Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Iguodala: MLK celebration about more than one day
When Andre Iguodala was asked to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day ahead of the Miami Heat’s holiday matinee Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena, the veteran forward stressed the meaning had to be about more than a moment in time.
“For me,” he said ahead of the game against the Detroit Pistons, “it’s not just the day that I try to make a statement or make a stance on something. For me, it’s an everyday thing, and it’s an everyday lifestyle.
“Black History Month isn’t just a month for me. It’s a daily occurrence. I think that’s becoming more commonplace amongst our African-American athletes, as well. You see them having stances and voicing not just their opinions, but voicing their experiences in the world and shedding light on some of the things that have occurred since the beginning of the existence of the country. Just bringing more awareness to it. So it’s not one particular day or month for us. It’s a daily thing.”
The NBA completed last season with the message “Black Lives Matter” emblazoned on the courts at Disney World. Those games were played in a quarantine bubble setting amid a coronavirus pandemic that continues to require a focus of its own.
“With all the madness going on,” Iguodala said, “it kind of drowns out what we’re trying to do.
“But you see a lot more players voicing themselves and collaborating on initiatives and some of the things that we’re trying to do. For us, it’s not just one day. So [Monday] is a special day to us. But we’re in that mode right now that every day is a special day in terms of the leaps and bounds that we’re trying to push for and trying to be a beacon of light to help push for what Dr. Martin Luther King and other significant, impactful African-Americans throughout history have stood for.”
The efforts initiated over the summer were heartening, said Iguodala, first vice president of the National Basketball Players Association.
“Well,” he said, “you see some progress, obviously with the number of voters we have come out. It’s not particularly who you align yourself with politically, but just getting out to vote. I don’t think people get the gist in terms of what voter suppression is. A lot of the work we were doing, a lot of the brainstorming and a lot of the meetings we had, were primarily on raising voter suppression awareness. A lot of people didn’t have that understanding, and just getting people out to vote and opening arenas was a huge part of that. That initiative seemed to have a large effect, and we met that goal. And we’re still going to continue to push forward.
“We have another initiative we’re pushing on something very dear and close to our hearts, particularly with the George Floyd bill that we’re trying to bring awareness to dealing with the Senate.”
That bill, introduced on June 8 by California Rep. Karen Bass, “addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It includes measures to increase accountability for law enforcement misconduct, to enhance transparency and data collection, and to eliminate discriminatory policing practices.”
That bill has passed the House but remains parked in the Senate, with no action since July 20.
In other words, work, Iguodala said, ongoing.
“So a lot goes into it that’s not seen,” he said of the effort of the players’ union. “I think the guys that are working on it behind the scenes understand that and are perfectly fine with not getting any credit or people not knowing the actions that we’re taking.
“As long as the results are where we need them to be, we’re happy with that. We still got a long way to go.”