Pillared by basketball’s holiest, the history of the NBA is rich with activism. Bill Russell–resolutely uncompromising, bold, and critical even of the racism infecting Boston, the city he brought 11 championships to–reinvented the modern black athlete during the Civil Rights Era. Oscar Robertson, once sent a death threat from the Ku Klux Klan via telegram while in college, was a tireless advocate for players’ rights and sued the NBA in 1970 in the groundbreaking move that yielded free agency. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar interviewed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at age 17, publicly supported Muhammad Ali’s refusal to go to Vietnam at age 20, and revealed that he had converted to Islam after winning his first of six championships at age 24–setting the tone for more than five decades of his own activism.
Today, the NBA is often lauded as a “progressive” outlier in the canon of American professional sports. In a September 2017 letter collaboratively penned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA President Michele Roberts, the league’s two leading faculty members encouraged their players to not be afraid of their power to be publicly impactful and socially active on a global scale. This move deviated from the NFL’s messy collision with the president based on peaceful protest by players and the league’s infamous blackballing of Colin Kaepernick.
Social impact in the 2017-18 season has proven that NBA players are as involved as ever in the real world beyond arena walls, and the league as a whole is supportive of players’ endeavors into activism.
Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Blazers for Gun Reform
Recent school shootings in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas have left much of the country reeling. The NBA is equally invested, and has chosen action.
After learning that Joaquin Oliver, one of 17 left dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, was buried in a Dwyane Wade jersey, Wade himself recognized a call to action. The tragedy at Stoneman Douglas–just miles from where Wade and Gabrielle Union-Wade send their young boys to school every day–was close enough to home for the Wades to dedicate significant energy, personal time, and impactful money to one of this country’s most pressing epidemics.
Dwyane visited the school on the students’ first day back to class. Two weeks later, he and Gabrielle donated $200,000 to the “March for Our Lives” movement, sending young activists from Wade’s hometown of Chicago to Washington, D.C. for the milestone rally; Carmelo Anthony joined the cause, sending students from his hometown of Baltimore. Additionally, the Wades sponsored the “Parkland 17” interactive art exhibit, a space equally for grieving and for political action (a “Ring Your Rep” phone booth was available, allowing participants to contact political representatives directly to discuss gun control).
On May 18, eight students and two teachers were murdered at Santa Fe High School, about 40 minutes south of where the Rockets play in downtown Houston. Chris Paul was vocal about the gravity of the situation in the context of “minor” playoff basketball, citing concerns for his young children: “it’s scary that that’s becoming a norm here”.
Four days after the Santa Fe shooting, Microsoft co-founder and Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen responded by donating $1 million to a Washington state-based initiative that aims to regulate firearms. Allen, a Seattle native and team owner of the NFL’s Seahawks, has targeted the Alliance for Gun Responsibility and its Initiative 1639, which, if added to the November 2018 Washington State election ballot, would:
Create an enhanced background check system applicable to semiautomatic assault rifles similar to what is required for handguns, require that individuals complete a firearm safety training course and be at least twenty-one years of age to purchase or possess such weapons, enact a waiting period for the purchase of such weapons, and establish standards for the responsible storage of all firearms.
Allen called I-1639 a “reasonable and necessary measure that will improve the safety of our schools and communities” in a series of tweets posted Monday. The proposed law is exclusive to Washington, but its success would no doubt set the tone for other states to energize similar campaigns. Having an NBA team owner behind I-1639 sets a precedent for other billionaire owners around the country to get involved. Allen and former Microsoft CEO and current Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer allegedly fell out over smartphones, but it would do them and the league well to pair up on this issue.
J.J. Barea, Carmelo Anthony for Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, ravaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in late Summer 2017, is still struggling with an extended recovery process. Many citizens are physically ill, in need of mental health care, and lacking medical resources–most especially, electricity. While the U.S. government has turned a blind eye, NBA representatives have not.
J.J. Barea has been in this fight since September. Barea, Dallas Mavericks lifer and Puerto Rico native, made his first big splash in relief efforts by stocking full the Mavericks’ team plane with supplies soon after Maria made landfall. His preseason was spent coordinating trip after trip to provide aid, assistance, and hope. Barea has crowdfunded upwards of $750,000 and convinced Mavs owner Mark Cuban to donate all ticket sales from an October game, generating an additional $114,000 to be contributed directly to Puerto Ricans in need.
