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NBA players stopped playing games
Why athlete activism can achieve social change
Something happened in the NBA that has never been seen before. After the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic decided not to play Game 5 of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs which led to a domino effect. Consequently, all games were canceled and for a few days, there was even uncertainty if the season will resume at all. This sparked a great debate over the purpose of this action. Many people argued that sport should not be mixed with politics.
This debate is nothing new. Sport and political activism have a long history. Notable examples range from Muhammad Ali’s fight for civil rights to Tommie Smith and John Carlos black power salutes, standing on the podium for the national anthem and raising their black-gloved fists to the sky.
Since the rise of social media, the balance of power within media has shifted from newspapers and governments to individuals. Nowadays, athletes like NBA superstar Lebron James have more Instagram followers than France habitants.
Social media has served as a critical platform for athlete activism by giving the athletes a possibility to express and share their opinions with a broad audience. Since there is a widespread presence of NBA players in the viewer’s social…
