Lee: How the NBA is helping Black Lives Matter gain more mainstream acceptance (2024)

Every time NBA players advance across halfcourt or warmup before games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports campus, TV and streaming-device viewers will see “Black Lives Matter” scrolling across their screens. It’s above the NBA logo at center court, along the sideline, in large, all-black, all-caps lettering. It’s on the T-shirts players are wearing on their socially-distanced benches and when most have elected to kneel during the national anthem.

Black Lives Matter, a statement that is still considered controversial by some, has amassed more acceptance over the years. Better grassroots organizing efforts and the nationwide protest marches after the killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police has helped change perceptions and generate more allies.

That a multi-billion dollar corporation that is the NBA would eventually become one of those ardent allies should’ve been expected. Because the two separate movements that have converged on to the three courts at the NBA’s bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., are rooted in the same place: sadness and anger over Trayvon Martin.

Social justice activism among NBA players – which had mostly been dormant for decades as the league and its stars encouraged the avoidance of political stances – was awakened when members of the Miami Heat were so moved by Martin’s death in 2012 that they posed for a picture wearing hoodies, prepared for whatever smoke followed. And when Martin’s killer was acquitted a year later, one heartbroken observer wrote a heartfelt Facebook post and used a three-word phrase that has become the rallying cry for what many consider the modern civil rights movement.

“This movement has grown in such a way where frankly, it’s irresistible,” Alicia Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said in a telephone interview. She added that seeing those words on NBA courts, in Major League Baseball stadiums and on T-shirts worn by athletes near and far, including those in European soccer leagues, “blows me away. It’s incredibly amazing.

“I think that this moment reflects the ongoing organizing and activism of people who have been toiling for so long in the shadows,” she said. “This movement is not new. The fight for racial equality. The fight for human rights and civil rights is as old as the history of enslavement in this country, and every generation – as John Lewis would say – is responsible for carrying that torch forward to make sure that we achieve the goal of making Black Lives Matter in our democracy, in our economy and in our society. I think what this moment represents is a real reckoning.”

Although Black Lives Matter continues to get resistance from disingenuous people seeking to distort and diminish its purpose, the meaning in the message has remained consistent: the fight for equality should transcend partisan politics. The league doesn’t fear a backlash for embracing the phrase, believing that anyone upset enough to stop watching its games would be alienating themselves. Equality isn’t up for debate.

“We didn’t view ‘Black Lives Matter’ as a political matter. We viewed this as a broader movement. This is a human rights issue,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a telephone interview with The Athletic. “Black Lives Matter has come to represent a broader movement around racial inequality and we support our players, our coaches, our staff, our teams, in speaking out on these critically important issues.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the NBA to shut down, then take drastic and ambitious measures to restart its season in Florida. Aside from obvious moral questions that came with creating a bubble in a state where the coronavirus is unfettered, and with daily tests for players, coaches and staff in a county where access to the same medical procedures is limited to poorer citizens, the league had to first confront another issue from within.

The essential workers — the ones that the NBA wouldn’t thrive without — were hurting following the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Floyd, among numerous others, and unwilling to play unless the league’s far-reaching platform was allowed to push the same agenda to eradicate systemic racism and oppression that was playing out on the streets in the form of nonviolent protest. The demand was non-negotiable. A league in which more than three-quarters of the players are African-Americans did so willingly.

Sure, there was money to be made for network partners but there also was the potential for something powerful to emerge for what they believed was a necessary distraction at this time.

“Our league has a long history of addressing racial and social issues,” said Tatum, who is Black. “You go back to Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and the lineage from those guys today, to LeBron (James). A guy like Malcolm Brogdon. A guy like Jaylen Brown. We have a responsibility and an obligation, given the prominence of our players and the influence that they have. We’ve always encouraged our players to take a stand on issues that are important to them and they are doing it.”

The defending champion Toronto Raptors made one of the boldest statements of this restart — and showed the global appeal of the movement for racial equality — when they arrived in Orlando from a mini-camp in Naples, Fla., with “Black Lives Matter” adorning the team buses.

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Silence is not an option.

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Players were granted permission to have one of 29 social justice messages on the back of their jerseys, including, I Can’t Breathe; Justice; Say Their Names; and Peace. The two most popular choices are Black Lives Matter and Equality. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also has elected not to enforce the league’s longstanding rule forcing players to stand during the national anthem.

