Since graduating from Virginia Tech, Coleman Collins has played professional basketball in Europe and the D-League, after a brief stint with the Phoenix Suns. He's also a semi-regular TrueHoop contributor.
One night in June, I'm in Lisbon with friends celebrating a 30th birthday in style. Our evening is just beginning and we're enjoying ourselves, strolling down the street with beers in our hands. We're all black men, and we're all wearing hoodies. We jaywalk across an empty street as two cops watch us. I feel a strange calm, and then after a moment of reflection I realize that it's strange because I am unafraid; it feels bizarre not to fear the police.