens told CBSNews.com. Alba is presently in pre-season training camp, and Owens' teammates were coming out to the floor to warm up before practice.

Owens never knew his great uncle — he was just a baby when he died — but he speaks glowingly of him. He owns a photo of his father and Jesse holding a basketball, a gift from his mother.

Owens arrived in Berlin less than two weeks ago. He says he likes the city. As for racial tension, he says he noticed it more back home.

"In the states, it's more like a black-white thing," said Owens. "… I don't feel it as much here."

After the 1936 Games, Jesse Owens returned home to find he still could not ride in the front of a bus. Because he couldn't get endorsement deals, he had to leave college early to provide for his family as a "runner-for-hire," racing against horses and motorcycles.

"People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do?" said Owens, who eventually opened a public relations firm. "I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals."

According to Chris Owens, it was in America, not Nazi Germany, where his great uncle faced the greatest challenges.

"His toughest battles were where he's from, where he lived," said Owens.

The newest Owens in Berlin is mostly concerned with the day-to-day reality of trying to make it as a professional basketball player. He sweats through grueling twice-a-day practices and goes on team runs through the mountains. He struggles with the small challenges of everyday life in another country, such as trying to do laundry in a machine on which the instructions are written in German.

But Owens, who hopes to make it back into the NBA after leaving Berlin, says he has little reason to complain.

"Sometimes I think, 'Man, this is tough.' Then I think about history, you know?" said Owens.

"The other day I was asking about the concentration camps. Or people that were bombed over Israel," he continued. "I just think about my life and I feel like it's unfair for me to be like, 'Man, it's really tough.' I get paid to do what I love to do. It's a blessing."
By Brian Montopoli