22ndandF,  I'm a little disappointed that the NBA didn't boycott the rest of the playoffs, but we can be happy that the tide is turning!! The Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods approach of being neutral or staying silent on racial injustices is changing!! This NBA boycott may have not lasted long, and you'll have a certain segment of the population(who want to keep the status quo and discourage these sort of actions) saying "What Did This Accomplish" or "What Is The Plan", but there is no doubt that the NBA players actions will likely lead to stronger actions from professional teams and players in the future!! We are going to see a professional league just stop playing as a way to protest when the police or random racist(s) victimizes the next black person, and the owners and short-sighted fans won't have the leverage to stop it!!

Earlier tonight, the Mets and Marlins took the field to play a game tonight at about 7, right before the first pitch both teams left the dugout, had a 42-seconds moment of silence to honor Jackie Robinson, tipped their caps to each other and left the field leaving BlackLivesMatter t-shirts on the field!! It's good that we are now seeing these type of displays/protests when you consider how Colin Kaepernick was vilified when he first took a knee 4 years ago around this time. 

Thomas wrote:

22ndandF,  I'm a little disappointed that the NBA didn't boycott the rest of the playoffs, but we can be happy that the tide is turning!! The Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods approach of being neutral or staying silent on racial injustices is changing!! This NBA boycott may have not lasted long, and you'll have a certain segment of the population(who want to keep the status quo and discourage these sort of actions) saying "What Did This Accomplish" or "What Is The Plan", but there is no doubt that the NBA players actions will likely lead to stronger actions from professional teams and players in the future!! We are going to see a professional league just stop playing as a way to protest when the police or random racist(s) victimizes the next black person, and the owners and short-sighted fans won't have the leverage to stop it!!

Earlier tonight, the Mets and Marlins took the field to play a game tonight at about 7, right before the first pitch both teams left the dugout, had a 42-seconds moment of silence to honor Jackie Robinson, tipped their caps to each other and left the field leaving BlackLivesMatter t-shirts on the field!! It's good that we are now seeing these type of displays/protests when you consider how Colin Kaepernick was vilified when he first took a knee 4 years ago around this time. 

Thomas, I also feel that athletes will feel more emboldened to stand up for what is right. That is good. And I like some of the symbolic actions.  But I am extremely disappointed in the team owners and the networks for not standing side by side with the athletes for the real fight, which will take more than a 42 seconds of silence or delaying a few games. I mean, 2 games???  That's all?  It's obviously all about money and nobody is going to pay the players for doing what's right.  I feel the owners and networks are making billions off the backs of the players.  I feel the least they could do is stand side by side with them until we get real action.  That means pay them to protest and not play the game. Then we know they're working together.  Until that time, the athletes are getting used.  I feel it should be at least a game for every bullet put by the police into one of their black victims, and to me a choke hold that slowly suffocates someone is worth at least a half dozen bullets to back.  That should be enough for the rest of the playoffs, and then some!!!

 

Last edited by 22ndandF (8/28/2020 10:33 am)

David Aldridge  @davidaldridgedc 1m 
The @NBA and @TheNBPA jointly announce the season will resume Saturday along with converting all league arenas into voting centers and ballot receiving areas for the November election where still possible:

Thomas wrote:

22ndandF wrote:

Thomas wrote:

22ndandF,  I'm a little disappointed that the NBA didn't boycott the rest of the playoffs, but we can be happy that the tide is turning!! The Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods approach of being neutral or staying silent on racial injustices is changing!! This NBA boycott may have not lasted long, and you'll have a certain segment of the population(who want to keep the status quo and discourage these sort of actions) saying "What Did This Accomplish" or "What Is The Plan", but there is no doubt that the NBA players actions will likely lead to stronger actions from professional teams and players in the future!! We are going to see a professional league just stop playing as a way to protest when the police or random racist(s) victimizes the next black person, and the owners and short-sighted fans won't have the leverage to stop it!!

Earlier tonight, the Mets and Marlins took the field to play a game tonight at about 7, right before the first pitch both teams left the dugout, had a 42-seconds moment of silence to honor Jackie Robinson, tipped their caps to each other and left the field leaving BlackLivesMatter t-shirts on the field!! It's good that we are now seeing these type of displays/protests when you consider how Colin Kaepernick was vilified when he first took a knee 4 years ago around this time. 

Thomas, I also feel that athletes will feel more emboldened to stand up for what is right. That is good. And I like some of the symbolic actions.  But I am extremely disappointed in the team owners and the networks for not standing side by side with the athletes for the real fight, which will take more than a 42 seconds of silence or delaying a few games. I mean, 2 games???  That's all?  It's obviously all about money and nobody is going to pay the players for doing what's right.  I feel the owners and networks are making billions off the backs of the players.  I feel the least they could do is stand side by side with them until we get real action.  That means pay them to protest and not play the game. Then we know they're working together.  Until that time, the athletes are getting used.  I feel it should be at least a game for every bullet put by the police into one of their black victims, and to me a choke hold that slowly suffocates someone is worth at least a half dozen bullets to back.  That should be enough for the rest of the playoffs, and then some!!!

