SI Writers Erik Gee, Michael Shapiro, and Justin Grasso discuss NBA players using their platforms to speak up about social injustice.
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00:00 Talk about what the NBA's role is when it comes to social injustice and what's going on right now.
00:06 We've seen how much our country's been affected over the last few days. NBA players are stepping
00:10 up. How involved, and Michael, we'll start with you, how involved do you want to see NBA players
00:16 and how involved have the Rockets been as far as speaking out? You know, I think it's good to start
00:22 on, you know, noting how tragic the death of George Floyd is. And frankly, I think it's very encouraging
00:28 to see NBA players taking a stance on causes they really believe in. I know the Rockets with Austin
00:33 Rivers and Robert Covington specifically, who's a very thoughtful individual, have been very
00:38 outspoken working within their communities. I think Robert is in Nashville right now.
00:42 But I think it's a really encouraging step to see the young players in this league really take
00:47 kind of a step forward in promoting racial justice, fighting back against inequality. I really don't
00:53 think that an NBA player's job really ends on the floor. And I think a lot of players do recognize
00:58 that, which is encouraging. Justin? Yeah, it's definitely great to see because, you know,
01:04 these guys have voices that, you know, are heard by many fans around the country, around the world.
01:10 So, you know, they're basketball players. They're not considered influencers, but they have an
01:17 influence. And it's not exactly their responsibility, but they're taking it upon
01:21 themselves to make it their responsibility to kind of get the conversation started. You know,
01:25 it's a sensitive time, but, you know, these players want to speak up and fight for what's
01:31 right. And members of the Sixers are doing that. The Sixers put out a statement yesterday. Tobias
01:37 Harris was in Philadelphia, you know, protesting with all the residents. So I definitely think it's
01:43 a great thing to see for the NBA and just for, you know, the USA as a whole. I agree with you.
01:49 And I'm going back to what Michael said. I've never thought professional sports or any athlete,
01:55 their job should be strictly what happens on the floor or on the field. They're just too
02:00 influential today. And I don't know why it took so long. Like during my college years, I can't
02:07 remember hardly any athletes speaking up in a political realm. And I went to college back in
02:13 the 90s, but it seems more of a new generation type thing where they're taking their cue
02:19 from guys back in the 60s and the 70s who fought for social injustice and even going back before
02:25 that. But I think the real thing is, is it's going to have a lot of it depends on us. We have to keep
02:32 fighting for it as citizens. We have to realize what the problems are. And my fear is that even
02:39 though we're saying this time is different, and now maybe some of us are awake into things that
02:44 we thought we understood, but really fully didn't, is are we going to continue to just sort of let
02:52 this be a five minute thing where it's like, oh, all week long, everything we feel bad, we feel bad
02:57 for what's going on. We want change. And then we let, we're joining the course with LeBron James
03:03 and Steven Jackson. And then we just forget about it. And we go about our daily lives. This is
03:08 something we cannot forget about. And it's going to be on us because eventually there's going to
03:14 be so many other distractions in life that yeah, it will go on the back burner, but it's got to
03:19 stay up front. And that's just something you've got to be mindful of every day and speak out when
03:24 you have the opportunity to, although that is a very scary thing. All right, guys.
03:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]