As a child I used to hear my grandmother, who was born in 1912, say I’m just tired of being sick and tired. As I got older I would hear my mother say, “I’m tired of being sick and tired.” Now that I’m a grown man with my own family. I’m repeating the same thing. “I’m tired of being sick and tired!
On Wednesday the NBA players screamed to the top of their lungs that they were also “Tired of being sick and tired” as they boycotted their respective games. The Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out of the locker room and then the Orlando Magic left the court as their game had to be cancelled.
Later in the evening the other games were cancelled and the Lakers and Clippers voted to end their seasons with LeBron eventually walking out of the meeting followed by both teams.
We’re tired of being sick and tired of seeing the police gun us down on the streets like animals and nobody is being held accountable. We’re tired of being sick and tired of white folks like Nikki Haley telling us that racism doesn’t exist because we’ve had one black president over the span of 231 years.
What these players did on Wednesday night was epic. We’re tired of the slogans and the nice messages to inform the world that Black Lives Matter and that we want justice and equality. It’s cool to put slogans down the middle of streets and wear them on the backs of jerseys but it’s time to hold folks accountable.
By boycotting the remainder of the season they’ve put the multi-billionaires with all of the juice and political power on blast to make some things happen. By not playing they’ve gotten into these cats pockets. Not only is the NBA as an organization about to lose the rest of their shirts but they’re on the hook for the advertising dollars they’ve already collected from their sponsors.
The owners have the real power of being able to put pressure on city government and the political powers that be to arrest these dirty cops, hold folks accountable and force policy changes. Money talks and well…y’all know the rest.
What these players did on Wednesday night will become part of American history and most importantly black American history. What they did was on some Muhammad Ali type level of influence. The Lakers, Clippers and Bucks sacrificed an opportunity to win a championship to save black lives.
And for the idiots saying that they need to hoop because a championship is on the line doesn’t understand how important this moment is for the betterment of all people and not just black folks.
Kenny Smith sure does. He decided after seeing the players boycott the games and not play. He walked off of the TNT set in solidarity with the players being a former player himself.
Oh this is real playa!!! What we’re seeing is a shift in thinking and understanding that this is bigger than self. This is bigger than just getting richer and more famous. This is bigger than winning a championship that won’t change the lives of other people. This is bigger than basketball. It’s about changing the futures of generations of black people in America. It’s about making life safer for our people as we try to live a normal life without being marked like animals by the police.
We’re tired of being sick and tired and our children’s children shouldn’t have to still be saying it 100 years from now. Salute to the new generation of players and activists that understand their power to make change. Stop me when I start lyin’!
