NFL
By: Mark Wilson
After the shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin that involved Jacob Blake, the sports world, like most of the citizens around the globe were left in awe. “Here we go again”, was the unspoken thought”. And rightfully so. What has transpired in America over the last few years regarding police brutality should make anyone with empathy sick to their stomach. What America needs is a leader to take a stand. Not the President, but someone within the African-American community to be the voice of power.
Sadly, there is none. Nowadays, entertainers, activists, and sports figures have done the talking but have they been vocal enough?
Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks were the first to take a stand. They refused to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic and the Magic, in turn, refused to accept their forfeit. Great move to stand up for a cause. Later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder postponed their games as well. Great, now what?
It was then revealed that there was a meeting held in which the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers decided they were going to leave the bubble and the playoffs altogether to show solidarity. The NBA then canceled their playoff games on Thursday. It appeared that the players were ready to make a huge move.
But as quickly as they stood up, they sat down just as fast.
It was announced Thursday that the NBA would suspend play, possibly until Friday or Saturday as the teams voted to keep playing. This was their chance to make a statement and the players blew it. This was the moment Jay Z talked about when he merged with the NFL. “We’re past kneeling,” he said. And he was right. Colin Kaepernick started this movement and the NBA had a chance to do something really big here.
If the saying is correct “this is bigger than basketball” then the best way to show that is to actually show that. Do not play until you get the change you want or get things moving in the right direction. Before the Orlando games started, there were already concerns from players such as Kyrie Irving regarding the importance of playing basketball with so much going on in the world.
The NBA came to an agreement to place Black Lives Matter on the courts and gave the player’s options of wearing words like “Equality or Say Their Name” on the back of their jerseys. That’s not enough and deep down, the players knew this. Now was their chance to say they had enough. Now was their chance to put their names and social standing to good use. To tell the NBA and the sponsors, “we mean what we say in front of the cameras” but they didn’t.
One day, one day was all it took for the tune to change. It would have been a peaceful protest. No guns, no violence, just players with a louder voice than you and I to take that ultimate stand for the community. They no longer have the leverage. I can understand. The NBA did not shoot Blake or Breonna Taylor or have their knee on the neck of George Floyd but did they have to?
While coaches and owners have shown they’re willing to say the right things, it’s up to the players to spark that change. There is no way you can make people sweat and force them to do the right thing if you’re still doing everything you were before these incidents. Let them know you mean business by forcing them to hear you.
Walking away for one day turned heads. Just imagine what leaving the Larry O’Brien Trophy unclaimed this year would do? It was there for the taking and within a few hours, they gave the power right back.
