Players, Teams and Leagues Respond to National Outcry. Some Win, Some Lose.

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I’m not here to tell you how to think. Let’s face it, if we disagree about this you probably won’t be convinced by whatever I have to say anyway. There’s one right side of this issue, if you aren’t on it feel free to read something else on the site. If you’re out joining the protests, be smart, be safe, be peaceful. If you’re in law enforcement, join the fight, take a knee, protect and serve your community; failing that, please try to remember restraint. The whole world is watching you all.

Tremendous Outpouring of Support

Changing minds must seem less daunting to our nation’s athletes and celebrities, with some taking to social media and some directly to the streets. The pain and anger on display across the nation was visceral, perhaps no more so than with the response of former NBA player Stephen Jackson, a friend of the victim, George Floyd, who was close enough to refer to the man as his “twin.” Jackson traveled to Minneapolis over the weekend to be on hand for demonstrations and made emotional pleas for justice. He was joined at one point by the Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns, who is still recovering from personal tragedy while dealing with a national one.

A ridiculously powerful image of Karl-Anthony Towns, who is still out there showing support for George Floyd despite recently losing his mother to COVID-19. He has proven to be a leader in his community and should be applauded for his tenacity and resilience. Salute, @KarlTowns. https://t.co/mvAMxglyft

— Bryan Kalbrosky (@BryanKalbrosky) May 29, 2020

Several prominent Boston Celtics were seen in the news. Jaylen Brown drove 15 hours to be in Atlanta over the weekend, where he led protest marches and used his celebrity to help create dialogue and get stories out on a broader scale.

5:30 @ cnn to MLK memorial cite come walk with me

— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) May 30, 2020

“Remember why we’re here!” Protest turns into March lead by @FCHWPO who drove 15 hours from Boston just to be here for a peaceful protest in his hometown #11Alive #bostonceltics pic.twitter.com/uhow5F2Lon

— Hope Ford (@hope_iam) May 30, 2020

Brown was joined on the streets of Atlanta by Malcolm Brogdon, who surely made his grandfather proud, but probably also a little sad at the amount of progress still to be made after two generations of protest.

Malcolm Brogdon, Lil Yachty and Justin Anderson joined Jaylen Brown in Atlanta to protest.

Brogdon: "I got a grandfather who marched next to Dr. King in the 60's and he was amazing. He would be proud to see us all here. We have to keep pushing forward."

(via @FCHWPO) pic.twitter.com/E4yXxWjGGr

— ESPN (@espn) May 31, 2020

Celtics Center Enes Kanter is a wanted man and landed on several death lists for standing in brave opposition to the strongman running his native Turkey, he took some of those skills to the streets of Boston on Sunday, imploring people to “be on the right side of history.”

BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY.

pic.twitter.com/tl8w24kuCt

— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) May 31, 2020

On Thursday, former NFL quarterback and modern civil rights hero Colin Kaepernick tweeted his support for the growing movement.

When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction.

The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance.

We have the right to fight back!

Rest in Power George Floyd

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) May 28, 2020

Statements from the NBA’s GOAT Crowd

Kaepernick was later invoked in one of the more powerful statements from an athlete, LeBron James, whose Instagram post of kneeling in tragic contrast is breathtaking. This is how you protest. This is not how you police.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 👑 (@kingjames)

Several other members of the NBA’s GOAT debate (it’s not a debate, it’s M.J.) added their thoughts to the rising chorus, with Vanessa Bryant standing in for Kobe by posting an absolutely heartbreaking photo.

These men are our fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, human beings treated inhumanely by those who are supposed to protect and serve. Where are we supposed to put the range of emotions we experience seeing black men die on video?

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 27, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1xv2Kjknt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Statement from Michael Jordan: pic.twitter.com/lWkZOf1Tmr

— Jordan (@Jumpman23) May 31, 2020

Jordan and long-time partner Nike partnered to release a powerful statement, with the sneaker manufacturer imploring Americans not to turn their back on racism, tweaking their slogan to “Don’t Do It”

Be a part of the change. #JUMPMAN pic.twitter.com/wtxsv7Jhwg

— Jordan (@Jumpman23) May 29, 2020

The General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri, penned a powerful op-ed for The Globe and Mail, saying: “No one can deny the police have a tough job. But they are peace officers. They are supposed to protect all of us. This is the profession they chose. I didn’t see any peace or protection when that officer had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck. I saw indifference.”

Leagues Weigh-in

The WNBA released a strong message condemning systemic racism:

For Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and far too many other women, men, children. pic.twitter.com/OBA80TX1BW

— WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) May 29, 2020

As did the NHL

Statement from the National Hockey League: pic.twitter.com/F0AagVAg4e

— NHL (@NHL) June 1, 2020

The league that sparked the biggest reaction with their statement during the protests was hands-down the NFL. While the heart of the statement is in the right place and the PR hack who wrote it for them did a good job, the tone-deaf nature of this statement in light of the league’s treatment of Kaepernick and the kneeling issue in general made this tough to swallow. As was apparent from league-wide player response, best summed up by wide receiver Kenny Stills.

Save the bullshit

— Kenny Stills (@KSTiLLS) May 30, 2020

Tennis legend Serena Williams posted a moving speech to her Instagram account. The speaker is a child questioning why she would be viewed as different. If you can make it through this without feeling anything, we really have nothing to discuss while protests are going on.

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A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)

A name that may become more familiar to you in the coming years, Coco Gauff, added her thoughts from the tennis world.

#blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/WEZEmtHH8k

— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 29, 2020

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Dale Murphy’s son appears to have been one of the great many victims of police violence during the protest against police violence.

Last night, my son was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet while peacefully protesting for justice for George Floyd. His story is not unique. Countless others have also experienced this use of excessive police force while trying to have their voices heard.

— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020

If you're a beneficiary of systemic racism, then you will not be able to dismantle it at no cost to yourself. You will have to put yourself at risk. It might not always result in being physically attacked, but it will require you to make yourself vulnerable.

— Dale Murphy (@DaleMurphy3) June 1, 2020

Murphy followed up to say that first responders and doctors were able to save his son’s eye. This was unfortunately not the case for countless people across the country, including far too many journalists, who were being targeted by police live on television with alarming frequency all weekend.

The Whole World is Watching

A common refrain in protests is “the whole world is watching.” This was clearly true based on the response from several international soccer stars.

First professional hat trick 🙏🏼. A bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change. We have to come together as one & fight for justice. We are stronger together! ❤️ #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ntOtwOySCO

— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) May 31, 2020

Powerful moment here at Borussia-Park as Marcus Thuram takes the knee after scoring.@borussia_en are now two nil up just before the break.

Watch live now on HD11 📺#beINBundesliga #BMGFCU pic.twitter.com/PZQ4pBs2GP

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 31, 2020

Instead of ending on a downer …

There are an absolute ton of messages out there. This was a very small sample. Nearly all of the messaging during the weekend protests was positive and uplifting. Athletes, teams, organizations, leagues, and fans nationwide poured their grief and anger into statements creating a national dialogue and a historical record of this long week in our tragic history.

I was originally going to include some of the limited amount of loser responses. Whether these people were acting out of confusion, hatred or just plain old stupidity (we see you, Aubrey Huff) remains to be seen, but those messages are out there for you to find if you want to read them. I, for one, don’t want to give their fires more oxygen.

Instead, in the hopes of ending with a smile, here’s a reminder that man’s best friend is still here to save us all.

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden_/status/1267142645631127552?s=20

https://twitter.com/nswartsell/status/1267222244339712001?s=20

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