The Power of the Modern NBA Voice

The NBA is one of the biggest professional sports leagues in the world. The league brought in nearly 8.7 trillion (292 billion per team) in revenue in 2018-2019, according to Forbes. The NBA gives players and NBA affiliates a platform that is comparable to hardly anything else. Their games reach 215 countries over the globe. The influence of the NBA creates a unique opportunity for messages to be spread to one of the biggest audiences available. In an ever changing political and social climate, figuring out how to support what you believe in has become an intangible resource. This has made the NBA player’s voice more important than ever.

Players speaking for social justice isn't anything new. Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion, initiated a boycott of an NBA game in 1961 when him and his black teammates were not served at a hotel café because of their skin color. Russell said at the time “that we are accepted as entertainers, but that we are not accepted as people in some places''(Bieler. Washington Post.2020). This sent a, albeit, minor but noticeable shock wave. This was in America in the early 1960’s, before MLK’s walk on Washington and not long after 6-year old Ruby Bridges was a trailblazer against segregation in schools. Players have had a voice before and have dealt with many of the same backlashes. In the same instance of Bill Russell’s boycott, a rookie on the opposing team, Cleo Hill, decided to join in, and paid the price. He was cut from the team and never played in the NBA again. He made a sacrifice that cost him his career as a professional basketball player. Not long after, the 1964 NBA all-star game was set to be the first televised NBA game ever. At this point, players were barely compensated and forced to stay on the same team their entire careers. Many had to “work another job during the summer to make ends meet” (Quinn.CBS.2020). This televised event had the entire success of the league riding on it. Seeing a prime opportunity to strike, many of the all-stars, including NBA legend Jerry West, refused to play if their player union and demands weren’t taken seriously. The owners, now backed into a corner, recognized the union and gave into the player’s request, including a player pension, a physical trainer for every team, and player-friendly scheduling. When these professional athletes want to send a message, they know attacking the owner’s income is the best way to get their attention.

Some things haven’t changed. In August of 2020, the Milwalkee Bucks held a protest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man who was shot 7 times in the back. The Bucks refused to play a playoff game at a time where the NBA was needing the revenue more than ever after the initial coronavirus epidemic began. In quick fashion, all the other teams that were scheduled quickly canceled their games as well, totaling with 6 teams. Tens of millions of dollars was lost during the boycott. Even afterwards, the National Basketball Players Association, a union led by current NBA players, demanded that action be taken or else they would elect to cancel the rest of the playoffs. Once again, the NBA owners were put between a rock and a hard place. They had to react. Quickly, meetings were scheduled with the player’s union to make some kind of compromise. The players were able to have their grievances voiced and have the situation handled immediately. There was no time to start with diplomacy and try to curate a message that would take days of communication, because at times it's better to just resort to action.

Players and coaches have been sure to make themselves vocal in today’s climate. Docs River’s, the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, gave a powerful response to an interviewer's question after a game. He spoke of how “[African American’s] keep loving this country, but this country not loving us back”. His entire response to the Jacob Blake shooting was eye-opening, raw, and full of emotional composure of a man who has been there and done that. As a white Puerto Rican, I can only relate so much to the repeated abuse African Americans are facing every day in the United States. This makes these messages so important, to give light to what’s happening in the world and how it impacts people, even if you’re not the one being affected. Jamal Murray made a similar statement. After winning a crucial game in a series vs the Utah Jazz, Murray spoke on what it meant to him to win during these times and the life he felt his shoes gave him during the game. On his shoes, he had portraits of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, two victims of police brutality. He “used [those] shoes as a symbol to me to keep fighting”. Jamal continued and pushed that “it's not just in America, it happens everywhere”. Both of these men are just a few of the coaches and players that are using their influence to show that it’s bigger than just basketball.

What does this mean for the future of the NBA regarding a player's voice? Well, hopefully, more outspokenness. There was a long period of time between the fight for civil rights in the 1960’s until just a few years ago where being ‘woke’ wasn’t a trend. When it could cost your livelihood, your freedom, and even your life. Just because at this moment the world seems to be on the right side doesn’t mean things won’t change. There’s no guarantee the common consensus opinion will be the right one. It hardly ever is. That is when not just NBA players, but all of us, will have to keep up the fight for what we believe to be right in regards to the welfare of our fellow man (or woman).