On Tuesday night the season looked to be in shambles as the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to come out of their locker room which forced their opponent the Orlando Magic to retreat as well. That began the tidal wave that cancelled the other two games that evening. NBA players had really boycotted in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Soon after that the tensions exploded in the bubble in player’s meeting. The Lakers and Clippers initially voted to just end the season.
Since then cooler heads have prevailed understanding that stopping the playoffs takes away their power instead of using their playoff platforms to their advantage.
Cats like LeBron and Chris Paul reached out to President Obama for advice in putting together a plan to move forward. Obama was in favor of them returning to play once they’d seized the moment to use their power to work with the owners to identify and implement actionable items. The purpose here is to effect positive change. In other words, don’t waste this moment with emotional decisions by taking your ball and running. In order to stay relevant you’ve got to be in front of the cameras.
Continuing the playoffs keeps the message at the forefront every night. Going home takes the power of the networks to deliver your message to the masses away. You’ve got millions of dollars in free advertising for the next month and a half at your disposal. Take advantage of that.
After a call between the players and owners occurred a plan for moving forward was put into place. The NBA and NBPA announced three initiatives:
the formation of a social justice coalition; a commitment from every city where the league has a franchise to convert team facilities into mass-voting locations; and a creation of public service announcements, to be aired by the league’s network partners during every playoff game, aimed at promoting civic engagement in local and national elections and raising awareness about voter access and opportunity.
LeBron’s “More than a Vote” issued a statement after learning that the league was all in with turning their facilities into polls. “We stand ready to support the NBPA’s and NBA’s effort to convert every NBA arena possible into [a] polling location for this fall’s election. More Than A Vote has been laser-focused on this for months — creating new opportunities in cities like Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, and Los Angeles among others — and welcomes the comprehensive effort to provide a safe in-person voting option for our communities during this pandemic that is disproportionately killing Black people.”
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! That’s how to use the platform of the NBA to make a difference. They forced the owners into a corner and told them what they needed them to do in order for the games to resume. Nobody wants to lose money most importantly the players. Yes, walking away from the bubble would hurt the owners but the players message would have dissipated because the networks wouldn’t be airing their individual statements and efforts.
By playing the games they get to stand in front of the cameras that someone else is paying for to keep the message alive that “Black Lives REALLY Do Matter.” It’s boots on the ground and all hands on deck for the NBA and I’m proud of what these young cats are able to do with their platforms. Their leadership in this moment is tremendous.
It reminds me of the Cleveland Summit back on June 4, 1967 when the most powerful black athletes on the planet rallied around Muhammed Ali when he refused to fight in the Vietnam War. They used their platforms to draw attention to the foolishness of a black man fighting for a country that doesn’t love him. Let that sink in for a moment. This country wants people to love it when it’s NEVER loved them back. Enough is enough. Stop me when I start lyin’!