NBA players using influence to create meaningful change
As a people, as a country, the idea that American citizens with money and clout would use their influence to bend the system to their interests is not new to us. We see it every day. We accept it without much complaint. We celebrate those who do it as entrepreneurs. We even vote them into office.
What NBA and WNBA players, followed by some in Major League Baseball, soccer and tennis have done in pausing the games to put racial justice issues back in front of the public consciousness, is a preview of the power they can wield if they choose to use it.
When speaking loudly or protesting in the streets isn’t enough to get our government to take meaningful action that would help prevent the next George Floyd from being murdered or the next Jacob Blake from being shot, this is the next lever to pull. Sports is a multibillion-dollar industry in America whose tentacles reach into all kinds of businesses and communities. Take that away, and it’s not just our entertain
ment that we miss, it’s a blow to our economy.
In a sense, it’s no different than the social media magnate lobbying not to be regulated, or the real estate tycoon hunting for tax breaks and using every connection and pressure point to make that happen. That’s the system, for better or worse. Life is leverage.
NBA players showed how much they have Wednesday night when the Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, triggering an entire slate of games getting postponed down in the Disney bubble and athletes in other sports following suit.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers indicated that they were against finishing the season, according to two people familiar with Wednesday night’s players meeting. The people requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks. The players met again on Thursday and decided to continue with the playoffs.
It was an understandable decision. Despite the collective frustration and exhaustion of having to fight systemic racism themselves because the people in charge aren’t getting the job done, walking out on the rest of the season would have changed the entire structure of the league for the foreseeable future.
Already sustaining heavy financial losses amid the pandemic, the NBA shutting down again would have almost certainly triggered a new collective bargaining agreement. Players, who get 50 percent of the league’s revenue, would have had a lot of money taken out of their pockets.
It’s no surprise that after agreeing to go into this restrictive bubble in Orlando, away from the real world for months, that NBA players would be devastated by the idea that all the energy they put into social justice initiatives earlier this year didn’t prevent a tragedy like we saw in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
But even if they had taken the nuclear option, there was no plan in place to mobilize and do the kind of hard, policylevel work that it would take to fix policing in this country and address inequality in so many areas. Going home and waiting for things to get better wasn’t going to accomplish anything.
Now it’s up to them to do something. And they have the clout to do it.
That’s the upside of being a citizen in this country, especially one who can bring a major industry to its knees with a refusal to provide services that are in high demand.
Professional sports owners do it all the time when they want tax breaks or arena construction. They have the team, they threaten to take the team away, they either get the machinery of government working for them or they pack up and leave.
If you’re that influential in America and willing enough to put it all on the line, you have a decent chance of getting what you want.
The NBA can’t fix racism, but it touches everything from television networks to video games to retail clothing to building operations in major cities. Its owners are among the wealthiest and most politically connected people in the country whose other holdings include internet shopping conglomerates, restaurant chains, mortgage lenders, private equity, real estate and so much more. Their reach is far and wide. This is a group of people who can get something done.
Whether you believe in their cause, that is the true American way. And never before has there been such motivation to marshal those resources into action that goes beyond painting Black Lives Matter on a basketball court or even marching arm-in-arm with protesters.
NBA players and many other athletes woke up Wednesday realizing their previous efforts weren’t enough to drive the change they wanted to see. But Thursday’s decision to keep playing doesn’t have to be the end of the journey. It’s up to the players now to keep putting the pressure on their owners and their fellow citizens to get something meaningful done. It’s unclear how exactly that will happen. But being motivated to explore the full reach of their power is the first step toward finding out.