Athletes should not just “Shut up and Dribble”
“Liberty and Justice for all” are what people stand for in the Pledge of Allegiance, but it is hard to do so when that one basic human right is denied for so many people in our country.
Throughout time, black athletes have stood up for what they believe in to change both the game of basketball and the discrimination against African Americans as a whole. However, when a white privileged Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham tells someone like Lebron James to shut up and dribble, it’s an attack on what the great black athletes in history have done to shine a light on a race issue that still poisons society today.
The Cleveland Summit in 1967 was a huge turning point for African Americans to finally fight injustice. Black athletes such as Kareem Abdul Jabar, Bill Russel, and Jim Brown stood up for Muhammad Ali who was facing public scrutiny for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War. Although Ali was still suspended from boxing after the meeting, this powerful moment still demonstrates the struggle and adversity that black athletes had to face off the court in a time where athletes were predominantly white.
52 years later, black athletes are still forced to stand up for themselves. Black athletes have been more involved with politics than ever, and they have every right to be. Take the case of Trayvon Martin. A 17-year-old kid, Martin went to get snacks at a convenience store before he was shot and killed. Martin was shot because of his race and the fact that he was wearing a hoodie in the store, which apparently is ‘scary’ to many people.
Many athletes immediately thought of their kids after the Martin incident. At any moment their kids’ lives could be taken just because they look a certain way. The worst part about this case was the fact that his killer was not found guilty in a trial. This case meant that it is okay to harm and even kill African Americans without consequences. Because of attacks like those on Martin, black athletes without question have every right to speak out.
“I think it starts with the Trayvon Martin situation and the reason it starts with that, I believe is because having kids of my own — having boys of my own — it hit home for me to see and to learn the story and to think that if my boy left home and he never returned,” Lebron James said. “That kinda hit a switch. From that point on, I knew that my voice and my platform had to be used for more than just sports.”
Black athletes have the power and influence to spark change in our society for the better. For example, when a conversation leaked of the Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring African Americans to basketball games or post them on her Instagram, the Clippers team responded in their next game. The team wore their warmup shirts inside out as to hide the Clippers logo, and they wore black socks and armbands during the game. Protests like these are what produce change, and soon enough, the racist Sterling was banned from the NBA for life.
Without protests like the Clippers, racists like Sterling would be able to get away with anything. To ensure safety for those who still aren’t treated equally in our society, athletes should have every right to speak out to finally start a conversation in America.
