From Last Word on Pro Basketball, by Harrison Marcus
As the 2016 calendar year comes to an end, the LWOS MCXM series captures the 10 most captivating moments and storylines from 2016 in each sport. For LWOPB, we take a look at the 10 events that drew headlines this past year, bringing drama, excitement, or intrigue to the NBA.
This article of the series takes a look at the actions NBA players took this past year amidst the difficult social issues that arose in 2016. While NBA players did not take a knee like Colin Kaepernick, they still took a commanding role in igniting social change in America.
NBA Most Captivating Storylines of 2016: NBA Players Speak Out on Social Issues
Unfortunately, many racist, divisive, and violent incidents dominated the news in 2016. This has been quite an unsettling and challenging year for Americans, a year that many are more than willing to leave in the past. Social tensions heightened during the summer, when two African-American men – Alton Sterling and Philando Castile – were fatally shot by white police officers during the same week. This prompted anger towards the police force, highlighted by the killing of five police offers by an African-American male in Dallas as a means of retaliation.
These violent crimes against humanity left the country left pondering the best ways to restore unity in the United States. The American people were scared and concerned. Injustice cannot be tolerated. Racism cannot be tolerated. And police brutality cannot be tolerated. Everyone agreed the country needed change and togetherness, but how would this be implemented? No one knew the exact answer, but at least many Americans, including many NBA players, began to try to bring change to our nation.
Multiple NBA players recognized their power to not only inspire fans on the basketball court, but to influence their fans off the court as well. They understood that they had the ability to let their message be heard, whether it be through locking arms during the national anthem, holding town hall meetings, or starting off the ESPY’s – one of the largest sports platforms of the year – with a solemn, inspirational message addressing the racial tensions in America. Kudos to Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James for igniting a series of actions taken by the NBA and its players.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCjMvEdPi30
Carmelo Anthony in particular has been a pioneer of social activism this past year. In late July, he organized a town hall meeting between his Olympic teammates, teenagers of minority descents, and police officers to discuss the issues at the forefront of American society and possible change to resolve them.
Similarly, the Sacramento Kings organized a town hall meeting of their own in early November. Joined by the King players and representatives, young students and members of the police force asked and answered difficult questions. All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who also put together a similar meeting in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, said, “I think it [the town hall meeting] was a beautiful thing. I think it was a positive thing. I think it was steps in the right direction.”
In yet another example of NBA players taking action, Charlotte Hornets owner and basketball icon Michael Jordan donated $1 million to the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s New Institute for Community-Police Relations and $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In a statement addressing the difficult state of America, Jordan said that he was “troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers.”
The interactions between celebrity NBA players – 74% of whom are African-American – police officers, and minority citizens have been vital to restoring peace among the American people.
Amidst the social tensions that arose in 2016, the NBA continued to build upon its reputation as the professional sports league most closely associated with social change. The NBA has consistently been lightyears ahead of the NFL, MLB, and NBA with regard to social liberalism. Just take a look at the permanent ban of Donald Sterling for his vulgar, racist comments and Adam Silver‘s decision to remove the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina due to the state’s anti-LGBT legislation.
There were countless other examples of the NBA and its players speaking out against the hate that dominated American society in 2016. It has been extremely important for such an influential organization and its celebrity athletes to play such an active role in society’s more controversial issues. Unfortunately, there were many challenges in need of being addressed, yet fortunately, the NBA was there to address them.
Main Photo
