NBA response right on the money. No entertainment for racists
Folks are fed up and they have all right to be.
This evening NBA players made their strongest statement yet against racial injustice when the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. The WNBA games did not happen either.
Instead, The Atlanta Dream’s Elizabeth Williams read a statement announcing that, “the consensus is to not play in tonight’s slate of games and to kneel, lock arms and raise fists during the national anthem.”
The latest incident of racial injustice affecting the African-American community took place in Wisconsin— the home state of the Milwaukee Bucks. Jacob Blake Jr. was shot in the back seven times by a police officer.
In addition to injustice, generally there’s a lot going on globally. People are losing jobs, preparing to resume school, anticipating natural disasters, adapting to a pandemic, gearing up for an election.
In daunting times like these, a nation’s best defense should be a showcase of incredible resilience.
According to Oxford Languages, the definition of ‘resilience’ is, ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.’
However, African Americans can’t recover quickly from racial injustice because the community is continuously being affected by it. The NBA and WNBA players are being affected— their sons, uncles, nephews are vulnerable and can become targets. It’s extremely personal at this point.
In an interview this evening, former Kings great Chris Webber said, “we know it won’t end tomorrow. We know that there’s been a million marches and nothing will change tomorrow.”
“We know nothing’s going to change, we get it. Martin Luther King got shot and risked his life— we’ve seen this in all of our heroes. We know it’s not going to end but that does not mean, young men, that you don’t do anything.”
“Don’t listen to these people that say don’t do anything because it’s not going to end right away. You are starting something for the next generation.”
I agree. Though racial injustice is a threat to the basic standard of living, it won’t change overnight.
Still, I believe this a cause always worth fighting for so generations to come will have less work to do.
