Shoulder to shoulder. From baseline to baseline. Sea to sea shining.
NBA’s reopening that they wanted to make sure got out." data-reactid="17">Inside a mostly empty youth sports facility, inside a bubble designed to prevent coronavirus entry, Utah Jazz and New Orleans pelicans made a statement before the NBA reopened that they wanted to make sure To go out.
Black lives matter, of course. Police brutality must end. Equality must be pursued.
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It was more than that, though.
When it comes to social justice issues in the United States, there will be no fear of punishment, there will be no holding back to appease some segment of the masses. If the old days have to go, then they also make the old fears of what some might think.
It is time, according to most Americans, for a significant change in the country, and if having players on their knees during the pre-game national anthem is too big a change for you to accept, then go ahead because this generation will go on without of you.
NBA is just going to shrug press on without you. " data-reactid="27">If the sight of the players demonstrating this turns you off as you turn the canal, then the NBA will just shrug your shoulders without you.
This was a moment of reflection, a moment of contemplation, a moment to consider what the players were trying to say. It was time to listen to them, not to shout them.
The players would dribble early enough. Before the game, they certainly were not silent, without saying a word.
While an instrumental version of New Orleans native Jon Batiste’s Star-Spangled Banner was being played, both teams silently fell to their knees. They connected their arms or placed them on the other’s shoulders. Some raised their fists. Coaches attended. Even game officials. Whites. Coloured people. Americans. International players.
The pelicans of New Orleans and Utah Jazz kneel around the Black Lives Matter logo on the field during the national anthem before Thursday’s NBA restart. (Photo AP / Ashley Landis, Pool)
What they proudly greeted.
“Black Lives Matter” was painted in front of them on the field. Social justice messages have been stitched back in their uniforms.
It was respectful. It was peaceful. It has been unified. It was appropriate.
It was patriotic.
And it was a reversal for a league that remained after Kaepernick. It wasn’t that players or coaches weren’t explicit when it came to politics. They were. And then some.
Business was considered business, however, and the rules of the league that prohibited hymn protests were followed. Not now though. Not in 2020. Not after George Floyd.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. " data-reactid="48">“I respect the unified act of peaceful protest of our social justice teams and in these unique circumstances I will not enforce our longstanding rule requiring resistance during the execution of our national anthem,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a note.
America is changing and changing rapidly. This can be a little scary.
NFL games, the backlash was significant. Now, a CBS News poll says that 58 percent of Americans view it as an “acceptable” form of protest. For younger Americans, the number is far higher." data-reactid="50">In 2016, when Colin Kaepernick first sat down, then knelt during the anthem before the NFL games, the backlash was significant. Now, a CBS News poll says 58 percent of Americans consider it an “acceptable” form of protest. For young Americans, the number is much higher.
NBA, lining up with the future. As part of the deal to get players to leave their communities and sequester in a Disney World bubble for the 2020 playoffs, the league accepted that they would find a way to get their message out. " data-reactid="51">And so here came the NBA, in line with the future. As part of the deal to get players to leave their communities and kidnap a 2020 Disney bubble for the 2020 playoffs, the league agreed that they would find ways to spread their message.
It was not possible for the players to ignore the opportunity. A few hours earlier, the civil rights icon and United States representative John Lewis had been put to rest in Atlanta. As a young Lewis, he risked being beaten and jailed to break down the lunch stands and bus stations, to push for the right to vote and fair justice.
He has often called his tactics “a big deal”.
In this case, there were no problems either.
There will be critics, of course. The anthem means different things to different people. There will be fans who swear the championship. There will be howls from some media and many politicians. There will be shouts of “What about China?” and there is no doubt that the silent criticisms of the NBA about that country are wrong and problematic.
That said, the contraction of “China, China, China” is doubtful. How many of those screams really care about China or do they just want to choke players? How many hold other multinational corporations, or the federal government itself, to the same standards?
It is an old game book tired in this tired old fight. This is what America is like, it was and always will be. Any forward action will be satisfied by resistance. This too will be.
But in the end what seemed threatening to some will seem incredible to their children and grandchildren. Were there actually people so opposed to desegregated restaurants or the African American vote?
Yes, there really were.
Are there people who are truly outraged that Zion Williamson took a knee?
Yes, they are actually there.
NBA no longer opposes it. " data-reactid="66">It is the right of the players to make their statement. The NBA no longer opposes.
And it is the right of the fans who cannot accept it to go and see something else.
NBA is clear on where it wants things to head and what audiences it wants to serve — it is showing it, without apology, stretched out for all to see, from one end of the court to the other." data-reactid="68">This is America. Old and new. The NBA is clear about where it wants things to go and what audiences it wants to serve – it is showing it, without apology, reaching out from everyone across the field.
