"I will not just shut up and dribble I get to sit up here and talk about what's really important. So proclaimed LeBron James in 2018 when confronted with the question of whether athletes have the right to speak about the political and social justice questions of their time. Yet since 7 October 2023, elite athletes in North America have had startlingly little to say about what most human rights groups in the world,"
"However, in December 2023, former NBA player and Guardian contributor Etan Thomas provided a window into how many NBA players actually feel, noting that in response to his own public comments on Gaza he received over a dozen messages from different active NBA players and even more from retired NBA players thanking me. One anonymized player told him, Their oppression is too forreal !! It's just evil! while another explained, I was actually advised by my age"
"To be sure, there have been some exceptions, including the righteously incandescent commentary of the WNBA's Natasha Cloud, the organizing of Athletes for Ceasefire, Olympic medalist Moh Ahmed's decision to sign a letter opposing Israel's involvement in Davis Cup tennis, some oblique references from the NBA's Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown, a symbolic gesture from NFLer Azeez Al-Shaair, and the recent decision of Canadian cyclist Derek Gee to end a contract with an Israeli-affiliated team."
LeBron James asserted in 2018 that athletes have the right to speak about political and social justice issues. Since 7 October 2023, elite North American athletes have largely remained silent about actions in Gaza that many human rights organizations, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and the United Nations have characterized as genocide. A few athletes have spoken out or taken action, including Natasha Cloud, Athletes for Ceasefire organizers, Moh Ahmed, Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Derek Gee. A dancer at the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show produced a notable public moment. Private messages from NBA players revealed more candor and sympathy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]