James was one of those hoodie-wearing Heat players eight years ago but has chosen not to wear a social justice message on the back of his jersey. He did, however, take some time in the bubble to explain what he thinks people have mistaken about those three words.

“A lot of people use this analogy that Black Lives Matter is a movement. It’s not a movement. When you’re Black, it’s not a movement. It’s a lifestyle,” James said in a news conference with reporters. “This is a walk of life. I don’t like the word ‘movement’ because unfortunately in America and in society there ain’t been no damn movement for us.”

While approved protests — such as kneeling — could easily be misconstrued, Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney who has handled several high-profile cases, from Martin to Floyd, believes the influence of subliminal messaging over the next three months — such as the Black Lives Matter signage on the court and on T-shirts — cannot be overstated.

“Symbols and images matter,” Crump said in a telephone interview with The Athletic. “There is a reason the NAACP has the Image Awards, because as the psychologists say, ‘Once you observe an image, even if it’s just for a few seconds, it literally left an indelible mark on your brain, on your subconscious.’ For every NBA fan to have to see that image every game really helps put in their subconscious mind, Black Lives Matter.”

‘I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter’

As protests swept across this nation and the world this summer, some NBA players with plenty of free time and frustration have become more vocal and visible about expressing their pain and disappointment. Either through pressing send on their social media accounts, or deciding to protest on behalf of social change, they haven’t been silenced.

By the time Brogdon or Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook or Damian Lillard grabbed bullhorns or raised clinched fists, the shock of player participation in protests had worn off; swapped with the expectation of involvement. Derrick Rose had already worn an “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirt in honor of Eric Garner. Carmelo Anthony had already marched peacefully in Baltimore for Freddie Gray. The Los Angeles Clippers had already unified to get Donald Sterling removed as owner.

But the safety and security in speaking out wasn’t there when Heat players learned that on Feb. 26, 2012 — the night of the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando — a 17-year-old Miami native visiting his father in gated community in Sanford, Fla., had been shot and killed by a neighborhood watch coordinator. Martin had been racially profiled and questioned about the legitimacy of his presence in the neighborhood as he wore a dark-colored hoodie.

“I was disgusted. I was angry. I was frustrated. I was hurt. I was disappointed,” Haslem said in a recent telephone interview with The Athletic.

#WeAreTrayvonMartin #Hoodies #Stereotyped #WeWantJustice http://t.co/tH6baAVo

— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 23, 2012

Haslem was especially troubled when he learned that he grew up near where Martin was from, and had family members who attended the same church as Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton. Haslem was joined by teammate Dwyane Wade in meeting with the family. The players offered their sympathies and support, and as a team the Heat decided to do more to raise awareness to the case.

“I felt, ‘We’re the hottest thing in the NBA right now.’ Sometimes when people don’t know about a specific situation, they look at athletes and entertainers to guide them and put their trust and faith in, what’s right or what’s going on,” Haslem said. “I felt bringing that to the world was something great that we were able to do, just to shed light on that situation, in our own way. In a way where we can speak for the culture, but still not be disrespectful or crazy with it.”

James, in the midst of a season that would see him win his third most valuable player award and first NBA title, and Wade decided they would honor Martin by posing for a picture, as a team, while wearing hoodies over their bowed heads, with their hands stuck in the pockets. “My ties and love for the Miami community ran deeper than anybody else’s,” Haslem said, “but those guys came to Miami, they brought the love and support for the city, just like they were born and raised there like myself. Trayvon Martin was right in our back yard. Even though it wasn’t in Miami, he was a Miami kid.”

Before James posted the photograph on his Twitter account – with the hashtag #WeAreTrayvonMartin – roughly a month after the incident, the Heat contacted Crump to seek permission from the family.

“I said, ‘Absolutely.’ They did it and it had a phenomenal impact. It really helped us,” Crump said of the Heat’s support. “I was surprised initially when the Miami Heat first did it. I think they set a precedent of social activism, so I give them a lot of credit for that. After that, LeBron’s people reached out about how he could continue to stay involved in seeking justice for Trayvon Martin. He’s always been focused on trying to make sure that he uses his voice and I’m very grateful to him for that.”

The players posed for the picture after a morning shootaround in the team hotel in Michigan, where the Heat prepared to play the Detroit Pistons. That night, players also scribbled, “We Want Justice,” and “RIP Trayvon Martin” on their sneakers.

“It showed strength, it showed unity, it showed support for the culture and I think it was everything. Everything that we wanted to get across, we got across,” Haslem said of the statements. “We’re a lot more powerful together and we’re tired of being mistreated because of the way we look or our backgrounds, or our upbringing.”

