Boom, the sports world changes
So, we take one Wednesday off from Press Row because of a Braves doubleheader and the sports world changed forever. Kidding.
About the Press Row part.
If you think the rest is hyperbole, think again.
Starting with the NBA, which had its Wednesday slate of three playoff games wiped away, players across multiple leagues boycotted games.
The Milwaukee Bucks started the pro sports protest, refusing to come out of the locker room for a playoff date with the Orlando Magic. It caught the league - and the country - by surprise.
It mushroomed - across the league, into MLB (three games were boycotted) and the WNBA and the MLS - across all of sports in response to Sunday's shooting of a Black man by Wisconsin by police.
Here's the statement from the Bucks, delivered by George Hill and Sterling Brown:
"The past four months have shed a light on the ongoing racial injustices facing our African American communities. Citizens around the country have used their voices and platforms to speak out against these wrongdoings.
"Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we've seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional shooting of protestors. Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.
"When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.
"We are calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable. For this to occur, it is imperative for the Wisconsin State Legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform. We encourage all citizens to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3."
That's the news, and it's the headlines that we all have been presented over the last 20 hours as various experts and analysts have shaped various forms of praise on the players for being agents of change.
Well, let's start here: Man, this 2020 is some kind of unpredictable right? Because, back in January, if you had LeBron and the NBA - in a bubble in Orlando, mind you, without family or fans - walking out and boycotting playoff games during a pandemic, well, you should be playing the lottery. Daily.
My thoughts are plentiful; my questions are far-reaching.
Speaking of the bubble, here's a thought - I'm not sure this happens, in my opinion, without the pandemic-forced bubble. Forget the simple truth that NBA players would be vacationing right now if there was not a pandemic. But the proximity and the communication within the bubble among the players made this possible. Plus, the emotional strain of the violence around the country, while the players are unable to pull their kids and family close to them has to be hard to manage. Never mind the added pressure of Milwaukee deciding not to play with 15,000 fans in the stands.
Not saying this would not have happened, but the bubble facilitated/enabled this in a lot of ways, in my opinion.
Not sure I'm surprised by this - we talked some about the conversations of boycotts Wednesday morning in this space - but it's certainly surreal.
Which leads me to the tractor trailer load of questions that swirl above a decision that has far-reaching ripples but an unknown amount of long-term planning.
What do the players want to get back on the floor? Yes, we can look at the Bucks' statement but is that statement for the Bucks to get back to playing and the Bucks only? Will the Lakers then have another checklist of line items?
What is the end game for this decision?
In some ways, is it as basic as "Stop shooting Black people," a narrative that every reasonable human universally supports.
Is cancelling the rest of the NBA season - something appears distinctly possible at this point - going to slow racism or specifically make one rogue or racist cop not pull the trigger?
And while we are here, the players do know that right now they have the news cycle and the biggest platform in the world - Wednesday had a Category 4 hurricane and night 3 of the GOP convention and this story was the biggest thing anywhere - but will that be true three days from now? What about three months. Because the daily platform and cavalcade of microphones of playing basketball at elite levels will be gone sooner rather than later without the games.
The players have an 11 a.m. meeting today to discuss what's next. At the same time the league's owners will be on a conference call to discuss the whole situation, and as of right now, it's no better than a coin flip that we will see another NBA game in this postseason.
And if the bubble is closed today, the date of the NBA's return could be just another of the long list of unknowns after Wednesday.
Boycott ripples
This is such a monumental action, there's no way this can be contained in one chunk of the 5-at-10.
So we'll wait on the 11 a.m. meetings and what it means for the here and now for the NBA. And in a lot of ways, those gatherings will naturally dictate what the NBA does next and in a lot of ways will dictate what will happen in the other sports like MLB and WNBA.
But, among the conversations of the noble aims of trying to fight racial injustice and police brutality, there are several red elephants in the room, bumping into each other like 18-wheelers on icy roads along the Ridge Cut.
> If we have hit the nuclear option, and the leagues supported the players' decision to boycott, what's next? What's the next issue that will be this meaningful to trigger a walk-out that actually includes a demand that state government reconvene and make decisions of law? (Side question about the question: If Trump wins in November, would it surprise anyone if the players walked out again and demanded a recount?)
