The NBA Players have the support of former United States President Barack Obama after the Bucks spearheaded a walkout.
The story inside the NBA bubble is still developing. Players want change to happen now. They know change happens throughout time, but something has to be the catalyst for it. Right now, the best that they can do is to stop themselves from playing.
The NBA players are no distractions. Instead, they just put racial injustice front and center after they decided not to play today. The games tomorrow will most likely be postponed as well.
Barack Obama lauds the NBA Players’ efforts
Obama is an avid basketball fan. In his tenure as the U.S. President, he would sit court-side on many of the games. He also enjoyed welcoming the visits of the NBA Champions in his six-year tenure. He hasn’t forgotten them now that he’s back to his regular life. Instead, he’s lauding the efforts of the widespread peaceful protest in the bubble. He tweeted,
“I commend the players on the @Bucks for standing up for what they believe in, coaches like @DocRivers, and the @NBA and @WNBA for setting an example. It’s going to take all our institutions to stand up for our values.”
The fate of the season still hangs in the balance after the protests today. With what the Bucks did, they just started what could be a snowball effect on all major league sports.
They couldn’t allow the games to continue out of spite of what has happened. The Bucks didn’t want to sit on their hands to wait for collective action from the league and the players’ association. Instead, they spearheaded the protest. Also, they didn’t like that the shooting happened in their home state.
What happens now?
The collective bargaining agreement between the NBA Players’ Association and the NBA states that the players are barred from doing anything that can cause a stoppage of work. However, the dice have been rolled. It will take some time for the NBA to decide on the matter.
In reality, they have all the trump cards to impose penalties and fines on the players that caused the stoppage. However, considering the gravity of the situation, they may beg off from doing such.
Nevertheless, the board of governors is set to meet tomorrow to discuss the future of the league. The majority of the NBA Playoffs matches are just in the first round. As such, much is still at stake.
Image from The Obama White House/ YouTube thumbnail