Haslem is now 40, with three sons ranging in age from 9 to 21, and they’ve had a much different life experience given the lifestyle an NBA paycheck has afforded him. But Haslem still fears for his children because they exist in a place where they often look different than the people in their circle. “It’s even more scary,” Haslem said. “When you’re growing up in the inner city and you hear about police brutality and violence and things like that, you kind of feel like – and this is a terrible way to look at it – but you kind of be like, ‘It happens all the time.’ The police always messing with somebody. Or White people are always messing with us. You just kind of feel like that’s the norm.

“And as you get older, you start to realize, that’s not normal and it’s not OK. And when you start to get out of your surroundings, which you were so confined in at that young age, you start to see the world at a different angle and different eyes and you realize there’s no way you should’ve been treated like that growing up. There’s no way your friends should’ve got harassed like that. There’s no way they went into your pockets and questioned you. But at that age, you just think that’s what it is.”

George Zimmerman pleaded self defense in the case and was acquitted of murder on July 13, 2013. In response, Garza posted to Facebook what she calls “a love letter to Black people,” in which she found similarities between Martin and her younger brother, Joey, whom she said could’ve been killed instead. “I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter,” Garza wrote. “Our lives matter.”

Garza’s friend Patrisse Cullors shared the post with the hashtag, #BlackLivesMatter, and another friend, Opal Tometi, created the social platforms to connect people “that were grieving and rageful online, to get together and not just retweet and post and share but to take action offline,” Garza said.

The hashtag has since grown from social media posts to an organization with chapters all over the world. The movement and the message are separate, yet one in the same. “I wrote that letter because I felt very deeply that Black people and Black communities are under siege, and under assault every single day,” she said. “Black Lives Matter is a message to Black people that our lives do matter and that we’re not to blame for systems that we did not create and were intentionally designed to create conditions like this in our communities. It’s also a symbol to this country that if it wants to live up to it’s values of freedom and justice and equality for all, that Black people must not be left out of that.”

Garza remembers how much pushback the Heat players received for speaking out on behalf of Martin, and she can find parallels with the reception Black Lives Matter initially received from those resistant to fairness, inclusion and diversity. “Frankly, seven years ago, Black Lives Matter was controversial, but after seven years of having this organizing be more visible, it’s been an encouragement for new people to join the fight,” Garza said. “Particularly as time after time and minute after minute we’re watching Black people be murdered. And by watching, I mean it’s been captured on camera, on cell phone videos. And the stories are those that we are not able to turn away from, especially in the middle of a global pandemic.”

‘You can’t let the conversation stop until you have meaningful change’

Social movements have had sparks that inspired fleeting change, but the unrest of 2020 has yielded a more sustained flame.

“I just feel everybody is finally tired,” Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a telephone interview. “Honestly, not even just Black people. I know at some point, White people looked at this thing and they’re like, ‘C’mon now. This has become ridiculous now.’ This is our humanity that we’re talking about. This is real life. Enough is enough. People are seeing that. Now we have to confront it. Now we have to talk about it. Now we have to have these difficult conversations.”

The Raptors have an eclectic, international roster led by the league’s only African-born top basketball administrator, so the bubble was bound to be about more than just a title defense. When the team arrived in Naples in late June to train for a few weeks in advance of Orlando, Ujiri was providing an update through a group text with vice president of basketball operations Teresa Resch, general manager Bobby Webster and assistant general manager Dan Tolzman. They recalled their NBA championship parade from the previous June and pondered having a similar caravan for the three-hour trek to the bubble.

Resch said, “Wouldn’t that be crazy if we arrived in the bubble on a parade bus?” And after a few exchanges about how they could make a statement, “Masai was like, ‘Is there was way to have our buses painted black? With Black Lives Matter and go to the bubble like that?’” Resch told The Athletic in a phone interview. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course we can.’”

Ujiri refers to Resch as “the logistical queen” for the way in which she can solve most any problem. Resch reached out to the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment studio team – led by Shawna Morrison, Ben Cane and Kevin Mones – to see what could be worked out in a short amount of time. Two days later, they received the imagery, with “Black Lives Matter” in the same font as the Raptors signature “We The North” slogan. The Raptors were then able to work through a vendor in Miami to wrap the buses with a message that left no ambiguity.

