Sports | September 9th, 2020

Our Racial Pandemic Should Halt the NBA Season

By: Kennedy Guidry

In this op-ed, Kennedy Guidry asserts why the NBA season should be cancelled amid today’s racial pandemic that prioritizes entertainment over social justice.

Wednesday, Aug. 26, the world of sports was reeling after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court. This one act of protest caused a chain reaction through the sports arena and it began to look as if the rest of the season was in jeopardy for the second time after players tested positive for coronavirus in March. 

On Aug. 23, Jacob Blake was added to a long list of hashtags after a video of him being shot seven times in the back by police circulated on social media. Games scheduled for Wednesday through Friday were postponed and the NBA picked back up on Saturday night with game 5 of the playoffs. While the courage of these players sparked a powerful conversation and progress were made, to make the greatest impact and ensure justice the NBA season should be canceled.

As the shooting took place 40 miles south in Kenosha, Wis., the Milwaukee Bucks were the catalyst in this string of protests. Before the day was over, athletes and teams from the MLB, MLS, and WNBA joined the six NBA teams in the boycott. Later that day, Bucks players George Hill and Sterling Brown made a statement on behalf of the team.

“There has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” said Brown.

However, on the night it was decided the players would resume the season, there had still been no action in the case of Jacob Blake. Although the United States Department of Justice confirmed a federal civil rights investigation will be launched, Blake, who was left paralyzed, was still handcuffed to his bed during recovery. It is hard to believe that this was the outcome the players wished for. 

In a series of tweets, Shams Charania, senior lead at NBA Insider, reported that every team besides the Lakers and the Clippers voted to resume the season during the players’ meeting. The two Los Angeles rivals joined forces as Lebron James spearheaded the charge to exit the season.

Wednesday, Aug. 26, the world of sports was reeling after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court. This one act of protest caused a chain reaction through the sports arena and it began to look as if the rest of the season was in jeopardy for the second time after players tested positive for coronavirus in March.

On Aug. 23, Jacob Blake was added to a long list of hashtags after a video of him being shot seven times in the back by police circulated on social media. Games scheduled for Wednesday through Friday were postponed and the NBA picked back up on Saturday night with game 5 of the playoffs. While the courage of these players sparked a powerful conversation and progress were made, to make the greatest impact and ensure justice the NBA season should be canceled.

As the shooting took place 40 miles south in Kenosha, Wis., the Milwaukee Bucks were the catalyst in this string of protests. Before the day was over, athletes and teams from the MLB, MLS, and WNBA joined the six NBA teams in the boycott. Later that day, Bucks players George Hill and Sterling Brown made a statement on behalf of the team.

“There has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” said Brown.

However, on the night it was decided the players would resume the season, there had still been no action in the case of Jacob Blake. Although the United States Department of Justice confirmed a federal civil rights investigation will be launched, Blake, who was left paralyzed, was still handcuffed to his bed during recovery. It is hard to believe that this was the outcome the players wished for.

In a series of tweets, Shams Charania, senior lead at NBA Insider, reported that every team besides the Lakers and the Clippers voted to resume the season during the players’ meeting. The two Los Angeles rivals joined forces as Lebron James spearheaded the charge to exit the season.

Sources: NBA players in meeting today agreed to continue playing this postseason — but want to find new and improved ways to make social justice statements. Players expect games to resume this weekend.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2020

According to Charania, James said in the meeting he wanted the owners to be more involved and take action. It was also reported that James later walked out of the meeting with the Lakers and Clippers players right behind him. 

It wasn’t until the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) implemented three new commitments that James began to feel comfortable enough to resume the season. 

One of these commitments established a social justice coalition that featured representation from players, coaches and governors; however, there was no mention of owners. 

Jaylen Brown, a Celtics shooting guard, is still not confident even with the commitments from the NBPA and support from owners. 

“I’m not as confident as I would like to be. I think promises are made year after year. We’ve heard a lot of these terms and these words before… a lot of these are just reshaping the same ideas and nothing is actually taking place,” Brown said. 

Brown commends the Bucks for taking a stand and added, “if necessary, it could be done again.” 

Brown is valid in his skepticism after hearing the Board of Governors not following through with Wednesday’s plan. According to Brown, every arena was supposed to be opened as a polling station. However, now they’re only opening arenas that are owned by the teams.

“Every arena needs to be open. Voter suppression is real. I don’t understand why that’s a problem or an issue,” Brown said. 

Being isolated in the bubble away from friends and family has presented its own set of challenges. They came into the bubble to use their platform to create change and to make matters worse these athletes are still seeing a video of a Black man being shot by police. As we are on the outside looking in, it is imperative to consider the effects that these conditions have on the players. 

“I underestimated mental health, honestly. I had anxiety and a little bit of depression. This is really hard being in here. You know it’s not easy. All-day it’s just basketball, it’s hard to get away from it,” said Clippers guard Paul George. 

Although the NBA players haven’t quite reached their goal, they should be commended for standing together to create change. We’ve come a long way since Kaepernick kneeled for the first time four years ago. 

All things considered, it is important to look forward to seeing the work of the social justice coalition and remain hopeful they will make a difference moving forward. But as things stand currently, canceling the NBA season is the determination America needs to see in order to truly establish equality and justice for all.