The NBA and Social Justice Jerseys
Why do we need to be informed of everyone’s ideological agendas?
As the result of an agreement between the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players' Association (NBPA), players could have social justice statements on their jerseys when the season resumes on July 30 in Orlando, Florida. They agreed that players could send a message that he cares deeply about, whether it’s social justice or a charity. It’s a product of last week’s agreement in which the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to continue to discuss how they could best use their platform to speak about social justice. NBA players participating in the upcoming season restart will be allowed to replace the last name on the back of their jerseys with a statement on social justice.
Chris Paul, who is president of the NBPA and a guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, told The Undefeated, “We’re just trying to continue to shed light on the different social justice issues that guys around our league continue to talk about day in and day out.” “People are saying that social justice will be off of everybody’s mind in Orlando. With these jerseys, it doesn’t go away.”
Another report from Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times points out that this move is being done in conjunction with Nike, who serves as the athletic wear sponsor of the NBA.
In the past, players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving wore shirts that read "I Can't Breathe," following the death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York police. A few NBA players have been vocal about the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
David French responded to this development by writing:
Players wearing slogans, no thanks. Hard pass. Play the game, don’t care your individual thoughts and opinions on anything but putting the ball in the hoop. If a player wears the slogan, "All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter," would that be acceptable or immediately condemned? What if a player displays a charity that supports the ambulance corps in Israel? Or does what an individual deeply care about and wishes to display strictly framed by the "social justice warriors?"
We all know how this is going to wind up. Would the NBA allow a player to wear a pro-Hong Kong message on their jersey? If not, it appears that some "social justice messages" are more welcome than others. "Cops Are Pigs," or "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal," or " Free the Uighurs," or "Freedom for Hong Kong," or "BDS Israel," or "MAGA," or whatever?
Why the NBA commissioner would do something only adds to the real possibility of divisiveness within the business he runs is confusing.I might be more inclined to watch now just for the chance to hear a confused announcer accidentally say, “James ‘Defund the Police’ with a beautiful pass to Phil ‘Believe All Women.’”
People who love sports often want to forget about politics when we watch games. Sports is a social institution where people from all walks of life can come together and root for something in common, despite our internal politics. When people are in a stadium, rooting for their local team, they are fans of that franchise that day, no matter their ideology. We need a “safe space” to socialize and discover a common humanity.
Politics has become somewhat of a secular faith. Many see political affiliations as a lifestyle choice. More often than not, it affects and infects social relations. Partisanship today seems like it must be core to our identity—in the past, it was just an ancillary trait. Today, we view party identity in the way we see gender, ethnicity, or skin color—the core traits that we use to describe ourselves to others.
Fifty years ago, our political affiliation wasn’t tied directly into one’s life and everything related to it. The sense of partisan identification today seems all-encompassing. It not only affects behavior in political environments but also in nonpolitical contexts.
This isn’t a healthy development.
Why must we politicize everything? Must we know who our favorite NBA player voted for during the last election? Does Major League Baseball need to inform us about the politicians the team owner supports before each game? Should we be told that a sports league is a proud supporter of Confederate monuments? Why do we need to be informed of everyone’s ideological agendas?
Certain organizations and businesses have specific roles. When we expect them to play politics and be loyal to a particular ideological cause or concern, the more divided our country becomes. Wouldn’t it be better to leave political affiliations at home and keep places like sporting events free from the madness of daily life? I feel most people want to escape from politics when we are being entertained.
What do you think?
Clayton Craddock is an independent thinker, father of two beautiful children in New York City. He is the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business and is a 25 year veteran of the fast-paced New York City music scene. He has played drums in a number of hit broadway and off-broadway musicals including “Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical and Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill. In addition, Clayton has worked on: Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.