“You can’t let the conversation stop until you have meaningful change. There is no specific action attached to it, but to me, the conversation is just as important,” Resch said. “The players wanted to make sure we had Black Lives Matter T-shirts, too. So we got them for our training in Naples. That was something that they were very vocal about.”

In addition to other symbolic gestures, such as hats and background interview banners with Black Lives Matter on them, the Raptors also named John Wiggins their new vice president of organizational culture and inclusion – a move for which Ujiri credited Coach Nick Nurse for being strongly supportive. Nurse has also been urging and helping the 650,000 Americans living in Canada to register to vote in the Nov. 3 U.S. general election.

The Raptors, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat were the only teams to take charter buses into the bubble. With six players born abroad, including All-Star forward Pascal Siakam from Cameroon, the Raptors wanted to make sure that people realized that the fight isn’t restricted to their neighbors below the border. “Racism is a global pandemic, right?” Ujiri said. “This is the issue we face now. I don’t think this is just a United States issue. In Canada, we face it. It’s global. In Europe. In Africa. So many places. Everywhere. Black people and Brown people, we face different issues and difficult times with equality. It’s time to speak up. You could see during the protests, everyone from all around the world is paying attention and speaking up.”

Ujiri wasn’t concerned about any negative reception from fans about the buses and never understood how anyone could take umbrage with Black Lives Matter. “I don’t see it that way. There’s no politics with this. This is humanity and it’s the right thing to do,” Ujiri said. He then mentioned the case of Rayshard Brooks as something people should be more outraged about. Brooks was fatally shot by Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe on June 12 while trying to flee from a scuffle with two officers.

“You look at all of these incidents. Every one of them,” Ujiri said. “Look at that kid in Atlanta outside the Wendy’s. Think for instance, he does not shoot and kill that kid, the kid runs away. What’s the worst that could happen? They never find the kid? The kid’s car is there. So how are they never going to find him? And by the way, if they never find him, is that cop going to be reprimanded? Is he going to be fired or something? No! So, I don’t know what the consequences are. It’s not that the kid was threatening to him. The kid was running at a fence. He was running at an area. Tell me what the worst possible scenario is for that kid. I’m still trying to comprehend.”

Good Bubble Trouble

The NBA didn’t want to just slap Black Lives Matter on some shirts and courts and call it a day. In conjunction with the National Basketball Players’ Association, the league also plans to form a $300 million foundation to support social justice causes. Tatum said the initiative would be outside of the community work already being done through its NBACares programs.

“Those are the things that I think are going to move the needle in addition to maintaining the intention of the movement, which is Black Lives Matter. I think what will come out of this, which will be just as important, is the collective action that our players will be able to take,” said Tatum, who described the negotiations for the continuation of the season as a “true partnership. When George Floyd was murdered, it was right in the middle of our planning process around the restart. So we immediately began conversations with (NBPA executive director) Michele Roberts, with (union president) Chris Paul, with the executive committee about how we would use this season restart in Orlando to take collective action, to combat racism, and promote social justice. And keep the conversation going. It became a shared goal.”

While in Orlando, the NBA also wanted to provide educational opportunities to enlighten players who planned to use their individual platforms to push for tangible change. Tatum said players have access to a social justice channel with programming geared in that direction. They also have access to articles, speeches and books that address systemic racism. Each player in Orlando was given a selection of books: “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix” by Jason Reynolds/Ibram X. Kendi, “The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told by Alex Haley,” “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander and “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo.

When the late civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis died on July 17, the league worked with the producers of his documentary, “Good Trouble,” to hold a special screening for the players. And, as a way to inform and engage the players, the NBA and NBPA have hosted weekly Zoom calls with the likes of former First Lady Michelle Obama, Until Freedom co-founder and activist Tamika Mallory and motivational speaker Eric Thomas.

During the call with Mallory, she included Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was killed in her home when three Louisville police officers issued a no-knock warrant. Some players asked Mallory what they could do for Palmer, and Tatum recalled her telling them, “Just keep raising the issue, keep talking about it.”

Not a day has gone by without some player mentioning Taylor during his media availability or by scribbling her hashtagged name upon his sneakers. The millions that NBA players earn can shield them from some situations, but not all. And if they haven’t had their own personal encounters with police brutality, they can always point to Sterling Brown and Thabo Sefolosha as examples of how these aren’t ancillary concerns.

