The NBA and Social Justice
Basketball, boycotts, and a history lesson
Why can’t they just play sports (aka shut up and dribble)?
It’s never been just about sports. Let’s take a look at the history of sport.
Sports have always been interwoven with politics. The Olympic games are documented to have started around 776 BC. And what are the Olympics? A show of a nation’s power and sports prowess, nationalism at its finest.
Around 264 BC, Gladiators came on the scene. A show of power as politicians could pit man against man or man against animal to the delight of the King and on-lookers.
The history of sports is layered with politics. It always has been.
From Bill Russell to Muhammad Ali to Jackie Robinson, John Carlson and more recently, Colin Kaepernick.
Did you know that Jackie Robinson was never offered a job by the MLB? He was so disillusioned by state issues that he did not stand for the American flag either. It was Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow who made sure the MLB lived up to his legacy.
So why can’t sports go back to how they used to be?
At what point, when they were segregated? Once again, the same ‘keep politics out of sport’ rhetoric was used to keep ‘blacks’ out of ‘white’ sports. Politics are interwoven into everything. All of our human rights, our schools, our roads, our sports, it’s inevitable.
As Bill Russell, the Celtics legend competed on the court, fans waved towels for him and cheered for him. When he walked outside the arena, these same fans would yell at him: “Go back to Africa,” “Baboon,” “Coon,” “Ni****.” As he shared, “The Boston Celtics proved to be an organization of good people… most of my teammates. I cannot say the same about the fans or the city.” When Bill tried to buy a home in Wilmington, MA, no one would sell to him.
NBA players were often not allowed service at restaurants, hotel rooms, etc. When Elgin Baylor and Lakers played a game in West Virginia, the clerk told them, “The three colored boys will have to go somewhere else. This is a nice, respectable hotel. We can’t take the colored boys.”
And while you may wonder what all of this has to do with players currently… there’s a history of politics, a history of racism within America and within professional sports. And without politics, change isn’t made to the structures that enable it. When the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted the game… what did they do? They got on the phone with the Wisconsin Attorney General and the Lieutenant Governor and discussed next steps. Why? Because politics and sports are justice are interwoven.
Because of what that one athlete did, professional athletes are ‘thugs,’ ‘spoiled,’ ‘self-righteous’
If you are judging an entire professional sports league based on something someone said or did, I would encourage you to use that same judgement with that 1 cop, 2 cops, 3 cops… that have killed innocent people. You can’t have it both ways and just choose your labels as you wish. One person rarely represents the entirety of a group.
For those trying to make this about Jacob Blake. It is but it’s not. For those trying to make it about George Floyd, it is but it’s not. It’s about a history of oppression. A history of abuse. It’s about Breonna Taylor. It’s about Elijah McClain. It’s about the players themselves. It’s about the players who get pulled over on their way to games because they drive cars that are ‘too nice for them.’ (I have even been pulled over when having a black athlete in my car, but never with a white athlete).
For those intent on referring to athletes as rich and spoiled… do you use that same language for the mainly white male owners of these same franchise who are likely 10 to 100 times wealthier than those you are calling rich and spoiled?
In most professional sports, revenue is split by around 50% to the owners and 50% to the athletes. So if you do the math, it’s easier to figure out where much of the revenue is actually going.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the first NBA team to boycott. I’ve received a lot of messages from people thinking it’s absurd they would do so because of someone being shot. It is that. But it’s more.
Did you know that one of their players was beaten brutally last season by cops in Milwaukee for parking illegally? They kneeled on his neck, tased him, and then offered him $400,000 to stay quiet after they found out he was an NBA player?
If you are not aware of these stories, I would encourage you to do more listening than posting.
Listen to stories of those different from you.
People have a lot of judgements and assumptions about professional athletes but did you know many of these athletes are gathering together before a game in a back hallway and praying together, praying for each other, praying for each other’s families and for the fans who are attending?
Yes, these same athletes who many call rich and spoiled and all kinds of other names are literally praying for you as you arrive to the game.
We have chapel before games, so that is around 80–100 chapels a season of which many players and staff attend. If you think the NBA is against religious freedom and expression and is immoral, let me ask you how often you are coming together with your co-workers before work and praying and reading the Scriptures together?
I’ve never met more incredible people or leaders than I have in the NBA. It stings a bit when I read comments about NBA players when I know that after practice, players on our team are driving to local inner-city schools and Boys and Girls Clubs with no photo-ops, no other people with them. They do it because they care, because they believe in the future of this country. They’re generous with their time and money and resources.
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee, much of the sports world and fandom was outraged at his protest. When riots and further protesting started, people started calling out for peaceful protests (forgetting Colin’s kneel?). And when athletes simply decided not to play, they were chided again for their peaceful protest. If you are against the players protesting then you are not for peaceful protests, you are for silencing black voices.
I’m not here to convince anyone of anything. But I hope I can change the narrative in one’s mind a bit. I don’t have all the answers. And the answers and perspectives within vary as well. There are layers to everything.
“The Boston Celtics proved to be an organization of good people… most of my teammates. I cannot say the same about the fans or the city.”
I love what Bill Russell said because I find it to be so true. You’ll find some of the most kind and loving, accepting people in a professional sports environment.
Don’t be the fan who cheers them on the court and scourges them off of it. If you choose to stay away from the NBA and professional sports, please do, the NBA will be more than okay with your absence. If you choose to continue being a part of that environment, it’s one of the best places you can find a mix of colors and religions and demographics all coming together for a common purpose. Sports and sports fandom are beautiful melting pots. And that’s why sports often speak up for change. Because they see one another. They hear one another. And they’ve always got each other’s backs.
