Stand Up For Your Rights

During the offseason, with the United States rife with protest and policy change, NBA players used their platforms to voice strong opinions on the state of the country. Now it looks like the League may become intertwined with political activism like never before.

- Peter Walsh

IT’S LABOR DAY 2017 and the summer is wrapping up following months of political strife, protests and tragedy. The turmoil reached a boiling point during the weekend of August 12 when white supremacists and Nazis descended upon the city of Charlottesville, VA, for a “Unite the Right” rally that resulted in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was killed when James Alex Fields Jr intentionally drove his car into a group of protestors.

As the events unfolded, NBA players took to Twitter to echo the feelings of shock, fear and disgust that the majority of the public was experiencing. Donald Trump fueled the fire by refusing to immediately condemn the supremacists, claiming at a press conference that there was violence on “both sides.”

Days later, LeBron James spoke at his foundation’s annual family reunion and used his platform to call Trump the “socalled president of the United States.” James then made a plea for those in attendance to take a look in the mirror and ask,

“What can we do better to help change?”

NBA players—and professional athletes in general—have a long history of being involved in social, political and race issues. Over the past few years, more and more marquee players have been using their status to voice their views and help promote change. LeBron, along with friends and fellow superstars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, stood on stage at the 2016 ESPYs—just one week after the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling at the hands of the police—and called on celebrity athletes to “Speak up. Use our influence. And renounce all violence.”