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Unification is hard to achieve with people of different backgrounds and roots, but when it is

time for sports, everyone is ready to support the same cause. One such event that shook the

entire United States was NBA player’s support of the slogan “Black Lives Matter '' on the

court. Many political officials believed that Black athletes have no power in bringing

meaningful progress. (Spears) This level of criticism from all directions didn’t stop a single

player to express their feelings and emotions towards racial injustice. The NBA is more

liberal than other leagues and they were backing the players to take a stance against racism.

NBA superstars like LeBron James and Chris Paul played a crucial role in using the sports

platform to educate and empower Black communities with proper information about the legal

system.

The phrase “ More than an Athlete” was at its best display when NBA players planned to

boycott several games in the bubble and the entire basketball association supported their

decision by making bold statements on different social media platforms. NBA coaches and

presidents displayed a great deal of support, even though they were risking to lose millions

and millions of dollars. However, the entire league faced some level of backlash due to their

kneeling during the national anthem. Many feel that it wasn’t the right way to protest and

highlight the country’s neglect of black and minority communities (Morgon). Politicians
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expressed their outrage towards the players for disrespecting the Nation’s flag and they

believe the idea of kneeling has taken on a different meaning. A large part of the country

seemed unhappy to see their favorite basketball players wear different slogans on the back of

their jerseys. “Vote” and “Equality” were two of the most used words in the NBA bubble and

each and every player addressed the importance of voting in their respective state.

The white supremacy that is deeply rooted in their country needs to be addressed and players

from an international organization like the NBA have some of the greatest resources and

platforms to bring about some real change. Racist culture is nothing new to NBA players, as

in the 1950s, Chuck Taylor was discriminated against to a high degree and many players

suggested he not even take part in the play (Willingham). Not so long after that, the sport of

basketball witnessed one of the greatest African-American superstars to ever play the game

that is Bill Russel who was drafted by Red Auerbach (Willingham). Even after delivering

thirteen rings, the players had got their houses destroyed and were disrespected by fans

throughout their career.

The continuous display of protests outside of the play spurred some great arguments

throughout the country. The killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor shed light on

police brutality and how the country is racially divided. NBA players honoring such issues

outside of basketball made some heads turn and helped people understand the values from

which this country was born (Morgon). Players like LeBron James started their non-profit

organizations to empower black communities with original data regarding voting rights and

many other essential resources. LeBron James, being the leader of the league, had support
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from other stars of the league to encourage the “More than a Vote” movement on their

respective social media handles (Morgon).

As of late, as the years-long discussion started by Colin Kaepernick's NFL song of praise

exhibitions constrained associations to characterize the constraints of their competitors'

political voices, NBA players and pioneers multiplied down on the alliance's reformist

position. They've regularly gone head to head with President Trump, an incessant pundit of

competitors who show their reformist legislative issues. (Willingham) They've situated

themselves as blunt pioneers following the homicide of Trayvon Martin in 2012, the demise

of Eric Garner and others in 2014, the distress following the 2016 political decision, and the

stupendous Black Lives Matter developments that spread across the world this mid-year

(Spears).

The strikes and protests took many turns in and out of the basketball court, but that doesn't

mean it wasn't fundamental or fruitful. At last, the revolutionary change shouldn't be the

obligation of the Black competitor on the ball court, or the Black individual walking in the

road. Our general public is lucky to have those individuals. Yet, they've just managed their

responsibility, to say the least. They shouldn't need to raise their activities for those with

more capacity to at last begin to help.

The phrase “Black Lives Matter” came into existence and created such a massive impact in

our societies because athletes of the NBA took it a step further to address these important

issues that are often forgotten in this country. The message that is being conveyed by the

players is that equity is the main thing in the general public and it shouldn’t be this hard to
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live in one of the greatest countries in the world. However, many critics of the world made it

clear that Black players in the sport of basketball have all the fame and money, and they

would never face violence in their life.

The league faced many such issues in the management. Black workers and players were

mistreated but now with all the protests and police brutality, they are taking a stand to fight

and achieve equality. The NBA, as the group for the absolute most popular individual Black

competitors and with an outsized spot in Black culture contrasted with football or baseball,

has consistently been a gathering for Black activism (Spears). Social activism led by

powerful athletes will have more impact in the near future and what the NBA players have

shown is an inspiration for all professional sports in the world. Taking the enormous spotlight

that is on these athletes and the sports industry and turning those efforts to see equality and

justice has been a significant contribution.

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Bibliography

Morgon, Emmanuel. “More Than a Vote is more than a statement for LeBron James

and other athletes.” Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2020,

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-07-30/more-than-a-vote-lebron-james.

Spears, Mark J. “Black Lives Matter, people’: How the NBA’s social justice efforts

dominated the season.” The Undefeated, 12 October 2020,

https://theundefeated.com/features/how-the-nba-social-justice-efforts-dominated-the-

season/.

Willingham, AJ. “A history of activism runs through the sport.” The NBA took a

stand against police violence. But a second message quickly became clear, CNN, 28

August 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/28/us/nba-boycott-protest-basketball-

why-trnd/index.html.