Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been plenty of stars who take their job as professional athletes very seriously and are willing to use their platform to educate rather than simply entertain.
Due to its progressive nature, this often takes the form of activism, as sports is both a presence and an environment in which social barriers can be broken. Indeed, Hall of Famers like Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are renowned for their basketball skills, but are also revered as advocates for social justice. Twenty years later, players like Allen Iverson became the poster child for athletes who didn't feel the need to whiten themselves or downplay their blackness in order to be accepted by the masses.
Today, it's almost commonplace for openly black athletes — athletes who are comfortable in their black identity, proud of their culture and honor their history — to speak out against racial inequality. LeBron James was an early leader in this movement, briefly becoming a spokesman for civil rights issues. His contemporaries and friends, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade, have also become vocal on these issues.
The Celtics vs. Mavs Finals is bigger than basketball
Reactions to the league speaking out about a major socio-cultural issue have been mixed.
Some are uncomfortable and embarrassed by the tough conversations necessary to make change. In fact, the political climate is a big factor in the league's declining viewership. Even if you're not a conservative or overtly bigoted person, you'd rather watch a sport like baseball or football where you don't have to dwell too deeply on the harsh realities of life. These sports will undoubtedly address racism if they encounter it. But they're not gearing their leagues towards black athletes. They're not running social justice campaigns.
That's the case in the NBA.
That's why the looming NBA Finals showdown is about more than basketball. When the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks face off, it's not just a battle between two teams featuring two All-Stars. It's a battle between two guys who are the new faces of NBA activism. And that they're playing in cities and states with a history of prejudice against non-white people makes it even more powerful.
Jaylen Brown
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown may be embracing the heel role because he's underappreciated as a player. But he remains one of the league's best role models. Outgoing and generous, intelligent and cultured. In many ways, he's still a scholar. At a time when black boys and men need figures like Benjamin Banneker and George Washington Carver to look up to, Brown is a lot like them.
He's vocal about calling out injustices, having led peaceful protests against police brutality in Atlanta after the killing of George Floyd. He's also invested in concrete solutions, like launching the Bridge Program at the prestigious MIT, to help make STEM programs more appealing and accessible to black youth. Organizations like the 7uice Foundation also aim to address the long-term effects of systemic racism. The fact that he does all this with such a mature attitude makes it all the more significant.
When Brown steps on the court, he's more than just a basketball player, he's a symbol of black power. According to Kelly Kavanaugh of Boston 25 News, Brown said he sees that as a responsibility. “Athletes in general, entertainers, have so much influence. It's great to be able to use that influence in a positive way and to uplift your community and be a voice for the voiceless.”
Kyrie Irving
Let's address the elephant in the room: Mavs star Kyrie Irving's intentions don't necessarily line up with the reality of his activism. His once-harmless conspiracy theories have become more and more problematic over time. This culminated with Irving promoting anti-Semitic theories in an effort to shed light on the hidden history of African-Americans.
That said, what many who assessed Irving’s character at the time ignored was that he was driven by a desire to uncover the truth of black history. For many people of African descent, recorded history begins on the North American continent. They cannot trace their family tree back to their homeland because their ancestors were enslaved. As human beings, they were treated as chattel and worse than animals by their abductors and abusers. In his quest for truth, Irving missed the mark when he assumed that black Americans were the original Israelites. But this only highlighted a problem that is debated but not without occasion: the plight of Irving and other black ancestors is so grave that their family histories begin, incorrectly and inconceivably, with slavery.
When these issues are brought up, Irving's social media outreach pales in comparison to what he does on the ground. He's trying to help bring clean drinking water to Flint, Michigan. He's paying for the funerals of young black men and women like Shankella Robinson. He's spent five figures to help an elderly black woman, Josephine Wright, protect her land. He's sent $45,000 to help children in Ghana and Nigeria. You don't have to respect his spiritual beliefs to know he's a good person.
Irving is another symbol of black power and someone who should be protected.
