What Sports Stars Are Saying About Black Lives Matter
George Floyd's murder and the ongoing violence and injustices suffered by the black community has deeply affected the SportsHosts team and myself personally. SportsHosts’ primary purpose is to focus on what unites us - sports - to bring us together rather than focus on what divides us. For us, any form of discrimination cannot be tolerated, it must stop, and it is up to all of us to change the world.
The reality is that there cannot be equality without dismantling the systemic racism that pervades our society and that is a task that goes well beyond the world of sports.
As a team, we have spent the past week discussing appropriate responses whilst listening to black voices in our community and beyond. I have correlated what black athletes have been saying, and below are excerpts of the interviews with links to the full articles.
For me these interviews highlighted three key points, they are:
- Black Live Matter is not solely a US issue - it is a global issue. Athletes from around the world, highlight how the same prejudice and injustice affect black people worldwide.
- Black people are treated differently, and black parents across the globe have to have conversations with their children on what to do if police question them for any reason, as interactions with the police can quickly get out of hand with dire consequences. These are not conversations white people have with their children.
- The conversation is not about riots - the conversation and action must focus on the issue of justice
If you do not have time to read all the articles, I implore you to read the first article written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as Kareem’s wisdom needs to be heard.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - NBA Legend
What do you see when you see angry black protesters amassing outside police stations with raised fists? If you're white, you may be thinking, "They certainly aren't social distancing." Then you notice the black faces looting Target and you think, "Well, that just hurts their cause." Then you see the police station on fire and you wag a finger saying, "That's putting the cause backward."
You're not wrong — but you're not right, either.
Yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage, just as when fans celebrating a hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy storefronts. I don't want to see stores looted or even buildings burn. But African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you're choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it's everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant because it's always still in the air.
What you should see when you see black protesters in the age of Trump and coronavirus is people pushed to the edge, not because they want bars and nail salons open, but because they want to live. To breathe.
What I want to see is not a rush to judgment, but a rush to justice.
Michael Jordan
"I see and feel everyone's pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence towards people of colour in our country. We have had enough.
"I don't have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality.
Devean George - Former Los Angeles Lakers Player
This was written before Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with second degree murder for the death of George Floyd.
"The rioting glosses over the hot seat," George told The Undefeated in a phone interview from Sacramento, California, on Thursday. "Keep all the focus and attention on what [the Minneapolis police] are going to do next. That's the saddest part is we're talking about riots now. I want to talk about what they are going to do
"It's very, very tough," George said. "The exposure of the income gap, jobs and education, we probably have the largest gap. Economically, Minnesota is a very good economic state. We have all those Fortune 500 companies, education is great, high-paying jobs. But there are only a few people getting that money and that's mostly the white folks. Everyone else is scrapping."
"I had to have a hard talk with my boys the other days," George said. "They get it. I got an 8-, 11- and 13-year-old, all black boys. I have to have a talk with them about what is real. Obviously, we don't live in the situation. But that could be me. They really got it when I said, 'What if that was me picking you up from school? A cop just killed me for no reason.'
"'When you get older, you're pretty big, you're only 13 years old, this can be you.' We got to teach our kids. I'm teaching my kids that with your skin color this could happen. This is a possibility. It's very sad to have that conversation."
Chad Wingard - Australian Rules Football League
Chad Wingard made the decision to impose a self-imposed media ban, as he believes Australian mainstream media, only show you the negative riots.
Chad posted the following tweet;
“Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991, more than 420 Aboriginal people have died in police custody, according to data from Amnesty International. Listen to this part. Not. 1. Conviction. Let's fix our backyard and voice it”.
Lewis Hamilton - Formula One
"I am completely overcome with rage at the sight of such blatant disregard for the lives of our people. The injustice that we are seeing our brothers and sisters face all over the world time and time again is disgusting, and MUST stop."
"Unfortunately, America is not the only place where racism lives and we continue to fail as humans when we cannot stand up for what is right," Hamilton's post released on Tuesday continued.
Israel Adesanya - UFC champion, New Zealand
"Please do not sit in silence, no matter the colour of your skin. Black Lives Matter.
"I'm sick and tired of seeing those faces get killed because, guess what, I see myself in them," Adesanya said. "It's heartbreaking, man. I'm p---ed off."
Adesanya, 30, spoke of his own experience with racial prejudice in New Zealand.
"How many of you walk into a store and have to put your hands behind your back just so they don't think you're stealing?" he asked
"How many of you walk down the street and have to kind of smile and try to make you see the person who already is scared of you, you make them feel comfortable?"
What I have learned from listening
My three points above detail what I have learned from listening. Although, for me, the most critical point, which is worth highlighting again, is Kareem's point. "What I want to see is not a rush to judgment, but a rush to justice." Black Lives Matter is not a political issue, it is an issue of justice, and we need to stay focused on the fact alone. And by cutting out the noise, we can focus on the real change that is required.