FREEDOM of choice reverberates in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This was proven anew with the recent approval by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver of the league’s active involvement in social justice issues precipitated by the death a while back of George Floyd, black, while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Admirable, to say the least.
Four policemen are now facing murder charges in Floyd’s death in May that caused massive protests anchored on racial discrimination that horrendously expanded into anarchy and looting across many major cities in America.
The NBA Players Association, with Silver’s imprimatur, has adopted 29 socially-tainted messages for players to choose from to replace the player’s name at the back of the jersey.
JaVale McGee, the Los Angeles’ veteran center, said he will wear “Respect Us” on his jersey when the Lakers play the Los Angeles Clippers on July 30 in the NBA restart in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s a blessing to have this platform,” McGee told AP. “We have way more of a voice playing basketball…. Our fans are basketball fans over anything. This is the biggest platform we can speak about social injustices. That’s the best time to talk about it.”
But some players aren’t using any of the messages on their jerseys, among them Lakers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who are definitely two of the league’s biggest stars.
“For me, I think the name ‘Davis’ is something I try to represent every time I step on the floor,” said Davis, a seven-time NBA All-Star. “I just think my last name is something that’s very important to me, and also social justice, as well. But I’m just representing my name on the back to go through this process…and people who have been with me through my entire career to help me get to this point, while still kind of bringing up things that we can do for social injustice.”
James was the first to forego replacing his name with a social message, saying it did not “resonate” for him about the movement. He said he would have liked to choose his own slogan, but added he wasn’t angry that it wasn’t allowed.
“It was no disrespect to the list that was handed down to all the players,” said James. “I commend anyone that decides to put something on the back of their jersey. It’s just something that didn’t seriously resonate with my mission, my goal.”
In fairness, James has been widely known to propagate progressive issues, even building a school for the marginalized in his hometown Akron, Ohio.
“It’s great that a lot of people’s ears are opening,” said James. “We will continue to push the envelope and let everyone know that we are human as well. We don’t want to be just be used for our God-given abilities.”
Some love noise, shouting their cause from rooftops.
But sometimes, the message is better heard when delivered in deafening silence.
THAT’S IT If reports are true, the virus scare has hardly subsided as spikes of Covid-19 infections continue to be recorded in many parts of the country. That should give new worries to our sports leaders, some of whom seem to be in a hurry to prod their players to return to action. Look before you leap, puleeez?