Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in /var/www/wp-content/themes/jnews/class/ContentTag.php on line 86
Notice: Undefined offset: 1 in /var/www/wp-content/themes/jnews/class/ContentTag.php on line 86
You got to give it up to the ladies of the WNBA. They are taking the call to stand up seriously. After members of the Minnesota Lynx were fined by the WNBA for wearing shirts supporting Black Live Matters and non-violence, members of the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever responded by only answering questions regarding ‘Black Lives Matters’ following their game Thursday night.
“We feel like America has a problem with the police brutality that’s going on with black lives around here, and we just want to use our voices and use our platform to advocate for that,” said the Liberty’s Tanisha Wright, in an interview with Deadspin.
“Just because someone says ‘Black Lives Matter’ doesn’t mean that other lives don’t matter. People put out this imaginary ‘black lives only matter’ whenever people say, ‘Black lives matter.’ What we’re saying is, ‘Black lives matter, too.’ Period.”
These ladies are using their platform in a powerful way.
“There’s a lot of other stuff outside of basketball that’s going on that, as a whole, all the players have grabbed a hold of,” said Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, to Excelle Sports. “I think it’s important that us as players — being able to utilize our voice, and being able to stand for, and stay united for what matters to us.”
Clearly, there is a need to put a focus on policing of people of color.Just this week in North Miami, Fla., a black man, Charles Kinsey, a behavorial therapist in North Miami, Fla., was laying down on his back on the pavement, next to an autistic patient, who was upset. Kinsey persistently held both his hands up in the air, and told police that he was not armed, and neither was his patient, who had a toy train in his hands. Not only did the police shoot him for no reason, they then handcuffed him after he was shot.
I hope the WNBA’s brethren in the NBA are watching this. At the recent ESPY awards, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade vowed to stand up to injustice and violence, in the spirit of Muhammad Ali. They also encouraged other professional athletes to stand with them.
NBA players command a global stage in mainstream media, and on social media. They have the ability to get any message out they so choose, and they also have the power to impact a multi-million dollar industry, if they so choose. Now we willl have to wait and see if they have the courage that some of the women in the WNBA are showing in taking a stand.
