BEHIND THE PROS
Support comes after NBA teams kept highlighting social issues with walkouts
Hampton Roads high school players and coaches offer support for pro athletes’ walkouts over police violence and systemic racism.
Tyler Neville vividly recalls the moment the Black Lives Matter movement resonated with him. He was on a Zoom conference in June with the new Harvard University football teammates he joined on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Some Black teammates talked of carefully choosing clothing to wear off-campus that identifies them as Harvard students. Their belief is that affiliation with the academically prestigious school lessens the possibility law enforcement might racially profile them as potentially dangerous young Black men.
“As a white male, I have never thought about my clothing that way,” said Neville, who graduated from Lafayette High in June. “Half my friends growing up were Black, but I had never realized that my Black friends had it harder.
“That (Zoom conference) was the first time I saw that perspective. After that, it made it easier to hop on and be a part of (the Black Lives Matter movement).”
That sentiment seems to be gaining momentum among area athletes and coaches following walkouts by professional athletes in protest over the shooting by police of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Walkouts to highlight a desire for social justice for the Black community forced the postponement of NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games, as well as a
day of a tennis tournament.
The walkouts appear to have widespread support among area high school coaches and athletes — Black and white, male and female — who share pro athletes’ stated goals of equality and ending systemic racism.
“I think they are using the resources they have and the platform they have to make people take notice,” Landstown High boys basketball coach Dwight Robinson said. “The whole thing is about humanity, the treatment of others and how we coexist with one another where we can each have progress.”
Nansemond River boys basketball player Justin Fatherly said, “I like what they’re doing with the boycott, but I don’t think it’s going to stop what’s physically happening.
“People have to change the way they think about (minorities) and get rid of the hate in their heart.”
Like many Black teenagers who fear interaction with police, Fatherly says his parents have had “The Talk” with him. They advised Fatherly, who will play junior-college basketball in Michigan, that if he was ever pulled over by police while driving, to place his hands on the steering wheel and be cooperative.
Jamestown High basketball players Xavier Brown and Mike Allen, both Black, listened to the same talk. They heeded their parents’ advice so literally that, although they were sitting in the back seat when a white friend was pulled over several months ago, both placed their hands on the seat in front of them so they could be seen.
“My (non-Black) friends in the front seat asked me why we did that and said, ‘They’re not going to do anything to you,’ ” Brown said. “I told them, ‘You guys just don’t understand,’ and a few days later they apologized to us.
“I’m a teenager, and in three months I get my driver’s license and I’m excited about that. I’m ready to grow up, but the thought of being pulled over by a police officer terrifies me right now.”
Allen said, “We were doing what our parents have always told us: ‘Don’t make any sporadic moves and don’t reach for anything.’ ”
Alex Chaikin, a Jamestown teammate of Brown and Allen, said, “I feel for them. Part of me is grateful I don’t have to go through that, but I’m also sad that we live in a day and age that still happens and they (still feel) fear.
“As a white American, we have to do our part. We’re not going get anywhere until we all come together to support social justice.”
That is why so many are applauding NBA stars such as LeBron James and Chris Paul for giving the issues of social justice and police relations such a high profile.
“Some people think athletes are dumb, but they’re using their platform to promote change, so they’re smarter than any politician in the country,” Neville said. “Right now, athletes are the best and brightest in the country.
“I think they are going to really make a change.”
Some political commentators would beg to differ. One prominent Fox News personality has advised James to “shut up and dribble.”
“Athletes are like anybody else, they’re intelligent human beings,” Robinson said. “The whole fight is about how you see athletes, how you see African Americans and what you think their worth is to you.
“The ‘shut up and dribble’ statement is what they’re trying to bring to light and fight against.”
Jamestown boys basketball coach Chris Brown, Xavier’s father, said, “That kind of statement is an outdated mindset by those who have not embraced the truth of what we’re living with in 2020 and have dealt with for 400 years.
“I’m proud of the NBA players for their commitment to bringing social justice. My prayer is people will continue to have this conversation.”
Hampton High girls basketball coach Shanda Bailey and Crabbers standout Danielle McTeer, a William & Mary recruit, are proud of the stand the WNBA players have taken — not only recently but throughout the season.
Prior to walking out, each Washington Mystics player wore a white shirt with a letter of Jacob Blake’s name in black. Seven red dots, symbolizing the seven bullet holes in Blake’s back, were on the backs of their shirts.
WNBA players already had dedicated the season to “Say Her Name,” bringing awareness of female victims of police and racial violence. They’ve worn jerseys bearing the name of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old killed in March by police who entered her apartment in Kentucky using a no-knock warrant.
“It’s a great example for our young people about (strength) in numbers and that small acts can lead to big gains,” Bailey said.
McTeer said, “I’m proud that the WNBA players were all on the same page and made such a big statement. A lot of people weren’t really familiar with everything going on in the country with police brutality.
“I feel like the awareness part is so important, because we all become more sensitive to the things that are happening and are talking. When you’re trying to make a change, that’s a big step, and it’s a really, really, really good thing right now.”