It’s been an emotional rollercoaster around the NBA this week, as players have been left reeling after yet another unarmed Black man was shot by police. The Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin has once again galvanized many around the NBA to refocus their efforts on the Black Lives Matter movement, and subsequently, thrown the remainder of the season into uncertainty.
Players from all three playoffs series slated for Wednesday night action decided to refuse to play their scheduled games in the hope of putting pressure on lawmakers and public officials, and especially NBA owners, to enact some kind of meaningful change. The WNBA soon followed suit, along with the MLS and some MLB teams.
Beyond the Bubble, it has opened up the conversation for people around the NBA, past and present, to share their own personal experiences and the dangers they face being Black in America. Lakers legend Robert Horry was one such figure among many who spoke about how he fears for his children’s lives each time they leave the house and how those fears stem directly from the people who are supposed to protect all citizens.
My friend Robert Horry on the show tonight…. powerful…. truth… @lakers @SpectrumSN @NBA pic.twitter.com/rJk1dExGTg
— Chris Geeter McGee (@geeter3) August 27, 2020
“Black men are an endangered species, pretty much. I have to tell my kids, ‘If you have to lay down on the ground and they can kick you, beat you, at least you go to the hospital and you can come home to me.’”
Horry’s segment was just the latest in a night that’s seen Kenny Smith leave the TNT set in solidarity and Chris Webber deliver a tearful and impassioned plea for change. Players have been meeting for hours to try and collectively determine the fate of the season, and there has reportedly been some division, as the Lakers and Clippers were the only teams to vote to cancel the rest of the playoffs.
Still, nothing has been officially decided as of yet, and the NBA Board of Governors will meet early Thursday to try and put together some kind of action plan to use their considerable influence in a way that would result in concrete social justice reform.