 

I think we will soon get to that point where the GREEDY and UNSYMPATHETIC owners/TV execs will give in and not create barriers when the players take actions like this in the future, because we know that there are many police forces out here(I'm not buying the 'One Bad Apple' B.S.) who think George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Breonna Taylor deserved what happened to them and they'll gladly do it again!! So, the next protest will be even stronger!! Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala and LeBron James(3 higher ups in the players union) will advise the younger players on how to carry on the torch of what they've started, and really flex their power on the owners and the country in future protests and demonstrations.


GW0509,  thanks for providing that information. It shows that the players protesting did make a difference, despite what the naysayers claimed.

Thomas, I hope you are right! But I am still very disappointed. I feel like if I was a white billionaire owner of a big business that had so many barriers to entry (like the NBA and the NFL) and relied so heavily on black athletes (NBA and NFL again), that I would at least have enough respect for my employees when their people were subjected to so much obvious racism and murder at the hands of the police.  But the current crop of ownership seems only to bend a little bit when black athletes are so ruthlessly abused and killed by the police and decide they must take a stand.  It's very upsetting to me especially because, as you suggest, there are plenty more bad cops who, I feel, would love to choke or shoot to death black people.  If the NCAA decides college basketball or football will be played this year, I hope the athletes will also take a stand and NOT PLAY. 

I think it's become clear, the only thing that the establishments (pro sports owners, networks, NCAA) care about is MONEY.  They make their livings off black people and don't seem to give a damn about them if they're not making them MONEY.  So, maybe stopping the flow of money is part of the answer. But probably white America will grow to hate and resent black America even more for standing up for themselves.  I wish there was leadership in the US that would help. But it seems to me that it's politically advantageous for the right to stoke division, hatred and fear.  But Thomas, I feel you are right about athletes finally speaking up. That at least makes me feel a tiny sliver of hope.  Maybe, they'll eventually get some respect and support from the owners, NCAA and the networks.

Last edited by 22ndandF (8/30/2020 2:32 pm)

Thomas wrote:

22nd and F,  before I respond to your last post, I thought it would be appropriate to bring up John Thompson Jr. here because he would have been a loud and prominent voice speaking out during these times. Can you imagine what kind of demonstrations/statements he would be making if he were a college(or maybe NBA) coach right now?? His comments or actions would break the internet!! LOL  I mean, look at how impactful Doc Rivers comments were after Game 5 of the Mavs-Clippers series.

About the protesting, of course we're going to have about 30% of the country who will always take the cop or the racist killer's side, get angry when an athlete takes a stance against racism and want the athletes to Shut Up and Dribble, but these athletes are realizing the power they have and it looks like they'll be able to leverage their power to make things REAL uncomfortable for police unions, politicians and team owners who don't seem to care about the wicked treatment of unarmed black citizens!! The 30% of the country who get mad at this will just have to Suck It Up, they can just continue to troll on social media/internet platforms or maybe complain on their Fox News and OAN shows!! LOL 

I think having a big-name player like LeBron James publicly speaking out is HUGE in terms of making progress. As we've discussed before, the LeBron James/superstar types didn't want to "rattle the cage" in the past, LeBron has now opened the door for future players to follow his path. Hopefully, the next batch of LeBron James type players who are youngsters in the NBA now or in college, high school, middle school, etc. are being impacted by what they see from LeBron and they'll continue his legacy of social justice.
 

Thomas, yes I feel you are so right about this!  Coach, if he were well and still with us, would be shaking things UP!!!

I hope Patrick, Alonso, Jeff Green, Dikembe, AI and other Georgetown greats pay an everlasting tribute to Coach by starting to speaking out!!!!  I don't think I've heard much from any of them lately, and Lord knows, if there was ever a time that we need to hear their voices loud and clear, it's now!!
   
Thomas, I always loved Coach Thompson for his strength of character.  So many in this area, around the country (and even at GU) dismissed him as a troublemaker, but look where we are now!!! Not only was John right, I feel the racism is even worse than he feared, with the police killing innocent black men with alarming frequency.  John Thompson was a giant of a person. He loved his family, his friends, his players, DC, and (I don't know this) but I think he loved life. He had the COURAGE to speak up when everyone wanted (and tried to make him) him to shut up.

I can only speak for myself, but I will lean on my memories of Coach Thompson and the way he advocated for fairness and called out injustice.  He was and will remain in inspiration to me and hopefully to others who care about equity and justice for all, and especially the poor and disadvantaged people of our country.

P.S.
Thomas, do you really only think it's only 30% of the country that's on the side of the police/racists? I feel it's much more than that because the remaining 70% isn't making enough noise! Seems to me that most of the white people I know are willing to just look the other way or be quiet about what's been going on.  They might tell me they are sick about things and are appalled with the current situation, but most don't do a damn thing.  I hope I'm wrong but the national polls are disturbingly close. And I'm also concerned that a lot of people who should vote, won't mainly because of Trump's voter suppression rampage and intimidation tactics.