Former Belgreen basketball standout Adam Green excelling in sport of bull riding

Bucking basketball for bull riding, Franklin County native Adam Green has made quite the transition in his athletic career since graduating from Belgreen High School in 2017.

Green, 26, recently competed in the Southeastern Professional Rodeo Association finals at the Neshoba County Coliseum in Philadelphia, Miss., January 23-25, placing second in the first two rounds, winning in the average category and taking home just under $2,500.

A standout basketball player for the Bulldogs, Green’s route to rodeo was a little unconventional. Bull riding is a sport that dates its origins to 18th century Mexico and it remains popular in North America today. Those that want to go pro in the sport usually get their start early in high school or in junior associations and then move up to the college circuit. At that time of Green’s life, he was sinking baskets, not straddling bulls. After Belgreen he signed to play college hoops for Alabama Coastal Community College and then attended Florida College. From there Green went west to the Lone Star State. It was in Texas, naturally, where Green found the sport of bull riding calling and where he earned his spurs.

“After college in 2020 I went to Texas through an internship,” he said. “It was some guys out there that introduced me to it. I started doing some practice rides and started entering into competitions.

“It’s a lot different than basketball,” he added. “Every bull is different and every time it’s a different challenge. You don’t know if (the bull) is gonna spin left, spin right. It’s always challenging.”

Green moved back to Alabama in 2023 and decided to join the Southeastern Professional Rodeo Association, taking his commitment to “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports,” as bull riding has been coined, to the next level.

“I bought my (SPRA) membership in 2023 and I’ve been riding ever since,” Green said. “It’ll be two years this month (February).”

In bull riding events for a ride to count the rider must stay on the bull for eight seconds. There are three rounds and the rider earns a score for each successful ride; these scores will be combined at the end. Contestants can also forego rounds if they choose, so that’s where some strategy comes into play—and where a risk taken by Green paid off.

“I rode two bulls and no one else rode more than one,” he said. “I was the first up to ride before everyone else, so I had to take a bit of a gamble on that.

“If anyone else had rode two and gotten like an 80 (score) they would’ve beat me,” Green added. “My scores weren’t that great; I got some easy bulls, I guess you could say. But it worked out.”

The only rider to successfully ride two bulls, Green earned a combined score of 131 and won by 46.5 points over the runner-up.

Of course Green was happy to win, but one gets the feeling he wouldn’t have taken it too hard if he hadn’t. He said he not only enjoys the challenges of the sport but also the rodeo community he’s joined.

“There’s definitely a family aspect there that’s really great,” Green said. “Everyone is encouraging. We pick each other up and there’s a lot of slapping each other on the back when someone has a good ride.

“We’re trying to take each other’s money, so it sounds a little contradictory, but we want everyone to do well and are happy for them when they do.”