Curious Case: Who in the World is Rhonda John-Davis? Is She on the Tar Heels Men’s Basketball Team?

Sitting here on a Sunday afternoon, after shoveling my driveway and warming up, my brother sends a curious text, “did you know, or see, that UNC has a 42-year-old woman guard on their team?”

Me, who doesn’t care much for college basketball until March and certainly not a Tar Heels fan, had no idea that UNC had a female playing on their men’s basketball team. So I began to Google this claim.

Now, let it be known, I don’t care what sex you are or what your background is. If you can ball, you can ball. If you can compete with men as a woman, do it. Hell, I’ve been at a Sunday open gym and had a female run all over me, so I welcome someone pushing this envelope because it likely needs to be pushed.

I believe we aren’t very far away from seeing a female in MLB. It has been far too long since Manon Rhéaume tended the net in a Tampa Bay Lightning game. I can see females playing a role in the NBA at some point as well. Heck, I even think the NFL may see a female kicker at some point.

So, needless to say, I was confused and excited when my brother mentioned this news. But, both Google and Twitter was providing little information. So I kept going…

Then a comment in an Iowa forum brought a hint. A user named tarheelbybirth had this comment on a post looking for Tar Heel fans.

Ok, this is confusing. Rhonda John-Davis? A Trinidadian veteran netball player? Not gonna lie, I have no clue what netball is, so I decided to look it up.

Apparently, it is a game, very similar to basketball (which, I guess… duh!) except it is played with seven players on each team. Each player is assigned a “zone” which seems somewhat similar to soccer. The court is separated into three parts, which players that occupy each part or zone of the court. The positions are also a bit different; Goal Keeper, Wing Defense, Wing Attack, Goal Defense, Center, Goal Attack, and Goal Shooter. The biggest difference between the two sports is, in netball each player must remain in their zone. Oh, and there is no backboard, so you better be a deadeye if you’re shooting from long distances.

Interesting.

So, Rhonda John-Davis is a professional netballer from the Trinidad team. She shouldn’t be that hard to find, and I would imagine the University of North Carolina has plenty of press covering the first female to play on their men’s team – especially one that is 42!

I was wrong… it isn’t that easy to find her. Or a mention of her on the UNC Men’s team. Or even a suggestion that she plays any sort of basketball for UNC.

This is getting weird.

So I went to the UNC website and looked up the men’s roster. Nope. No Rhonda John-Davis. Curiously, I did find an RJ Davis on the roster. He is most certainly a he and he definitely isn’t 42-years old.

So I went back to the post from the Tar Heel fan on the Iowa website. He posted a link to the game recap. Let’s just follow up there.

This is Google recap of the game. I have used this a thousand times when I write an article about a game, or when recalling a game, or mistakenly when I Google the time of the next game, but Google thinks when I say, “Hey Google, what time is today’s Cubs game?” that I meant to show me yesterday’s results.

Well, crap! There is Rhonda John-Davis. A guard and she scored 12 -points with 8-assists and a pair of rebounds. How did everyone miss Davis, a female, playing 33-minutes for the men’s basketball team!?

Then I Googled UNC Men’s Basketball Roster, and I found this! (seriously, you can do the same and it will show up!)

WHAT IN THE WHAT!?!? What is going on here. How is this going on, and HOW is it that my brothers and I are the only ones asking these questions!?

So I went back at it, and Googled Rhonda John-Davis again. This time I left off any mention to the Tar Heels or basketball. I just Googled her name. That is when I found her Instagram account. Surely, there is something there on UNC Basketball!

Nope…

So back to the drawing board. Think, think, think… how is it that a female, who plays netball for the Trinidad and Tobago teams, show up on a roster for the UNC Men’s Basketball team? There must be a reason. There must be an answer.

So I went back to the UNC Men’s Team’s site to check the roster, and I clicked on RJ Davis’s profile. He’s definitely on the team. He is a guard. He was born in White Plains, NY., on October 21st, 2001. So he is definitely not a 42-year-old woman from Trinidad.

So understanding that there *IS* an RJ on the team, could Rhonda John actually go by RJ? Not from anything I was able to find. This is weird, but I think I know what is going on here. A couple more searches and I believe we have solved the great question, “Who is Rhonda John-Davis and why is she on the UNC Men’s basketball team?”

I went back to Twitter, because it always has the answers (haha, ah… haha… lol). But instead of just searching Rhonda John-Davis, I clicked on the “Latest” tab instead of the “Top” news. Immediately things came to light.

Hey @Google who is Rhonda John-Davis? @UNC_Basketball https://t.co/ONMw3joxzm;; pic.twitter.com/tluNkPsSQp

— SETTY (@settymusic) December 31, 2020

Am I the first person or the last person to figure out that RJ Davis stands for Rhonda John Davis?

Or is Google tripping?

No mention of Rhonda John on his UNC bio pic.twitter.com/sHFviNujH8

— John Bauman (@bauman_john) December 31, 2020

Apparently, the Baker Bros from Northern Illinois aren’t the only ones asking the questions. There were two others from the Twitterverse asking the questions as well.

It seems like somehow, the Google algorithm has linked RJ Davis and Rhonda John-Davis. They have confused a 19-yr old male from White Plains, NY with a 42-yr old born in the capital of Trinidad.

Talk about your all-time mess-ups!

So crisis averted. Call off the FBI. The crack research team here at Chicago Style Sports has solved the case. RJ Davis is absolutely a male basketball player for the Tar Heels. Rhonda John-Davis was absolutely a female netballer and coach for the Trinidad and Tobago National Team.

Google, you F’d up.