When unarmed people are being murdered by “law enforcement” officers without due process should the support for the solution(s) to this ongoing tragedy be implicit or explicit? Let’s back up for 2:58.
The Pros
The Milwaukee Bucks decided to boycott/strike and refused to take the court for the 1st round NBA Playoff game against the Orlando Magic. Shortly thereafter the other NBA teams scheduled to play along with the WNBA, MLB and WNBA games were cancelled), on Tuesday (08/27/20) in protest of the attempted murder of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha Wisconsin Police Officer. Originally ,when discussions were being held for the NBA to restart play in the “Bubble” atmosphere in Orlando Florida, many players were outspoken in dissent against the idea, George Hill of the Milwaukee Bucks for one stated that he did not want Pro Basketball to distract from the ongoing Black Lives Matter struggle in particular.
What Can We Do?
According to this ESPN article, NBA players and the Players Union were trying to figure out what the best path forward in offering solutions to the issue of police brutality against African Americans. Stars like LeBron James and others have used their significant social media platforms to express frustration, anger and call for societal change in order to the address the issues being put forth by the Black Lives Matter movement. Today LeBron went so far as to leverage the power of his team the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers to force owners to use their resources to help find a solution for these ills. But here is the rub, his actions and all other athletes utilizing their platforms are being implicit instead of explicit. Stay with me here.
Can anyone make a real case that the modern (Kennedy era) Democratic Party has more closely represented the interests of African Americans, way more than the modern (Nixon era) Republican Party? Sanity dictates that we cannot even be a serious conversation about which party has because the answer is obvious. The Democratic Party is extremely flawed with Corporate Democrats still firmly calling the shots but even this terrible reality pales in comparison to the atrocities committed and furthered by Republicans and Donald Trump. Voter suppression like tactics like closing polling locations and now pulling out mailboxes in African American communities is part of the past and current strategy of disenfranchisement.
So if this is the case, then the solution is clear, athletes can use their influence to EXPLICITLY endorse, support, and help elect candidates that will become leaders that will truly represent us and tackle the root causes of inequity-racism-brutality. Does becoming an internationally recognized individual forfeit your right to express your ideas for solutions to many of society’s issues?
Emboldened
So picture this, here is LeBron James emboldened and determined to help change things, “I support the progressive movement brought to the public consciousness by Senator Bernie Sanders and led into the future by the squad: made up of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. I support this movement because I know progressives like Senator Sanders were chained to, and arrested in support of African American’s during the 1960s, fighting for their right to the same rights that white Americans enjoy; while others were putting human rights behind political calculations of “personal evolution” or wondering about what the country is “ready for.”
Explicitly vs Implicitly
LeBron didn’t say that, I did. And I also say we ALL need to come out and support and vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, then hold their asses to the fire to start adopting progressive, people first policies that are going get to the root causes of racism, police brutality, inequity…all that. I said that, and LeBron and his fellow NBA players should be explicit and say it too. Way too many have died to be beating around the bush lost in implicit messages. Sometimes the solutions are as simple as, well, Mathematics…
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Alex Paramo
Well for one, Lebron’s family lives in 
From the Left Field Bleachers: COVID University
I once was a college sports fan. Way back when Patrick Ewing used to patrol the lane at Georgetown and the Big East was full of beast teams, I was a fan. As I got older I began turning away from the collegiate game because of the player turnover rate. Players in the NCAA were no longer staying for 4 years and it became harder and harder to identify with a team. I didn’t attend St. John’s University so what connection did I really have to their team if I couldn’t identify the players? To begin with I am no flag waver and besides my alma mater, Queens College, City University of New York is a DII school with an awesome Swimming Team, but hardly a big time sports program.
The Mountain West
When I moved to New Mexico, and attended the University of New Mexico for graduate school, I worked for one of the President’s of UNM where I received a birds-eye view into NCAA Division I athletics. NCAA Division I schools collectively see millions of dollars in revenue individually and billions collectively. The bulk of this money goes to pay Coaches/Administrator salaries and to pay for million dollar marketing campaigns.
Covid 19, as it has in many instances, has peeled the top off of many of our cherished institutions and revealed the true motivations behind their existence: unencumbered profit. It’s one thing to say to adults, “yes there is risk but either you play or don’t get paid.” It’s totally another thing to say to students, “yes there is increased risk but either you play or you can no longer attend school because we will strip your scholarship” and the amenities that it includes, which does not include – a salary.
Sports Center
Let’s be honest, the overwhelming college athletes we see on ESPN are pinning their hopes on becoming professionals in the major sports leagues. The number of athletes who make those major sports leagues is incredibly small. For example, according to the NCAA, only 1.2 of NCAA Mens Basketball Players are chosen for a realistic “chance” to play in the NBA. Similarly, only 1.6 of NCAA Football players are chosen for a realistic “chance” to play in the NFL.
The global pandemic has thrown a whole new set of variables into the equation: healthy life, death and/or a lifetime of illness. University administrators are asking student-athletes to risk their future for a few games that will generate loads of money for their respective universities but no hard cash for them or their loved ones.
Pay for Play for Pay
Under these circumstances, should we force these students to compete without financial compensation that is commensurate with the revenue they generate? Since the NCAA has forbade universities to pay their student-athletes, then these games need to be paused immediately while student athlete eligibility needs to be preserved until the Covid 19 pandemic subsides. What do you think, I would really like to know?
Alex Paramo – find out more about me and my previous articles.
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