NBA players proclaim: ‘We have to step up and take charge’
Athletes take to social media as they shed image concerns
Saturday’s back page of the New York Daily News, the sports front that declares with a tabloid scream the biggest story of the day, had no one playing sports. No score could be found.
It had a photo of Carmelo Anthony in his Knicks uniform along with the full text of his call to fellow athletes to step up and be heard, all under his words, “The system is broken.”
He was not talking about the triangle offense. The time when athletes protected their “brand” by carefully avoiding controversy and hiding behind “Bull Durham” quotes had ended. The retort “stick to sports” had been rendered powerless and meaningless.
A generation that shares its thoughts had lost interest in being silent. The “real world” would not be ignored.
Athletes had learned to exert their power and influence in the business of their sports and in their own careers in ways that were impossible in decades past. As horrific news filled every form of media last week, athletes spoke out, unconcerned with anyone that might not purchase a basketball shoe with their name on it.
“With the death of Muhammad Ali, you were reminded that wehad forgotten how much athletes had impact in their community,” said John Lucas, who has worked with as many athletes as anyone. “We’re going through a cycle of times.
“Before, the major shoe companies and other people wanted you to be non-controversial. Now, with what is going on, the model is coming back to the athlete. The athlete that speaks out on social issues can be the biggest voice of them all because they reach the kids. They are community leaders now. Their voice is important, and it is being heard.” ‘Athletes should use their voice’
Athletes have taken a stand in many ways for years, but Anthony’s challenge to fellow athletes to be heard was the logical next step and reflects the way the thinking had changed even prior to the shocking deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana, Philando Castile in Minnesota and five police officers in Dallas.
“Shooting 11 cops and killing 5 WILLNOTwork,”Anthonywrote on Instagram. “… I’m calling for all my fellow ATHLETES to step up and take charge. Go to your local officials, leaders, congressman, assemblymen/assemblywoman and demand change. There’s NO more sitting back and being afraid of tackling and addressing political issues anymore. Those days are long gone. We have to step up and take charge.”
Even just a few years ago, when Miami Heat players sent out a photo in which they were wearing hoodies in response to the death of Trayvon Martin or when LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett and others wore “I can’t breathe” T-shirts after the death of Eric Garner, the statements were considered controversial not for their message, but because they came from athletes.
“I had a great sit-down interview with Ambassador (Andrew) Young,” former NBA All-Star and Olympian Steve Smith said of a meeting with the man who served as the top U.S. diplomat to the United Nations in the late 1970s. “He said, ‘You have to really know the situation and before you speak, make sure you have all the information,’ But he said, ‘Athletes should use their voice.’
“I love the way and give credit to a lot of guys in this era who do that, more than we did it our era. Some of that is social media, but the guys have done a fantastic job. We didn’t have social media. Guys speak out in social media. It’s more than just the athlete. The world we live in right now, we need everybody.”
In the past few days, NBA players — including James Harden, James, Dwyane Wade, Serge Ibaka, Anthony Morrow, Matt Barnes Archie Goodwin, Isaiah Thomas, Quincy Acy, Zach Randolph, Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Jared Sullinger, Shane Larkin, Jason Terry, C.J. McCollum and Bradley Beal, have spoken out on Twitter.
“We are all hurting tonight,” James wrote on Thursday. “More violence is not the answer. #StopTheViolence”
The day before the tragedy in Dallas, Harden tweeted. “This. Has. To. Stop.” He added hashtags #altonsterling and #PhilandoCastile along with the message “praying for their families!!!” Acceptable risk
The enormity of last week’s events had shaken the country and of course athletes as well, but there no longer seemed any reason to stay quiet. Players of the stature of Harden or James have an immense platform to be heard. James has more than 31 million followers on Twitter alone, and with that following, an opportunity to influence.
“There’s always been athletes who speak out, but some have bigger platforms now,” Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “I think it’s great that our athletes are speaking out on different things of concern in our country and in the world, the good, the bad comes with that. I think it’s a good thing for our players to speak out. You want to be heard. You want to be noticed. And there is a way to do it, to speak out on issues in our world.”
Decades earlier, Michael Jordan set a standard as a marketable brand as dominant as he was on the court. He was said to have explained his determination to never offend, refusing to use his power to endorse political candidates, particularly North Carolina Democrat Harvey Gantt who was running against Jesse Helms, with the explanation, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
The quote was likely apocryphal. Still, it might represent the attitude in his times before anyone with a social media account had not only easy access to the mechanism to share their positions but the habits of anyone with a smartphone and nimble thumbs.
When Anthony offered his call to action, he specifically addressed the potential damage to marketability as a cost worth accepting.
“We can’t worry about what endorsements we gonna lose or whose going to look at us crazy,” Anthony wrote. “I need your voices to be heard. We can demand change. We just have to be willing to. THE TIME IS NOW. IM all in. Take Charge. Take Action. DEMAND CHANGE.”