“This obviously – given the fact that nearly 80 percent of our players are Black – is an issue that affects nearly all of our players and it affects me personally, and it affects our league as well,” Tatum said. “There is not another league in the world that has the kind of responsibility that we do, given the prominence of Black men and Black women in our league on the WNBA side. We have a tremendous responsibility and obligation to continue the conversation. It was an issue that our players cared deeply about but our league cared deeply about. It was a fairly easy discussion.

“We’ve talked about what can we do in the league office in creating a cross-departmental, social impact task force that I’m leading, and part of the things that we’re talking about and committing to are increasing Black representation across the NBA and our teams, ensuring greater inclusion of Black owned and operated businesses across NBA business activities. Those are the things that I think are going to move the needle in addition to maintaining the intention of the movement, which is ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Those things that we’re doing collectively will move the needle.”

‘This fight is going to be going on for a long time’

Haslem couldn’t have envisioned the impact that hoodie photograph would have eight years later. Back then, Haslem had neither the savvy nor the resources to assist those in challenging situations. When he told Fulton that he was there to help, he meant it in the most sincere and direct means possible. But now he has grown into an entrepreneur with several local businesses, and participated in a march with Miami mayor Francis Suarez to protest Floyd’s death.

“That was basically timeless,” Haslem said of that photo with the Heat. “How long ago has that picture been? Eight years. It’s still relevant today. And you can go back eight more years. This fight is going to be going on for a long time, so that picture is going to be relevant for a long time. We didn’t know it at that time but we were kind of starting something.”

James has continued to speak on social justice concerns and recently partnered with Haslem to form a group to fight voter suppression with “More Than A Vote.” The non-profit plans to donate $100,000 to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which helps formerly imprisoned felons register to vote.

“It’s a small battle in the war to even the odds,” Haslem said. “The system is broken in a lot of different ways. We’ve got to understand how to play the political game. We’ve got to get people in office that are politicians. We’re athletes. We’re entertainers. We’re supporters. We’re workers. We’re husbands. We’re fathers. But we’re not politicians. We’ve got to get the people in there to make the right decisions. There’s a lot of things that need to be done. We can only do that together.”

The word platform is now tossed around, with every player with a social media account or a Zoom media availability understanding that what he or she says can be transmitted to the masses. This was an opportunity that the league and its players didn’t want to waste by sticking to sports. “It was an extraordinary sacrifice for our players to make, to leave their families, to leave their homes, to come into a campus environment where they would have to adhere to certain safety protocols. That’s a hard thing to do. And particularly with what was going on and continues to go on in our country,” Tatum said.

The players have made it a point to “say their names” and don’t appear to be letting up.

“It’s helpful, but we’ve got to keep marching. Keep moving on. Because we can’t take our eyes off the prize for one second, because they really want to sweep Breonna under the rug,” Crump said. “All we can try to do is raise attention. That’s all we can do as private lawyers. We can only bring civil, wrongful death lawsuits in these Black Lives Matter cases. We are undefeated. We’ve never lost. But the prosecutors don’t seem to ever win. We just got to keep trying to fight against these two justice systems in America. One for Black America and one for White America. We have to equal justice for the United States of America.”

The NBA’s protective bubble hasn’t been absolved of criticism with regards to how players have engaged or haven’t engaged in actual protest. Some have felt the messages on the back of jerseys were watered down and sterilized the fight.

Jimmy Butler was denied the chance to wear a jersey with no name, which represented those who have been ignored or forgotten in these conversations. Jonathan Isaac turned the rather sanitized show of unity that came from arms-locked kneeling into an uncomfortable debate in which he stood during the anthem and invoked his religious beliefs into the argument. He also declined to wear the Black Lives Matter warmup T-shirt.

Garza is part of the WNBA/Women’s National Basketball Players Association Social Justice Council and has transitioned to leading the Black Futures Lab, a non-profit that assists the Black community in establishing political power. She explained that Black Lives Matter can’t be confined. The weight is in the words.

“I think it’s about values,” Garza said. “And equality, to me, is a value. It’s a value that every single person has the right to live with dignity, has the right to be respected and, frankly, has the right to live. In a country that has been shaped by exclusion and discrimination and has at times gone to the utmost extreme to leave people out and leave people behind, everything that we do is political. Our values are political. Our values are things that we should not compromise. The value of equality and humanity should not be a partisan issue. It should be one of the core tenants of what brings us together and what makes us who we are.”

As for the NBA embrace of Black Lives Matter, Garza said, “I think there is more work to do and this is an exciting first step.”

(Top photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)