> Will the NFL follow suit? Because if you think this is not going to expand and continue, well, then I don't know what to tell you. A few teams have cancelled practices in an awareness of social justice, but it will be interesting to see what happens when the season opens two weeks from tonight?
> When will this be replicated by college athletes for different causes, noble or personal, in a power structure that is shifting every day?
> What about high school athletes, and I ask in earnest? What happens if a high school football team or player decides not to play Friday night?
> How will this affect the NBA in particular and sports in general, because if you think this will not cost the NBA millions, I don't know what to tell you? Yes, the counter can be as simple as LeBron saying he won't miss President Trump, but if the season is bagged after lunch today - after the league spent $150 million to build the bubble and will forfeit multiple times that in TV contracts - the economic hit could get into the billions. And the effect on fans can't be measured, because know this: There are millions of Americans who just said, "That's it, I'm never watching the NBA again." Again, LeBron may not miss them and you may think their views are based on some questionable racial views.
> What happens if the players decide not to speak to a specific group of reporters? What happens if MLB players decide they are not going to use Rawlings products because of a viable social issue? It may feel like splitting hairs, but is it? The prism changed forever Wednesday, friends, whether we realize it or not.
A lot of folks are now calling on the NBA owners to "call their contacts and friends" or make governmental change so we can have the NBA again.
But in the direct words of the Bucks' statement, they want the officer arrested and charged, which means they want to dictate due process of law with a protest and work stoppage? Hey, if the known details of the Wisconsin shooting are all that happened, then we all believe the shooting police officer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But should any group have the power to say theoretically, "Prosecute this person, or we're going on strike" in this country?
Let me say this as clearly as I can. I hate what happened in Wisconsin. I hate what happened to George Floyd. I hate the divide in this country, a place that should be so much better than the real and deserved target of Doc Rivers' powerful words Tuesday night about how Black people love this country but the country does not love them back.
> What happens when those in other workplaces have the same reaction? Yes, the NBA players and elite athletes have way more power because of the money-generating abilities and skill sets they have, so the NBA guys are not going to get fired. But if you are working at Food City, or for the city of Chattanooga or writing a 10 a.m. morning rambling about sports and society, and you walk out of your job in protest, what happens?
These are difficult times with difficult issues that must be addressed by all of us.
I hope everyone realized that before Wednesday. If they didn't, well, here's betting everyone's talking about it now.
Elsewhere in sports
Not that anyone was 'happy' about the news of Wednesday, and certainly no one was happy about the actions that preceded Wednesday's game-changing deacons, but there were two guys who were able to remain out of the spotlight because of the boycotts.
LSU basketball coach Will Wade was accused of being part of multiple NCAA violations in a report from ESPN. Uh-oh.
Man, Will Wade? Who knew? And you know the rules, when Weeds writes about college hoops, we read and link Weeds' words on college hoops.
Also, Dan Snyder continued to remind us that whenever there is a discussion about the worst owner in sports, let's not look anywhere but the executive office at the Washington Football Team.
Snyder was accused by the Washington Post of another round of seedy actions and workplace harassment. Snyder claims it's a hit piece by the Washington Post, pulling the Potomac Two-Step of side-stepping the message while assailing the messenger.
Both of those stories normally would have been headline news.
Wednesday? They were blurbs at the bottom of the hour.
This and that
- Listening to Keyshawn, J-Will and Zubin on Thursday morning was powerful. Several former Black athletes got very emotional. Regardless of your stance on this, hearing perspectives and viewpoints from people who do not look like you or think like you is a great thing in these troubling times. And in a lot of ways, I was so thankful that we had two outspoken - and well-spoken - Black men talking about this rather than Golic or Wingo. But that may just be me.
- You know the rules. Here's Stephen Hargis, the TFP sports editor and prep sports guru on the changing football schedule this week.
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on UT's go-to receiver and Saban saying his face covering his changing the way he 'coaches' his players in practice. Good stuff.
Today's questions
Well, take your pick. Fire away.
Yeah the days of 'Shut up and dribble' are forever done now, right?
As for today, Aug. 27, I'm not sure it matters to be honest. This is so surreal.
Let's go here: Rushmore of societal days in sports, because there is a very real chance that August 26, 2020 may be among them.
Go and remember the mailbag.