City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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BOOTHWYN, Pa. — A storm always seemed to be swirling somewhere. Carlton Gordy III could never quite understand why. Anything would set him off. Anything would send him into a brooding, quick-trigger rage throwing everything he could get his hands on.

He found solace on a basketball court. The cacophony of bouncing balls and squeaking sneakers had a way of easing an inner wrath he could not comprehend until recently.

The why? The how? The why me?  

The questions used to plague the gifted Chichester 6-foot-3 All-Del-Val League senior guard. He carries the thick, talented bloodlines of his grandfather, former Chester great Carlton “Silk” Gordy Sr. He never knew his father, Carlton Gordy Jr., another Chester hoops alum who played with Jameer Nelson, lost through an unforgivable act that Carlton III has reached into his deep reservoir to forgive.

This year, Carlton III finished his first varsity season as a starter with a team-high average of 15.4 points a game, after scoring 339 points, including dropping 23 in a last-second 47-46 loss at Chester. He is getting looks from Cheyney and Neumann University.  

He carries a 3.4 GPA and is an honor-roll student who is thinking about going to a junior college or a prep school for a year.

And in many ways, he also carries an amazing strength that goes beyond basketball.

Five years ago, Carlton III, flanked by his two older sisters, Zanya and Zanirah, gathered around a kitchen table to hear a story no one would want to hear. It is a story that has haunted Carlton III, even though he was 11 months old when it happened.

The narrator telling the tale for the first time was his father’s killer — his mother, who fatally stabbed his father on Nov. 22, 2006, the day before Thanksgiving.

Carlton III was raised by his paternal grandparents, Calton Sr., and his grandmother, Chrisisy Swiggett, a woman of remarkable foundation who played for Chester and testified in court on behalf of Shakea Hammond, Carlton III’s mother who did six years for manslaughter.

“I had an idea what happened to my father growing up, but I didn’t really find out everything until I was 13 when my mother told us,” Carlton III said. “It was a lot to take in. Think about it: The person telling you they killed your father is your mother. She sat us down and she told us what happened. She made allegations about my father that I did not believe. My grandmother took us in at a young age. I was too young to know what happened.

“But the pieces would come to me here and there. My grandmother saved her. She testified on my mother’s behalf, because my grandmother knew my mother never really meant to do it. I feel really bad for my grandparents, because they lost their son. They lost a child. I was too young to know I lost my father. Some days I want to cry, still, because I never knew my father.

“I was robbed of my dad.”

Pictured from left are Chichester coach Clyde Jones, Chichester senior Carlton Gordy III and Chrisisy Swiggett, Gordy's grandmother. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)

What compounded Carlton III’s journey happened before this past season. His father’s twin brother, Chris, another Chester star, was murdered in Delaware on I-95 this past Oct. 7, 2023.

Carlton III never asked questions about what happened to his father. He just had difficulty understanding why other kids had their parents around in social settings and at school events, and he did not. His grandparents were omnipresent. Swiggett and Carlton Sr. did not miss one of Carlton III’s games over the last two years.

Carlton III does not have to look too far for a sturdy monolith. Swiggett and Carlton Sr. hardly had time to grieve their son. They suddenly had three babies thrust upon them to raise. There was no way the kids were going to be raised by their mother’s family. They had great help from Chris, who moved back home with his parents to raise Carlton Jr.’s three children, who were ages 3, 2, and 11 months at the time. It was diapers, daycare, potty training, learning-to-walk time.

When Carlton III was around 6, he would ask his grandmother about his father. Swiggett would tell her grandson about the times his father would bounce him on his lap when he watched football and basketball games.

Though there was a pressure brewing near the surface. Carlton III could not understand why.

His grandparents knew.

“Carlton would just explode when he was young, like the Hulk, he would turn green and grow inches when he got angry,” Carlton Sr. recalled. “He was in middle school when he asked us why we were the ones always with him and not his parents. His peers had parents that knew the situation. It created a sort of stigma. He has recovered dramatically. My only concern with his blowups was that it did not lead to an incident that would ruin his life.

