USA TODAY International Edition
NBA ponders racial equality fight, restart
In recent seasons, NBA players have refused to just shut up and dribble. With the NBA slated to start next month in the middle of a pandemic and racial strife, however, is it time for players to stop dribbling so the bouncing ball does not drown out their voice?
“Refusing to play potentially holds the NBA to a higher standard of accountability with regards to efforts to support racial equality,” said Alex Manning, an assistant professor of sociology at Hamilton College. “It complicates what it means for athletes to use the platform for social good. Are symbolic protests during games enough? Are there other actions that could have a more substantive impact? These dynamics are clearly on the minds of many NBA players.”
So much that Nets star Kyrie Irving held a call last Friday with both NBA and WNBA players. Then, Irving and others reportedly expressed concerns about playing at a quarantined site near Orlando, Florida, beginning July 30. Not only did these comments reflect safety concerns about the coronavirus. It also captured the players’ worries on whether they should channel their focus strictly on protesting racial inequality after a white police officer ( Derek Chauvin) killed an unarmed Black man ( George Floyd). Are the players drawing up the right play, or will this result in a missed shot?
“A boycott is a powerful threat. But when it actually comes through, what you’ve done is you undermine the very thing that gives you your voice,” said Douglas Hartmann, a chair of the sociology department at the University of Minnesota who has written books about the 1968 Olympics and the NBA. “It’s more powerful to find ways within the structure of athletic competition and ceremony rather than to reject that structure.”
The NBA players have not yet rejected that structure. According to the NBA’s 113- page safety guidelines, players have until next Wednesday to inform their union whether they would play. Any player who declines to play will have a decreased check dealt with on a prorated basis.
While the NBA and players have issues to resolve, two people familiar with talks between the two sides told USA
“They are going to be playing all day and have all kinds of inventive ways to protest.” Herb Ruffin
Associate professor of African American Studies at Syracuse University
TODAY Sports they expect to find common ground and play the season. Another person told USA TODAY Sports that as long as Lakers star LeBron James still wants to resume the season, he will have the support of most players. The people were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the sensitive nature of these discussions.
“As we work through these issues, I can understand how some players may feel that it’s not for them,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Monday on ESPN’s “Return to Sports” panel. “Not surprisingly, there’s not a uniform view among those players. My
sense is we’re going to be able to work through most of those issues over the next few weeks.”
During that time, players will have to weigh two tough choices. Should they give up their ball and a paycheck so they keep their focus and the general public to the ongoing protests? Or should they step on the court both to compete for an NBA championship and exert their voice on a different stage?
“I don’t think playing the season necessarily has a positive or a negative affect,” said David Leonard, who teaches classes on politics of sports at Washington State and has written the book, “After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness.” “People can make an argument that each space can be used and leveraged toward shining a spotlight on racism and police violence.”
Which argument will the NBA favor? Manning contended, “None of these choices are wrong.” But as Hartmann argued, “That’s where the devil is in the details.”
The case to resume play
This would not be the first time athletes considered skipping a competition to send a message.
Former Lakers and UCLA star Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, who was then known as Lew Alcindor, boycotted the 1968 Olympics because former IOC President Avery Brundage allowed German dictator Adolf Hitler not to field any Jewish athletes in the 1936 Games. Meanwhile, track and field stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos participated. But after Smith ( gold) and Carlos ( bronze) won medals in the 200 meters race in Mexico City, they wore a black glove and raised their fists during the national anthem to protest racial inequality. They also wore black socks without any shoes to symbolize Black poverty.
Perhaps the NBA players could make a similarly powerful statement when on the court before and after games.
“That whole concern about the games taking away the attention, I don’t totally buy into it,” said Herb Ruffin, an associate professor of African American Studies at Syracuse University. “They are going to be playing all day and have all kinds of inventive ways to protest. They would possibly be emboldened since the NBA players are all inside the same space than where they are scattered throughout the United States.”
That partly explains why James believes he can both play and influence social justice changes, as The Athletic reported last Friday and confirmed by USA TODAY Sports. James wants to maximize his influence anywhere he can – both on and off the court – and there are several examples of him using his platform while on the court.
James and his Heat teammates took a team photo wearing hoodies during the 2012- 13 season, a form of protest for 17- year- old Trayvon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman despite remaining unarmed and wearing only a hoodie in his Florida neighborhood. During the 2014- 15 season, James was among several NBA stars who wore “I Can’t Breathe” T- shirts during warm- ups after Eric Garner died after a police officer choked him. During the 2016 ESPY awards, James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul called for the end of unarmed Black people being killed by law enforcement.
“There will be an enormous amount of media attention focused on the players down there,” Silver said. “For better or worse, they’re going to have a lot of time on their hands. There will be enormous time to engage in social media. ... There will be an opportunity – this is what a lot of players have talked to me about – to meet with each other to talk about what the next steps are.” What could those next steps be? Silver suggested that players could invite guest speakers to talk about various issues, including police reform, why COVID- 19 has impacted Black people the most as well as the employment and wage disparity between the Black community and other groups. Manning advised that players should devote their pregame and postgame interviews on these issues instead of just on basketball. And Ruffin argued that players should increase their charity efforts. Some possibilities could include donating money to ensure more COVID- 19 tests are available to the general public and have their shoe company endorser contribute to racial justice causes.
Not only would the NBA recoup some of its lost television revenue by resuming the season. The league’s players would have more means to financially support these causes as well as create generational wealth.
“That question really is for the guys in the league for a couple of years and playing at the minimum,” Hartmann said. “I don’t know how much say they’ll have in this. If other more high- profile athletes don’t speak out to resume the season, they’re going to quickly be marginalized and bounced out.”
The case to halt the season
That explains why some NBA players have warned others about the financial ramifications over a halted season. The league’s salary cap for next season would dramatically decrease. The league’s owners might terminate the current labor deal for one that has the players earning less lucrative salaries.
“But what about the power structure? Who makes the most money is still the majority white owner base,” Manning said. “They would get their reward. Not only will they still get the money. But how would those owners be held accountable? Would they have any responsibility or pressure.”
That could create more pressure for NBA teams to improve its diversity among its front offices and coaching staffs. It could also give players more time and energy to focus on the movement. And it could force fans to pay more attention to those players’ civic efforts than their on- court performances.
More players could protest throughout the country. They could pen op- eds for The Players’ Tribune or national newspapers. They could establish voting drives. After all, James, Draymond Green, Trae Young, Jalen Rose and Skylar Diggins- Smith spearheaded “More Than a Vote,” which is aimed to protect Black voting rights and increase voter registration.
“Even if there are no games going on, their voices and their platforms are still big,” Leonard said. “The power in their voices transcend the game.”