Floyd’s murder changed sports forever
Running off at the typewriter …
After watching and listening to the reaction of so many athletes and coaches in the wake of Derek Chauvin being found guilty of murdering George Floyd, it made me realize just how much sports itself has changed since Floyd’s death.
Although we had athletes speaking out and kneeling down before May 25, 2020, it was Floyd’s death that motivated and mobilized athletes, coaches and entire leagues to do even more.
We’ve seen athletes across all spectrums become involved in town-hall discussions with local police forces and voting-rights movements within their communities.
We’ve seen college athletes leading protests on campuses nationwide and using their voices and platforms like never before.
We’ve seen NFL commissioner Roger Goodell do an about-face and offer an apology to Colin Kaepernick, saying he wished the league had listened to the quarterback’s reasoning for kneeling sooner and promising the league would “encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
Right here in Central Florida, we’ve seen Orlando Magic coaches, players and executives become activists for social-justice reform and support voter-registration campaigns in partnership with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. We’ve seen Magic coach Steve Clifford become a member of the Police Reform Task Force. We’ve seen Magic ownership commit to contributing $10 million to the $300 million of initial funding to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community.
We’ve seen the Milwaukee
Bucks refuse to take the floor (against the Magic) during a playoff game in the NBA bubble last summer to protest another police shooting in Wisconsin, followed by the postponement of other NBA playoff games, Major League Baseball games and WNBA games. Before that, never in the annals of American sports, had games been postponed because of a player boycott.
UCF professor Dr. Richard Lapchick, who is the director of The Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport and is considered the nation’s foremost expert on racial issues in sports, told me at the time of the Milwaukee Bucks protest: “This is the most dramatic display of sports showing how powerful of an influence it can be on our society that I’ve ever seen. … The difference between now and the 1960s is that back then we had just a few athletes [Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, etc.] who were willing to take action, but now you have an entire league and its players taking action.”
No doubt about it, George Floyd’s murder was literally a game-changer.
It convinced athletes, coaches, commissioners and owners that their voices and influence could and should resonate far beyond the boundaries of their respective sports.
Short stuff: All of this talk of soccer’s European Super League (ESL) has spawned discussion of college football powerhouses starting their own super league. Haven’t they already done that? It’s called the SEC! … By the way, it was fascinating to see rival European soccer fans protesting side by side to quickly and effectively bring down the failed ESL. You had Liverpool fans, whose team would have been included in the Super League, protesting alongside Everton fans, whose team would have been left out of the Super League. Could you imagine this happening with Florida and Florida State football fans? If the Gators were to be included in a Super League and the Seminoles weren’t, the message from UF fans would have been an obnoxious middle finger and four words: “See ya later, suckers!” … By the way, I just read where JP Morgan was going to provide the $6 billon to fund the aborted ESL. Wow, she’s really come a long way since The Gong Show .…
There’s rightfully been a lot of talk about Gators freakish tight end Kyle Pitts leading up to next week’s NFL Draft, but let’s take a moment to consider how good another UF tight end — Jordan Reed — could have been without the concussion and injury issues that caused him to retire earlier this week. … Did you see where the PGA Tour is going to start giving lucrative financial bonuses to those golfers who “move the needle?” This is slightly different from Major League Baseball, which gave lucrative financial bonuses for decades to players who used the needle!!! … Alabama Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver DeVonta Smith was measured the other day at 6-foot and a scant 166 pounds. I’m not saying he’s too skinny to withstand the pounding of the NFL, but he is the only player in the upcoming draft who uses a Cheerio as a Hula Hoop. … Did you see where Hester Ford, the oldest American, died a few days ago at age 116. That means she was almost old as some of Dick Vitale’s clichés . ...
Hard to believe it actually became a trending topic last week that Trevor Lawrence isn’t motivated to be a great NFL player because he told SI he doesn’t have a “chip on his shoulder.” Why in the world would he or should he have a chip on his shoulder? Quarterbacks who are 5-foot-10 and drafted in the seventh round have chips on their shoulder; not No. 1 overall draft picks who are 6-foot-6 with a howitzer arm and movie-star good looks. … The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed reserve quarterback Ryan Griffin. As you can see, it pays massive dividends to be the guy who whisked away an inebriated Tom Brady after the Super Bowl boat parade!!! ... Alabama got a commitment a few days ago from Jaheim Oatis, a four-star offensive lineman who was originally offered a scholarship as an eighth grader. Hey, it’s a lot cheaper to buy a recruit a new skateboard instead of a new car. …
Last word: Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris, appearing on“The Pat McAfee Show,” on why he gave up baseball for golf: “The only thing I could hit was low and away, which is where a golf ball is, so I was like, the hell with this.”
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel. com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my “Open Mike” radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and HD 101.1-2