“We are proud of him. He is 18 and look at everything he has been through. His main goal is to one day play in the NBA, but as he gets older, he is starting to realize he is good enough to play in college. He has some growing up to do and (Chichester) coach (Clyde) Jones has been remarkable.

“They wanted to kick Carlton off the team numerous times when Carlton was younger. Coach Jones stuck by him. He still disciplined Carlton. He had to toss Carlton out of practice a few times. It was deserved, because I know Carlton had his outbursts. Somewhere along the line, in junior high, the incidents cut down. His attitude changed. Everything changed.”

Last October, Swiggett and Carlton Sr. lost their second child, Chris, to violence and continue to carry a positive disposition.

Carlton III’s temper resurfaced.

“I know God has a plan and He can do no wrong, that’s what carried me,” said Swiggett, a 1977 Chester graduate who took Carlton cross state the night of his junior prom last spring to an AAU tournament in Pittsburgh. “I get asked all the time what keeps me standing. You are not supposed to outlive your children, and I have outlived two of my sons. I have raised my son’s three children.

“That keeps me going, how hard Chris’s recent death means to me, there is a purpose. That keeps me going. Carlton deserves a lot of credit, because when you think about it, his father and his mother were taken away just when he was learning how to walk. This year was tough at times. He pulled through it.”

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Chichester senior Carlton Gordy III poses with his grandfather Carlton Gordy Sr., left, and his grandmother Chrisisy Swiggett. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)

Clyde Jones has an amazing track record. The legendary coach, or more so legendary builder, has a habit of reaching historic heights everywhere he has been. Last year, Jones once again wove his magic, which required a healthy dose of diligence, patience, and exhaustive grinding, in turning perennial doormat Chichester into Del-Val League champions for the first time in 30 years. 

Then there are isolated, personal cases, cultivating and dealing with talented, in-need-of-direction players like Carlton III.

“I didn’t know anything about his situation until last year,” Jones said. “He had a couple of blowups. I remember him one time just blurting it out, ‘My mom killed my dad.’ I was like, ‘What?’ I saw a lot of anger in there and his desire to be good would bring outbursts. We worked on emotion being great when it is controlled.”

Sometimes it was not controlled. Jones had to remove him from the gym a few times. Carlton III admits it himself, there is an inner demon that he constantly wrestles with. He is dealing with anger-control issues, which he has improved on.

“There are good things he can do with that energy,” Jones said. “There is plenty to work with. The kid is really bright. The good thing is our relationship grew where I was able to reach him. His body language was an issue and teams tried using that against him.”

Like last season, in an Eagles victory, an opposing player allegedly said to him, “That’s why your dad was murdered.” Carlton III ignored it.

“I heard it, because watching my brother play is crazy, and I remember that last year,” Zanirah said. “I could tell what my brother is thinking by the look on his face when he’s playing. His face scrunches up and is mean. I remember running down the bleachers when they said that to him. He didn’t go crazy. I did (laughs).

“My brother looks so much like my father. He is the closest thing to my father, so in a way, he allows me and my sister to have our father back. I’m at Neumann right now and I hope he comes here and plays.

“I won’t associate myself with my mother. My brother will. I have a tough time forgiving her. I can’t do it. She took my father’s life. Her reasoning for doing it is not real. But I do give my brother credit.”

Because Carlton III is willing to forgive her.

“I lost my father, I lost my Uncle Chris, I do plan on playing (in college) nearby, because I have to protect my grandparents and my sisters,” said Carlton III. “There is an anger there. I’ll admit it. I still need to control it. That starts with being able to forgive. I’ve forgiven my mom. She won’t live forever. Losing my dad and my uncle, I can’t change that. There is no type of love (like) your mother’s love.

“I keep thinking of that. It keeps me going. I have a lot of people to play for.”

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.