The Milwaukee Bucks were supposed to play Game 5 of the first round series against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, but with yet another shooting of a black man at the hands of police, they postponed their game, taking yet another stand for not just going against social injustice, but also for Black Lives Matter. Such stances on these issues have been nothing new, from protests throughout the world regarding the death of George Floyd, and even further back for protests in response to the deaths of Travyon Martin, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor. Even now in a highly critical and crucial time in America, athletes are using their voices more than ever to champion social injustices and using their platform to augment the awareness of Black Lives Matter and how things need to change.
With the recent shooting of Jacob Blake making headlines and furthering the logic that Black lives need to matter, the NBA postponed their games that Wednesday in observation of the matter, leading to yet another halt on the season in order to address the issue. A late night meeting was held on the NBA campus grounds on whether or not to end the season to tackle this disturbing matter. The NBA has been highly vocal with their stance on supporting the Black Lives Matter movement as evidenced with the words labeled on the courts during the restart season and head coaches wearing signs that read “Coaches for Racial Justice.” Thankfully, the season won’t be canceled, but the observation of Black Lives Matter will be heightened beyond the maximum.
It’s not the just the NBA that are making a statement for this kind of issue also. The NHL, MLB, MLS, and WNBA have also made their voices heard when they also postponed their games in response to the Jacob Blake. Though many athletes have stepped up in their observance for social injustices, we should not forget that Colin Kaepernick made a stand when he knelt down during the playing of the national anthem, which many saw as an offense, or even athletes of the past like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and especially Muhammad Ali, who’ve all taken a stand for Black America during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
It should bother all of America when an unarmed black man is gunned down seven times and paralyzed from the waist down by police, yet a 17 year old carrying an AR-15 gunning down several protestors goes unchecked and not placed in handcuffs. It should bother anyone that innocent people of color are being shot, detained in facilities like an animal, being labeled a virus carrier or a terrorist, all because of fear and ignorance that has spread for four ongoing years. It should also bother everyone when police aren’t held accountable for not only upholding the law, but taking it into their own hands and harming people of color, not to mention apprehending those who have harmed or killed people of color.
With Election Day looming, the issues of social injustice and Black Lives Matter will be highly magnified. Leagues like the NBA continue to be at the forefront for stopping social injustice, so much so, that they are creating an initiative to combat it. Athletes are more than just athletic superstars, they are using their voices to champion a cause.
The Heat Check Magazine 
Excellent article.
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