NBA gets active in social justice
Suns GM Jones applauds youth, players for roles
Phoenix Suns General Manager James Jones appreciates and respects how today’s youth, which includes a notable segment of NBA players, are approaching this latest stage of the “Black Lives Matters” movement.
“Together, they have tremendous power,” Jones said during a media conference call on Monday. “They don’t have wait on celebrities or people in positions of power with huge platforms to speak. They speak for themselves.”
Jones found himself in the same situation as a player when 17-year old Trayvon Martin died Feb. 26, 2012, after being shot by former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted.
Jones and Martin both grew in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Martin’s death hit home.
“It was a wake-up call,” Jones said. “It was truly shocking. It brought back memories of my youth.”
The “shocking” death proved to be the genesis for BLM, sparking a movement that has been taken to a global level with the tragic loss of George Floyd.
Dying on Memorial Day after a white Minneapolis police officer kept a knee on his neck for
seven minutes and 46 seconds, even after pleading he couldn’t breathe, Floyd has become a powerful and unifying call for social justice fueled by today’s young generation.
“This generation inspired the athletes to step forward and speak out,” Jones said. “It’s always tough because these are the things no one ever wants to talk about because they’re too painful, but it’s the right time and I’m glad that our players have made their true opinions known on how they feel about it. Not a PR stunt. Not what plays in the media, but truly what matters to them and how they feel, that’s what they’ve been able to express, and I commend them for it.”
Jones has talked to Suns players about social justice, encouraging them to be “authentic, take a stand and be proud of their opinions and backgrounds,” but also take time to learn more about the issues.
“I don’t think it serves anyone when you make off-the-cuff statements or you’re just out there signaling that you’re a part of something without truly understanding what it means,” Jones said.
Suns center Deandre Ayton said last week he’s not trying to get “too involved,” but sees its purpose.
“I don’t know too much in a way,” Ayton said. “I know what’s going on around me. I know there’s a pause in our lives to where it’s worth our attention. For me, I try to focus on family and control what I can control. You can’t really say who’s right or wrong in situations like this.”
Mikal Bridges and Kelly Oubre Jr. have taken to Instagram to address the issues while Aron Baynes wrote an “open letter” after head coach Monty Williams penned one calling for social justice.
Overall, NBA players have become a driving force that has enhanced the movement, exposed ignorant detractors and essentially forced the NBA to get on board with the program.
The league is not only expressing support, but it will reportedly allow players to replace the name on the back of their jerseys with statements of social justice.
Black Lives Matter. Say Their Names. Vote. I Can't Breathe. Enough. Power to the People. Justice Now.
Just to name a few.
The NBA has always been a progressive league.
Perhaps the most progressive, but considering it’s asking players to risk their health and well being by resuming the season in the Orlando amid the coronavirus pandemic, the league needed come to an agreement with its players who are mostly Black so they can continue to have a voice in the movement.
Not only is the average age of NBA players mid-20s, but 80% of the players are people of color.
Couple that with a large social platform with millions of followers, NBA players have a voice powered by wealth and status few African-American men have.
That can’t be muffled or silenced, even in the bubble.
"You're going to continue to hear us,” NBPA president and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul said in a media call last month. “Just know that. It's never a shut-up-and-dribble situation. You're going to continue to hear us and see us."
NBPA Executive Director Michele A. Roberts couldn’t see it happening any other way.
“I would’ve been ashamed had there not been a conversation,” Roberts said last month. “If the players had been talking about getting back to play and nothing else, frankly, being an African American woman, I would’ve been disappointed.”
While there has also been talk about resuming the season taking steam out of the movement, players sound determined to use their voice for change even while in the bubble.
The young generation has always been the driving force for movements of change in this country.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X where the leaders and faces of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, but young people were the ones protesting in full force, taking the brunt of abuse from police and raising their voice as one.
Today’s youth are doing the same thing, but unlike the 1960s they have the power of social media to show videos of injustice from their iPhones and have millions see it in a matter of minutes.
King looked for the racists to show their ignorance and do harm in a peaceful protest to gain national attention toward the Civil Rights Movement.
That could take days, weeks, even months, if at all.
Today, nations can instantly see injustice as one. They can see protests as one.
That’s powerful.
This has led to more support, but also more detractors, who can use their own social media platforms to criticize the movement.
Show the riots. Say those young kids are out of control. What about “All Lives Matter?”
As much power social media provides, it can also be a very dangerous tool if those using it aren’t informed about what’s happening.
Miami Heat players used social media to make a statement about Martin’s death.
They took a team photo with everyone wearing hoodies; LeBron James tweeted the image.
Years later, everyone has a platform that has taken Black Lives Matter to another level – with NBA players have a strong voice supporting the movement in calling for social justice.