Bigger Than Basketball

It’s bigger than basketball. The Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic were supposed to square off at four o’clock today for game five of their first round playoff series. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary inside the bubble. Outside the bubble though, the fight has carried on. I assume most have heard of the most recent headlines involving Jacob Blake and his current situation as he is fighting for his life. Whether or not his story has resonated with you yet, it has certainly hit home for many NBA players living in Orlando. 

We’ve already heard some players speak out during interviews over the past couple of days. Names including Fred Van Vleet of the Toronto Raptors and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics have made strong statements for Blake and his status. Van Vleet was one of the first players to go public with the idea of boycotting playoff games but, until today, they were merely ideas. Van Vleet when asked about what’s happening, said, “Do we actually give a (expletive) about what’s going on? Or is it just cool to wear BLM on the backdrop or wear a T-shirt? What does that really mean? Is it really doing anything?” Jaylen Brown furthered these comments in his own media time later in the day, saying “People post my jersey all the time, No. 7. And everytime I look at my jersey now, what I see is a Black man being shot seven times. All America sees is his background report. It’s easier to see that than it is to see the truth.” 

Not to mention, players on the Milwaukee Bucks have experienced first hand brutality from the police. Back in 2018, then rookie Sterling Brown had the police arrive at his location due to a parking violation. The situation escalated which led to Brown being thrown onto the ground, handcuffed, and even tased. Thankfully, there wasn’t any further escalation beyond that point, unlike many of those who have been in the news recently. So this, in pairing with the fact that the Jacob Blake shooting occurred in Wisconsin, where the Bucks play, makes it no surprise that they were the first team to act on and make the statement that they won’t play until there is change.

As I’m writing this, it has now been reported that the second game scheduled for today between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder has also been boycotted, via Adrian Wojnarowski. 

When the whole idea of the NBA continuing inside of a bubble was brought up, a main concern for players before agreeing to join was whether they would be able to further their fights for racial justice. There were legitimate discussions, even amongst the NBA’s elite competitors, about not even coming to the bubble in the first place. Eventually, agreements were made but the discussion has returned. And players are now reconsidering their choices and contemplating leaving the bubble entirely, let alone boycotting games. This choice would act as a huge landmark in the history of not only the league, but America itself. For an institution as large and as popular as the NBA to shut down and put their focus on the current issues happening in our country, it means so much to those who have been fighting for years or even their lives. The players are taking full control of their platforms. And you can tell it’s something a lot of them are passionate about. It’s unclear what the next step will be for the NBA and NBPA, but they seem to be on a good path as of now.

-Noah Kokkinos