“A Crucial Assist - The Role of the NBA in Social Justice Initiatives” - Grant Astin
Picture From Thunderous Intentions
It feels like it’s been a lifetime since the 2019-2020 NBA season tipped off. There have been a few hiccups along the way, the biggest being Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test that halted the season for more than 4.5 months, and more recently the three-day-long boycott following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, an incident similar to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department officials on May 25, 2020.
The death of George Floyd was very disturbing to the NBA community as a whole along with Americans across the country, white or black. Perhaps, more frustrating than seeing yet another black man die at the hands of law enforcement was the sense of helplessness or not being able to do anything about it, well at least temporarily. I think the latter is a sentiment humans across the world have dealt with since the breakout of the disease months ago. Those following orders and protocols from their government have grown restless as the disease continues to spread rampantly, affecting loved ones and pushing back the date at which life can return to normal. Those who have made attempts to keep living their life as if nothing has changed have also grown frustrated as they feel like their normal life and other liberties have been stripped from them by an authority who they feel like does not have their best interests at hand.
Fortunately for the NBA players, their platforms as not only national but international, superstars have allowed them to be a powerful voice in matters regarding social justice and other social issues. It was just a matter of when they would get the opportunity to be back in the spotlight. One thing the National Basketball Players Association and its President Chris Paul knew as they returned to play is that they wanted to ensure their voices were heard. Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving expressed qualms about the idea of returning to finish the season in an unconventional setting on the terms of multi-millionaire, if not billionaire, owners. NBA players did not want to be seen as pawns. Instead, they wanted to continue to push for keeping social justice issues at the forefront of media attention after concerns about the movement dying following its social media blow up.
Returning to play, the NBA ensured its viewers would have a constant reminder of the need for progress. Any NBA fan tuning into a game at the bubble in Disney World these days sees players with social justice terms or phrases on the backs of their jerseys in place of their last names, and “Black Lives Matter” painted boldly across the top of the court from the camera view.
Political and social justice issues aside even, I have a lot of admiration for the aura and rebrand the current players have developed for themselves across the nation. Let’s be real for a second. Professional athletes do not typically have the strongest connotation with academic prowess and intelligence among the average adult fan. Think about all the times you have heard a white lady question why those basketball players have to cover themselves in tattoos, or when your dad calls a football player a dumbass for making an apparent bone-headed play on Sunday afternoon.
However, the NBA has made some massive strides in reversing this narrative, especially since current Commissioner Adam Silver took over the reins. The NBA has gone from a league composed of superstars from the streets that bypassed college to go play in the association to having a reputation as the most progressive professional sports league in North America with its faces like LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving making drastic changes in their communities towards social equality.
The 2020 Restart presented another crucial opportunity for the NBA to seize this branding image. Although it was certainly possible, it was not accepted across the board that the NBA Restart would succeed. Bringing a bunch of NBA players into a bubble with no families, women, or friends was believed to create some temptation for players to break the lockdown protocol. And it did not take long for a player to get caught. Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams was caught on an unexcused absence violating guidelines, and it was not a good look. Regardless of what he was actually up to, Williams was attending a gentleman’s club. He did not contract COVID-19, but he was handed a suspension.
Almost miraculously, NBA players have been cooped up in the Orlando bubble for more than a month and are yet to produce a positive COVID-19 test result. Meanwhile, the MLB has had its fair share of struggles with players going out to nightclubs or other social gatherings, contracting COVID-19, and in turn, being responsible for the cancellations of games, sometimes a series at a time. Not only has the NBA’s containment of the virus ensured the player’s well-being, but also set a tremendous example for the rest of the country and given the players the credibility needed for their voices to be heard on the pertinent, critical issues that mean not so much to just the players themselves, but minorities across the board.
If players were ill, not only would they not get the chance to go show out for fans on a nightly basis depicting their social justice advocacy, but they would lose much of their perceived credibility on the matter. Consider this. If players were constantly sneaking out of the bubble to go to strip clubs, getting COVID-19, and being the reason for many games getting canceled, the public would simply not warrant the same respect for the players’ agenda as they do currently.
The NBA and its players were at crossroads again earlier this week. Fuel was added to their fire that is social justice advocacy when Jacob Blake was shot by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin and left paralyzed. NBA teams and their players took a stand before the matter could be swept under the rug and forgotten about. The Milwaukee Bucks announced they would not play their potential series-clinching playoff game against the Orlando Magic. By the end of the day, every scheduled playoff game had been postponed and the Los Angeles Clippers and LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers stated they were done playing.
This announcement riled viewers back up. Those NBA fans who had grown complacent or desensitized to the social justice movement had the movement quickly moved back to the forefront of their own issues. Whether they agreed with the NBA's actions or not, the NBA assured social justice matters would not be forgotten. To my pleasure along with the millions of other NBA fans, NBA teams agreed to end the boycott and resume the playoffs on Saturday but with a few new commitments. According to Bleacher Report, the NBA and NBPA will work together to 1 - “establish a social justice coalition featuring reps from players, coaches, and governors”, 2 - “convert team arenas into voting locations for 2020 general election”, 3 - “create advertising spots in playoff games that promote civic engagement in local, national elections”.
All of these commitments will allow the NBA to keep social justice issues at the forefront of their fans' attention and support engagement in the upcoming election. Regardless of your political views, one indisputable matter is the impact the NBA has had on advocating for social justice issues. Through following COVID-19 protocols, NBA players have garnered respect and credibility across the nation that has bled into support for the issues that they are using their platforms to speak out against.
