Black Lives Matter

The NBA is back on July 31. The NHL has not announced hard dates yet. States are relaxing their restrictions. MLB and the MLBPA are deadlocked in their negotiations, with each day it looks less likely that there will be a season in 2020. 

The pandemic continues. As of Friday, 18 states have seen a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. Fan X feels a need to be tested for the coronavirus—something that many of us reluctantly do at an advanced age. With many more likely to become ill as a result of the demonstrations which have been occurring almost everywhere—from Millburn, New Jersey to Santa Monica, California, to Helena, Montana. From bloodbaths in Philadelphia to upheaval in Minneapolis, the epicenter of the outrage, to Houston, the childhood hometown of George Floyd.

Front and central remains the horrible death of Floyd at the hands of four, now-indicted, white Minneapolis police officers. The powerful messages of 8+ minutes of silence to recreate the time span it took for Floyd’s captors to take away his last breath to the recitation by the Floyd attorney the names of all the black men and women who have died as the result of police brutality in recent memory.

No one has been shielded from the outcry of all sides. The police have taken things to extremes—either marching or kneeling with protestors, or aggressively striking those who dare to protest quietly, as seen most vividly in Buffalo when a 75 year old man was slammed to the ground. Outside forces from many political views and agendas have infiltrated the peaceful protesting. 

Again and again, we see the cities and even posh neighborhoods such as where Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti resides, have become locales where the voice of outrage and protest is straining to be heard.

Typically, Americans want change now or even yesterday. In some instances, the changes have begun, especially in cities with black mayors like Atlanta and Tacoma, Washington. The Mayor of Washington, D.C. had artists paint a street leading to the White House with the good and big yellow lettering “Black Lives Matter.” Yes, there is dialogue. It is pertinent and timely discussion, likely to effectuate change in certain instances.

Still, we have the unsavory images of the Lincoln Monument heavily guarded and the use of flash grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a peaceful gathering outside of the White House so that the President could make a political statement with a photo op of him holding up a bible in front of a nearby church. Thankfully, he retreated from his plan to visit his golf course in Bedminster, NJ, citing the difficulty the town would have with the expected protests—when we all know that the weather this weekend in Somerset County isn’t going to be very good for golfing. 

Political icons like Barack Obama and John Lewis, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King are united in their beliefs. Statues which glorify those who personified hatred against blacks have been removed in Virginia and Philadelphia. 

Athletes have made statements, some of them notorious. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees made his conservative views about respecting the flag known. Which prompted an immediate outcry, denouncing his remarks except for a few like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, who said the vitriol directed at Brees was over the top. 

Michael Jordan and Lebron James have acted monetarily and vocally. The Green Bay Packers released a video denouncing violence against blacks.  Roger Goodell has heard the voices of the top players in the NFL. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have marched in rallies in the Bay Area. 

Star Rutgers basketball player Geo Baker, who is multi-racial, documented his feelings on Twitter. Many followers dropped him, only to be replaced by more new followers who understood the circumstances and his message. I am one of those new followers. 

It is a shame what happened to Baker with so many choosing to drop him on Twitter. These same individuals loved his basketball exploits but could not stomach a young man expressing his beliefs. That is exactly the divide within the country, and that is troublesome. 

Much more is going to happen in the months ahead. The super charged political climate, fueled by discord and disconnect and exacerbated by the horrors of the coronavirus, has shook us like a strong earthquake. The after shocks will be many. When they finally die down, it will be time to count the lives uprooted and destroyed and then seek to rebuild. It is how we choose to rebuild that is most important, resetting America and making it great again in reality, rather than as part of a fake campaign slogan worn conspicuously on a red baseball cap. 

With the NBA centralizing its games in the Disney complex outside of Orlando, a great sociological experiment will begin. Driven by the need to play games for a multitude of reasons, the players will be the participants in a scientifically-directed glass house open to the world to see. I have said before that the magnitude of the undertaking is daunting and can easily go awry. 

Commissioner Adam Silver admitted he prematurely spoke when he stated in an interview that he was likely to keep older coaches from the participating. That did not sit well with the NBA Coaches group, led by Dallas head man Rick Carlisle. Just what the league needed was some good old fashioned age discrimination controversy beforehand.

The plan’s approval was almost unanimous; only Portland voted no. Twenty-two teams were invited to play. There will be a maximum 8 game schedule to determine who makes the playoffs as well as seeding for the playoffs. Too many nuances for me to get into. You know that the NBA hierarchy is rooting for the New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson to get to a point where they can compete for even a play-in game for the main draw of the playoffs. 

The UFC keeps chugging along with cards in their gym in Las Vegas. Bankrolled by ESPN, which desperately wants live action to generate its own revenue streams. 

Our friends at the NHL have come up with a novel idea. Change the months that hockey is played. Instead of the traditional October to June format, owners are advocating a season which starts on January 1 with the Winter Classic and ends with the Stanley Cup Playoffs in August. Technology has given us air-conditioned arenas which can keep ice solid and playable. Given that I still have to visit Montreal, Calgary and Winnipeg with my son on our Canadian hockey excursions, I am excited about the possibility of avoiding the cold in those cities when we visit; the constant snow in Ottawa is still frozen in my mind. 

I really have very little to say regarding the NFL, for once. Which is good. My only thoughts are whether they can do better this time than what happened with Colin Kaepernick and his symbolic kneeling in protest of the ongoing scourge of police insensitivity towards people of color. Wouldn’t it be the right thing to get him back in the league for real, in some true capacity as a QB (is he a better acquisition than Cam Newton?) or an out front spokesperson for the causes the players believe in and the league will now support.)? Such a pipe dream…

And as baseball fritters away its chances to give us one more element of revival, I feel pained by the whole process. Besides, Baseball would get stiff competition from the NBA and NHL playoffs and the NFL season, if the latter does go froward as anticipated. 

These are not normal times. Not even close. The real world and the sports world have many of the same issues in a complicated overlap.

There is one thing we should all agree upon. As much as ALL lives matter, the clarion call of Black Lives Matter has much greater significance than it ever did before. Let us not forget too soon as to what has happened so that we can realistically prevent injustice once and for all.