There has often been a debate around the men and women of sports raising their voice for matters of social importance. Most famously, journalist Laura Ingraham in 2018 had told sports icon Lebron James on national television to “shut up and dribble” when the latter had attended an ESPN interview alongside Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant where they spoke about the difficulties involved with being a black man and public figure in sport. He also went on further to criticize President Trump calling his remarks “laughable and scary”.
Unfortunately for Ingraham, this did not go down well with the public and this phrase had gotten blown out of proportion. Later that year, the Showtime network released a 3-part docu-series entitled “Shut up and dribble”. The series aimed to shed some light on the growing influence black athletes have off the court and their changing role in the cultural and political landscapes.
The year 2020 has seen some of the most massive protests in multiple countries against the mistreatment of black people after the death of George Floyd. Those 8 minutes and 46 seconds that police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the hapless George Floyd’s neck would trigger a tsunami of outrage with people demanding reforms to weed out institutionalised racism that exists in our society. Countries united to denounce what had happened and people were finally fed up of the way this community has been berated for years now. You would expect aggressive changes brought about by the governments, especially that of the United States of America in order to purge this evil. You would expect police departments to keep these so called “few bad apples” in check for a short while at least.
Sadly, that was too much for us to ask. On the 23rd of August, barely 3 months after the murder of George Floyd, another black man named Jacob Blake was shot in the back 7 times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with 4 of the bullets colliding with him. This left Jacob Blake with the need to be hospitalized. This was yet another incident where a defenseless black person has been the victim of excessive force by the police. It was safe to say that this sparked another flurry of protests across the country. The exasperated feeling among the general public is growing ever-more-stronger with each incident. Minorities are gunned down, beaten with batons and attacked by the people who have sworn to protect them each day and every time reforms are called for, nothing happens.
There is no denying that top athletes have a cult following. Athletes like Lebron James who have gone above and beyond the call of duty by giving back to the community in every way possible have earned the respect they hold right now. James has regularly made humongous donations to charities that support black people and has set up foundations to cater to the nurturing of black children as well. He also set up the Lebron James Family Foundation to help children in the classroom.
Coming back to the Jacob Blake shooting, the American sports leagues that had just resumed over a month ago, were not having any more of this. NBA teams would wear Black Lives Matter t-shirts to their games when the NBA bubble had started in order to show the unity in the league for this cause. On August 26th, following the shooting, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their NBA playoff game. This move was widely respected by the league. The Houston Rockets, LA Lakers and others then followed suit. The league even held a vote regarding the continuation of the playoff rounds to which the LA Lakers and LA Clippers were reported to have voted against it.
This act of solidarity did not stick to just within the NBA as the Women’s NBA was the next to follow this boycott. Slowly, every major team in every major league announced that they would boycott their games that day. This resulted in a nation-wide boycott of sports in America’s major sports leagues. This move was symbolic of the message the players: Enough is enough. Multiple players across the leagues have come out on social media and in interviews to talk about the problem. Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder issued a statement that said: “We (are)just tired of seeing the same thing over and over again and everybody just expect(s) us to be okay just ’cause we get paid great money. We’re human. We have real feelings”. This sentiment was widely the theme of what all the players were trying to say. Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans(National Football League team) gave a powerful message saying, “We’re tired of seeing black men and women die in situations where they should be walking home and spending the night with their families”.
Athletes work in the entertainment business and thus have gained the admiration of millions throughout the world. If we want a change to happen, we need these idols to use their demi-god-like positions in society to be the voice for change. There is reason to believe they could bring about change successfully as well, just as seen in Lebron’s charities. To give you perspective, in a different sport, Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United attacker, led a campaign to overturn the UK Government’s decision to stop daily meals during the lockdown. The support was so overwhelming that the campaign was successful and the decision was overturned. This was just a testament to the sway athletes have in the world right now and a potent example of the change that can be brought about by them.
This act of solidarity by the American sports fraternity is one that will go down in the history books and should be the beginning of better things. If a 22 year old Marcus Rashford could sway the UK government, surely the American sports body can together bring about the change they, and we, wish to see in society. No longer will basketball players “shut up and dribble”.
We Need To Talk 