The Raptors just swept the Nets. It was Toronto’s first sweep in franchise history. The Raptors have now won playoff series in five straight seasons, the NBA’s longest-active streak. Toronto advances to a highly anticipated second-round series against the Celtics.
But the Raptors aren’t in a celebratory mood.
Toronto guards Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet – like many people, including NBA players – are upset about police shooting Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the back.
Bucks guard George Hill put it most strongly: “We shouldn’t have came to this damn place.” That revived discussion of players boycotting the league’s resumption at Disney World.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet:
“It’s being talked about …. taking a knee is not getting it done.” Norm Powell about the possibility of boycotting games.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 25, 2020
Fred VanVleet is sharing his strong feelings about the shooting of Jacob Blake. I asked him about the possibility of a boycott games and while he didn’t say that was coming, he did suggest that things are being discussed. “At some point we have to put something on the line.”
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 25, 2020
Fred VanVleet: "I was pretty excited and then we all had to watch Jacob Blake get shot yesterday. That changes the tone of things…It's just starting to feel like everything we're doing is just going through the motions, nothing's changing."
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
VanVleet: "At some point, we're the ones with the microphone always in our face. But we're the oppressed one and the responsibility falls on us…At what point do we not have to speak on it anymore? Are we going to hold everyone accountable?"
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
VanVleet: “What are we willing to give up? Do we actually give a [f—] about what’s going on, or is it just cool to have Black Lives Matter on the backdrop or wearing a T-shirt?…I’m in a different place today, emotionally speaking.”
Norman Powell: "I'm frustrated, honestly. I'm disappointed. I have a wide range of emotions…I'm pretty tired and sick to my stomach to have to sit up here and talk about this again."
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
Powell: “The police officers that are involved in these instances aren’t scared…the taxpayers are paying for these administrative leaves…Ain’t nothing gonna change (until we) stand up and demand things. Until that is done, ain’t [s—] gonna change.”
Powell: "Taking a knee for the anthem, that's not getting the job done. That's getting washed out…Something has to happen where you're forcing those people who can make the change to do something."
Asked about boycott, says a lot of things have been talked about.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
Powell says nothing changes until someone does something dramatic, and then it gets turned around (e.g. Black Panthers). "How do we demand more now? How do we formulate a plan to create change, and make it happen immediately? Because we've talked enough about it."
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020
Racism and police holding too much power are major problems.
Which is why they won’t be solved overnight.
Is progress being made quickly enough? No. Of course not. Anything longer than an instant fix is too long. That’s frustrating, and I understand why Powell and VanVleet feel this way.
But it’s important to keep perspective. Things are changing for the better. Look at the history of racism in this country – from slavery to segregation to modern times. It’s trending in the right direction.
There’s still further to go, and the current movement of protest will accelerate progress. People are paying greater attention to these issues and working harder to address them.
Perhaps, NBA players placed outsized important on kneeling during the national anthem, wearing corporate-approved social-justice messages on their jerseys and speaking up during press conferences. Those are nice steps for raising awareness, which leads to more meaningful change. But they’re not suddenly going to stop police violence.
Again, that’s frustrating. Powell and VanVleet appear to be exploring how they can channel that anger into a next step. We should all frequently evaluate what we can do to make the world a better place. I salute Powell and VanVleet doing that.
Is a boycott the answer? It would cost players a lot of money – money they can use for whatever is important to them. Beyond that…
The frustrating truth remains that these problems are so deep-seated, they won’t be solved immediately