More Athletes Should Not “Shut Up and Dribble”
Recent social activism efforts by the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will have far more impact than any championship ring
A few days ago Carmelo Anthony appeared on The Van Jones Show on CNN to discuss about his recent activism efforts in Puerto Rico and was critical of the Trump Administration for their lack of commitment and support to the people of Puerto Rico.
“They’re American citizens, so if you turn your back to your own American citizens, then you can do anything,” Anthony said. “That was something that I felt like it was a low blow, kind of, to me and to all the Puerto Ricans down there. Because we can’t control a Hurricane Maria. We just couldn’t control that. So the least you can do is just send the resources down there.”
Melo wasn’t the only athlete making headlines for social activism.
Fellow NBA superstar and 4x MVP LeBron James finally fulfilled his lifelong dream of opening up a school for at-risk students in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
I Promise, his public school based out in eastern part of the city, can deal with the struggles of Akron’s schools systems that are failing to support the at-risk students who are falling behind in class.
“I know exactly what these 240 kids are going through,” James said in front of a large crowd on Monday. “I know the streets they walk. I know the trials and tribulations that they go through. I know the ups, the downs. I know everything that they dream about. I know all the nightmares that they have because I’ve been there.”
James wants to make sure that these kids do not endure the same struggles he went through.
“I know exactly what they’re going through. They’re the reason why this school is here today.”
James may be a three time world champion, brought an NBA title to the city of Cleveland for the first time since the team’s inception, and no doubt a future Hall of Famer, but this school will have a bigger impact than anything he’s done on the court. The same goes for Anthony and his actions helping the people of Puerto Rico and even highlighting the flawed justice system in his “Stay Melo” series for VICE Sports.
“We need to do a better job making sure non-violent offenders don’t end up in the same prison situation as highly violent repeat criminals,” Anthony said in an interview with VICE Sports back in 2015. “And we need to make sure that incarceration leads to rehabilitation.”
What these men are doing are bringing light to issues that are bigger than a sporting event. They want to bring about real positive change in light of recent events going on in the world and since they have a platform they are taking advantage of it.
“If we look at some of the greatest leaders of our time, you look at, you know, Muhammad Ali, you look at Dr. Martin Luther King, and all the adversity they went through,” James told Don Lemon in an interview with CNN. “They always use it to say ‘OK, this is even more motivation, this is even more a way for me to even be more powerful.’ And they’re the reason why we are here today.”
For many years athletes are expected to simply focus on the game and nothing else. They dive in the belief that these professional sports players shouldn’t worry about factors like social activism.
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, said last Wednesday that his organization will require players to stand for the national anthem or they’re cut from the team.
“Our policy is you stand during the anthem, toe on the line,” Jones said in a press conference.”
This, of course, led to massive backlash from players in the NFL.
“It’s unfortunate that you have owners like him that use his position to intimidate and intentionally thwart even the idea of players thinking individually or having a voice about issues that affect their communities daily,” said Malcolm Jenkins, two time Super Bowl champion of the Philadelphia Eagles. “It’s unfortunate. But for them, hopefully you’ll have guys challenge that, and they’ll have my full support.”
While sports can be fun, they should not be used to shy away from realities that are affecting other people’s lives. They do not have the luxury of watching a basketball game and simply being okay with certain traumas that are stressing them daily. It is important to have more athletes like Melo, LeBron, Colin Kaepernick, or Malcolm Jenkins. Their predecessors like Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf stood for what they believed in and fought to ensure that important issues like racism or war genocide was brought to light and not ignored by the public. Their actions should be encouraged and not shunned by the fandom.
While it doesn’t necessarily mean that every single athlete has to participate in activism, it should be encouraged. There are matters that are bigger than the game itself and its helpful when popular sporting figures use their notoriety to point issues affecting innocent lives. Here’s hope that more athletes speak on matters in this country than simply remaining silent.
*additional credit to CNN, Sporting News, SBNation, ESPN, The Undefeated, Los Angeles Times, VICE Sports
