Throughout NBA history, there\u2019s been a constellation of stars who have taken their jobs as a professional athlete so seriously that they want to use their platform to educate, not just entertain.<\/p>\n
Due to progressive nature of sports, an entity and environment through which societal barriers can be broken, this often takes the form of activism. Indeed, while Hall of Famers like Bill Russell<\/a>\u00a0and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a> are renowned for their basketball skills, they\u2019re revered for championing social justice. Two decades later, players like Allen Iverson<\/a> became the poster child for athletes who didn\u2019t feel the need to whitewash themselves or downplay their Blackness to be palatable to the masses.<\/p>\n Today, it\u2019s all but the norm for athletes who are unapologetically Black \u2014those comfortable in their skin, proud of their culture, and protective of their history\u2014to speak out against racial inequalities. LeBron James spearheaded this campaign initially, becoming the spokesperson on civil rights issues for a time. His contemporaries and friends \u2014Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade \u2014became increasingly vocal about such matters.<\/p>\n The reaction to the league speaking out about significant sociocultural issues has been mixed.<\/p>\n Some are discomforted, even discombobulated, by the tough conversations needed to enact change. Indeed, in assessing the league\u2019s declining viewership, the political landscape is a major factor. Even those who aren\u2019t conservative or outright bigoted would rather watch a sport where they don\u2019t have to think too hard about the harsh realities of life, like baseball or soccer. These sports will certainly address racism when they encounter it. However, they aren\u2019t catering their leagues towards Black athletes. They aren\u2019t running social justice campaigns.<\/p>\n The NBA is though.<\/p>\n It\u2019s for this reason that the impending NBA Finals showdown is about more than basketball. When the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks face off, it\u2019s not just a battle between two teams with two All-Stars. It\u2019s a matchup between two men who are among the new faces of NBA activism. That they play in cities and states that are historical prejudiced against non-Whites, it\u2019s even more powerful.<\/p>\n Celtics wing Jaylen Brown<\/a> may be embracing a heel role because he isn\u2019t getting his just due as a player. Nonetheless, he remains one of the league\u2019s best role models. He\u2019s gregarious and generous, intelligent and cultured. He\u2019s in many ways still an academic. In an age where Black boys and men need a Benjamin Banneker or George Washington Carver to look up to, Brown is much like them.<\/p>\n He\u2019s quick to point out injustices, even leading a peaceful protest against police brutality in Atlanta after George Floyd\u2019s murder. he\u2019s also investing in tangible solutions, like creating the Bridge Program<\/a> at prestigious MIT. In doing so, he\u2019s helping improve the appeal and accessibility of STEM programs to Black youths. Organizations such as The 7uice Foundation<\/a> are also intended to address the long reach of systemic racism. The fact that he\u2019s doing all of this while carrying himself in such a mature manner just makes it that much more important.<\/p>\n When Brown steps on the court, he\u2019s not just a basketball player, he\u2019s a symbol of Black power. In his own words, Brown \u201clooks at it as a responsibility<\/a>,\u201d per Boston 25 News\u2019 Kerry Kavanaugh. \u201cAthletes in general, entertainers, you know, are so influential\u2026 The power in that is amazing to be able to use that for positivity and to uplift a community or be a voice for the voiceless.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s address the elephant in the room<\/a>. Mavs star Kyrie Irving<\/a>\u2019s intentions have not always matched the realities of his activism. His once harmless conspiracy theories became increasingly problematic over time. This culminated in Irving advancing an antisemetic theory in his efforts to shine a light of the hidden history of African-Americans.<\/p>\n That being said, what\u2019s been ignored by many who assessed Irving\u2019s character at the time was that he was spurred by a desire to uncover the truths of Black history. For many African descendants, their recorded history starts on the North American landmass. There\u2019s no way to trace their family tree all the way back to their motherland because their ancestors were enslaved. They were humans seen as chattel, with their kidnappers and abusers treating them worse than animals. Irving, a truth-seeker, missed the mark when assuming Black Americans are the original Israelites. However, this only served to highlight an issue that\u2019s discussed but irregularly; the plight of Irving and other\u2019s Black ancestors was so great that their family history wrongly and inconceivably starts with slavery.<\/p>\nCeltics-Mavs Finals Showdown Is Bigger Than Basketball<\/h2>\n
Jaylen Brown<\/h3>\n
Kyrie Irving<\/h3>\n