Barea remains involved. In April, he and Cuban travelled to the island to oversee refurbishments of sports and youth facilities and a local bar. They experienced firsthand the blackout that continues to afflict the island seven months on, and Cuban noted, “there are so many places that need to be rebuilt, so much work to be done.” Further explaining that he was happy to “contribute again and bring more awareness to the status of the island”, it is incumbent upon billionaire Cuban to continue to be a resource and reminder of the continual, unjust mistreatment by the U.S. of Puerto Ricans who would just like to resume normality.
Just as well, Carmelo Anthony and his foundation have done incredible work in Puerto Rico. Anthony issued a call to action via The Players’ Tribune on September 22, explaining:
I’ve been texting my people down there for the past 24 hours, and I get nothing back. It’s the worst feeling in the world. Imagine texting somebody you love and getting no response for more than a day. It’s been days of nothing, and I’m sitting here on pins and needles. I’m just hoping and praying that one person hits me back and gives me some kind of update on what’s going on — let’s me know that everything’s OK.
Anthony’s personal distress paralleled the larger theme: “Puerto Ricans are our fellow Americans.”
Anthony’s YouCaring campaign raised close to $500,000, and according to updates on the page, the Carmelo Anthony Foundation donated and distributed 100,000 pounds’ worth of food and water. The foundation also paired up with UNICEF, Feed the Children, and Operation Airdrop, but pointed out in November, “we are making progress but still have a long way to go”.
Sacramento Kings for Black Lives & Police Accountability
On March 18, 2018, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was murdered by Sacramento police officers. The officers, who suspected Clark to be in possession of a gun, shot at the unarmed man 20 times in his grandparents’ backyard. Body cam footage showed the gruesome killing to be indefensible. Clark posed no threat to the officers. He was simply trying to enter his home.
The Sacramento Kings responded under pressure when local activists turned the Golden 1 Center into a public forum. On a night where 15,000 fans were turned away from a home game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Kings and team owner Vivek Ranadivé acknowledged the “horrific tragedy” of Clark’s death, and ended the evening with a promise: “we’re gonna work really hard to prevent this kind of a tragedy from happening again.”
Propelled by Ranadivé and players Garrett Temple and Vince Carter, the Kings put good use to their immense platform and put their money where their mouth is. The team facilitated discussion about Black lives and police violence in the subsequent weeks. They partnered with visiting Boston Celtics players on a public service announcement-style video that called for change, and both teams wore warmup shirts that implored accountability for Clark’s killers.
On March 29, the Kings made an extraordinary, radical move by announcing partnerships with the Build. Black. organization and the local Black Lives Matter chapter. The next night, Temple, Carter, and Doug Christie dedicated time to a youth-focused forum, laying groundwork for transformative local change.
While the Kings’ season ended mid-April, team representatives continue to do their part. On May 3, Temple announced a commitment of up to $20,000 to benefit local high schools. Temple visited Sacramento Charter High School a day earlier in a mentor role, leading discussions on race, leadership, and the importance of education.
This summer, the Kings’ union with Build. Black. will take shape with a co-ed youth basketball league. Announced on May 22, the Kings and Queens Rise league promises to “provide a caring and positive environment for Sacramento youth through community building, sportsmanship, and resources for health and safety”, building on the positives founded at the aforementioned forum held in March.
In the press release, which acknowledges support from the Black Child Legacy Campaign, Ranadivé is quoted as hoping “that this league will encourage an open dialogue to help our city grow stronger together”; the 16-team intramural league will represent eight Sacramento neighborhoods, with each boasting two co-ed teams of seventh and eighth graders and ninth and tenth graders.
Participants won’t just be competing for tournament glory, though:
Weekly practices will provide a fun and safe environment for young athletes to learn fundamental basketball, as well as serve as forums for valuable workshops designed to address a variety of topics from mental health to conflict resolution to responsible social media use.
With an emphasis on individual development beyond just success on the court, the Kings and Queens Rise league is shaping up to be an invaluable resource to Sacramento youth. League participants will also be invited to a public forum in early July, where they will be encouraged to discuss community-based issues before watching the California Classic.
It’s worth noting the Kings’ attention on reaching out to Black students through Black organizations–this team is not taking the type of colorblind approach to community outreach that the NBA is used to. The Sacramento Kings have emerged as league leaders in the contemporary campaign for Black lives, all the while honoring Stephon Clark and setting an example for the sports world at large.