Brown won’t stay silent
NBA return will ‘enhance’ social justice message, C’s guard says
Jaylen Brown started listing the names, and nearly ran out of breath.
“We have to go down there and make sure that people don’t forget about George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or Philando Castile or Ahmaud Arbery or Trayvon Martin, which is in the Orlando area,” the Celtics forward said during a media conference call.
“And the list goes on, and the countless other people who were not caught on video who experienced something similar. The bottom line is there’s improvements that need to be made, and the NBA has a great voice and a lot of resources and a lot of influence and we are appreciative they are helping in aiding in a lot of the things we care about. So that’s really important.”
Brown admits that, like many players, he had initial reservations about restarting the season in Orlando. He wondered about the safety of the so-called bubble. He didn’t want the movement to erase racial inequality to lose steam.
As the youngest and newest member of the NBPA’s executive board, Brown listened to the debate and arrived at the Auerbach Center convinced that Orlando will, indeed, further the cause.
“At first those were my first thoughts,” he said of the potential distraction. “Just the role that sports plays in our society, that it could serve as a distraction.
“But now, with the conversations that we’ve had, I think it’s going to enhance, rather than dim, the light that’s being spread right now,” said Brown. “I think everybody wants to watch basketball and the NBA, and we have voices of influence in our communities and we have obligations to our communities, not just obligations to our organizations. The more the NBA understands that, the better everybody will feel about it, especially players.”
There will be limits, though. Brown and Philadelphia’s Mike Scott both expressed disappointment over the guidelines set by the league and players association over acceptable social justice messages on jerseys.
Players have been handed a set of guidelines, including a list of approved phrases. Brown would like to create his own.
“There’s a lot of stuff. I know everybody has different reasons they’re playing for,” he said. “What I’d like to personally see on there? Maybe Break The Cycle, putting that on the back of your jersey – Results, that’s what everybody is really playing for. Inequality by Design, maybe. Things like that might have a deeper impact than some of the things that were given to us. I think it was a little bit limiting.”
Brown, of course, had made a significant statement before those discussions ever started. He drove 15 hours from Boston to Atlanta to lead a peaceful protest on May 30 that started at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. He was joined by Indiana’s Malcolm Brogdon and Brooklyn’s Justin Anderson, and after drawing national attention — three of his marchers were arrested despite the march’s peaceful nature — went home to tend to some family matters.
“It was an interesting experience. I would say that. Impulsively during the time how I was feeling compelled me to go down there to Atlanta, to where I’m from, to join a cause,” he said. “It was a peaceful protest, but we ran into some problems as well. I think three people were arrested during the peaceful protests, and the night before, the city had been rioting, so I understand how the police were on maybe high alert, but I just felt like that has been a major issue in our country — relationships between the police force and the rest of society, and I think that relationship needs to improve or we’re going to see more discernment from society.”
Brown appreciates that he’s now in a position to speak out. Historically, Black athletes from Muhammad Ali forfeiting almost four years at the peak of his career to Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing exile from the NFL, have paid a heavy price for speaking out — in Ali’s case for refusing to join the armed forces.
“I think time will tell,” said Brown. “I commend those guys. During the climate they were in, to speak on the issues that were being deployed on them, I tip my hat off to guys like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Colin Kaepernick and that list continues to go on, Mahmoud AbdulRauf, people that during the climate stood for something bigger than themselves. And at the time it might have expended their resources. But I think history has sided with them. I feel like in today’s time, 2020, people that continue to do that as well, myself included, hopefully there’s an ability to do both: to speak on social injustice and how you feel and also maintain a relationship with your organization, your partners, etc. But if not, then, hey.”
Brown, his conscience considered, will have a social platform long after his playing career ends. Teammate Enes Kanter noted last week that Brown will be known for far more than basketball.
“I kind of haven’t looked up and looked around to see where I’m at,” Brown said of his future. “There’s been so many things I’ve been dealing with: family-related issues on top of COVID on top of social injustice and what’s going on now.
“I’m going to just keep riding and trying to keep doing what’s right until the time comes. I appreciate Enes for saying that, but I’m focused on now,” he said. “Enes in my opinion is that guy. Enes is the guy that’s known for his fight and his activism more than his basketball career. So I pay the same compliment right back to him. And I appreciate people who appreciate the fact that things are more important than themselves.”