NFL
By: Zachary Draves
There comes a time when you have to put things into perspective and have the common sense to know what really matters.
This is one of those times.
In the middle of the trial of the Derek Chavun who was caught on tape murdering George Floyd last May, yet another young black man has been killed in Minneapolis and it has touched a nerve that ultimately found its place in sports.
After the police murder of a 20-year-old Daunte Wright over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Minnesota Wild announced that they were canceling their scheduled games out of respect for the situation at hand.
There is a disturbing notion put forward by the ignorant in the media that these games were canceled out of fear of a potential riot, but that is simply not the case.
These teams made this decision because they knew that it was the right thing to do and that the focus should be back where it belongs and that is on achieving justice for yet another innocent black man executed by the state for no legitimate reason.
Each team put out their own brief statements explaining their reason for canceling the games.
(Courtesy: Twitter)
While they are very bland declarations the fact they took this step nonetheless is a clear sign that the “stick to sports” era is over.
Famed sportswriter Dave Zirin of the Nation explains that context in his recent piece https://www.thenation.com/article/society/daunte-wright-minnesota-twins/.
We can argue all day about whether or not the franchises, meaning the business entities, are truly invested in the cause for justice.
After all the NHL is only truly starting to confront race and the MLB’s mixed record on race, to be kind, speaks for itself.
But one thing that is clear is that the athletes themselves have invested their time and resources into the cause for justice in various capacities from youth to the pros.
This generation of ballers, runners, and skaters has broken free of the trap set up by a society that expects athletes to be seen and not heard.
The famed scholar-activist Dr. Harry Edwards who was the catalyst behind the Olympic Project for Human Rights in 1967 sums it up better than most.
(Courtesy: Youtube)
How can we truly be distracted by a game when there seems a never-ending list of black men and women becoming hashtags?
These athletes understand that and they will not relent and neither should the rest of us.
The time is long overdue for us to be what Dr. King called a beloved community as well as embracing his vision of a radical revolution of values.
When we prioritize a game for selfish reasons over human dignity we have a problem.
More action needs to be taken and these sports leagues and franchises have a responsibility to do more than just make statements but follow the lead of the players and push for systemic change.
This is why Colin Kaepernick and company took a knee to begin with and never forget that.
No Justice No Game.
