The NBA community speaks up about George Floyd’s Death
While the National Basketball Association is still trying to finalize a plan to return to play and conclude the 2019-2020 campaign, that hasn’t stopped current or former players from staying in the spotlight and speaking up about the current state of the United States of America.
Last week, George Floyd was tragically killed by a police officer in Minneapolis sparking race riots across the country with protests often turning violent. We immediately saw the sports world and the NBA specifically taking to social media and other mediums to get their message across.
“I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” said Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan in a statement released on Sunday. “I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of colour in our country. We have had enough.”
Although Jordan had often been criticized during his playing days for not being more vocal about prominent political issues facing the black community, even he refused to silent after Floyd’s death.
“I don’t have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality,” Jordan continued.
“We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systemic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all.
“My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd and to the countless others whose lives have been brutally and senselessly taken through acts of racism and injustice.”
Jordan was far from the only one to release a statement, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also writing an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
“Yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage, just as when fans celebrating a hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy storefronts. I don’t want to see stores looted or even buildings burn,” wrote Abdul-Jabbar. “But African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.”
Even in Toronto – the NBA’s only non-American city – Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri wrote a piece in the Globe and Mail to share his thoughts and discuss his experiences.
“Ever since I first saw the video, I’ve been thinking about the cycle. A death like this happens, and we rage about it, and the headlines recede, and the world moves on, and then a few weeks later something else happens and we’re outraged again and then we move on, again. We have to stop that cycle,” Ujiri wrote.
It was just last year following the Raptors’ game six victory in the NBA finals against the Golden State Warriors in California where Ujiri was physically prevented by a police officer from stepping onto the court to celebrate his team’s championship.
“I can’t write about this issue without acknowledging what happened to me last June. It’s been widely reported, but I’ll summarize it again. Our team had just won the NBA championship and I was rushing to get on the court to celebrate. I was stopped, physically stopped, by a police officer, and the confrontation turned nasty. There’s a lawsuit that’s still before the courts – he is suing me – so I can’t say too much,” said Ujiri.
“But I will say this: If it was another team president heading for the court – a white team president – would he have been stopped by that officer? I’ve wondered that.
“I recognize what happened in Oakland last June is very different from what happened in Minneapolis last Monday. My own experience only cost me a moment; Mr. Floyd’s experience cost him his life.”
Ujiri founded Giants of Africa in 2003 with the objective to help discover and harness talent across Africa.
It remains to be seen when the NBA will return to action, but players and executives are not waiting until then to speak up.
