TORONTO – Even if the NBA returns to play, the important ongoing conversation about social and racial justice and police brutality must not be lost.
This is what Toronto Raptors striker Rondae Hollis-Jefferson believes, and has suggested pleading with members of the media who took part in his availability after the Raptors practiced Saturday night to continue the conversation.
“One last thing. I just wanted to say. I didn’t say anything, I just wanted to see how the questions were asked and what you guys wanted to ask, “said Hollis-Jefferson. “Now, some of you have the biggest platforms in the media and in the discussion points and many people follow you guys so I want to challenge you all, friend.
“We know what’s going on in the world and where our focus should be. I know basketball has been lost and is loved, but there are a lot of crazy things going on in this universe and we need you guys along with many other people to spread this word, to spread this message, that we need unity. We need love. We need positivity and this starts with us and then starts with you guys because you guys spread our message.
“So please, please take this a little more seriously. I thank you guys. “
All nine questions that reporters pressured Hollis-Jefferson during his eight-minute media session were related to basketball, including how he felt he was out there after a long layoff during the scrum. Friday with the Houston Rockets, how do you think to adapt the team’s offense and, in full, a question I asked about what the bench he was part of looked like on Friday evening.
It was a surprising moment, but it was also a good reminder from Hollis-Jefferson to myself and others in my profession that there is certainly much more than just basketball right now and that we in the media have a responsibility to ask. these types of questions are relevant to ensure that this message is not buried during the discussion of pick-and-roll coverage and scores.
At this point, after a moment of light fun with teammate Stanley Johnson who asked a few questions to kick off his media readiness, the first question that a journalist asked Pascal Siakam on Saturday was about the social justice message that he’s going to wear on his shirt.
Like other Raptors, Siakam plans to wear “Black Lives Matter” on his shirt because, as Norman Powell pointed out for the first time, he was not a fan of the limited options offered by the league and this message “was the closest to that what I meant. “
In general, although while Siakam thinks shirts are nice gestures, he thinks that the emphasis should be on the real cause rather than the means of getting the message across.
“I felt that” Black Lives Matter “was closest to what I wanted to say and, at the same time, I don’t think it’s important, man, to have just something on our shirt,” said Siakam. “It is the work we have to do on the other side that it will show.
“We all have to get to work and I think our team is doing a fantastic job finding ways to do it [make] effective change and do something that will mean something. It will not be just something where we have something on our shirts and forget it. “
This is a point well clarified by Siakam. The cause is certainly more important than the simple messaging of the cause, but getting it doesn’t even detract from the importance of messaging.
Although the options are limited, the social justice messages that will be on the back of the shirts are still a good way to remind people of the ongoing struggle that is taking place now. Likewise, an initiative that seemed to debut with Raptors’ coach Nick Nurse and his Rockets counterpart Mike D’Antoni is another good way to keep the conversation in mind for people.
Both the nurse and D’Antoni wore large rectangular pins with the message “Trainers for racial justice”, with the last two words in that message in large capital letters, making it easy for viewers to see it.
“We talked about the fact that coaches spent a lot of time in meetings, Zoom calls, etc., with a number of initiatives,” said Nurse. “This is only one, very small, that that group has conceived, produced and produced. I like them. … They are quite large, they are quite bold. “
And that’s exactly how you will attract people’s attention and ensure that this important battle against racial injustice will not end until justice is served.
All around the NBA, from players, coaches, signage along the floor, commercials and more, the truth that black lives matter is preached. And as Hollis-Jefferson reminded us, the media must do it too.
