NBA players are finding their social conscience in 2018

Social media has made our social conscience come alive like never before, and the NBA is a prime example

People like to have their views heard from time to time, but most ordinary adults don’t have a platform in which those views can be heard on a mass scale. NBA players do though, so the question for NBA players and putting their viewpoints out in the public sphere can be a complicated one.

We, as a society, are living in a time where athletes can have a profound influence over our culture on many social and political issues. Many NBA players have a Twitter account, a Facebook account, snapchat account or an Instagram account.

The NBA players of this era are using social media to share their views on a variety of topics.

Let me get this out of the way. I like that our present day NBA players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Dwayne Wade speak out on current events happening in this country or around the world. It tells me that they are concerned with much more than their chosen profession.

It hasn’t always been this way, though.

Growing up as a teenager in the 1980’s and young college kid in the 1990’s, you did not see many athletes speak up about things going on in modern society.

The greatest player of my era, Michael Jordan, never spoke up about anything in the political realm. Jordan, just like many of his fellow athletes at the time, was a bit reticent about offending people. Michael Jordan did not want to alienate any of his fans, no matter what creed or race. He was going to protect the Michael Jordan brand at all costs.

"[via Slate]Legend has it that the Nike pitchman (Jordan) justified his lack of activism with the now infamous line, “Republicans buy shoes, too.”"

The only NBA player that spoke out about social issues on a consistent basis was Charles Barkley, but he was met with resistance for some of his views. That didn’t matter to Charles Barkley. Barkley had an indifferent attitude toward what the public thought about his views.

"“I am not a role model.” Barkley said in his famous Nike ads."

This created quite the stir with fans and parents. I liked the viewpoint that Barkley was espousing with the ads. Athletes don’t raise your kids, parents do.

What did we hear from other NBA players?

Nothing. It was like they were scared to say anything controversial.

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Fast forward to the current NBA era.

Players are not afraid anymore.

With the invent of social media, NBA players have the ability to reach millions of people on a daily basis. LeBron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Dwyane Wade have the platform to speak out about things happening in world.

From police shootings, national anthem protests, poverty, education, immigration, or whether to visit the White House after winning a championship, NBA players make their views known to the public. It has certainly ruffled some feathers with the public.

The public has become uncomfortable with NBA players speaking out.

Why?

That’s a great question.

My thought is that people are not used to NBA players speaking out.

Many political pundits have come after professional athlete for throwing themselves in the social limelight; none seem to back down, though.

Professional athletes have a right to have their opinions heard just like everybody else. I believe the public can be a bit jealous of the platform that these NBA athletes have. The platform the players have can influence society on a level that the average citizen can not. It would be natural to be a bit jealous.

I have always understood that athletes, actors, media, and politicians have always had a bigger platform to influence our culture than I will ever have.

Do I agree with these NBA players on everything they say? No, yet I still want to hear what they want to say.

It helps me understand their views better, so it helps in starting a dialogue. To tell these players to just shut up and play is discounting their personal opinions.

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This country was founded on the opinion that people are entitled to freedom of speech, so whether you agree with them is irrelevant. You are guaranteed freedom of speech regardless of your place in our culture.

Discussion is good to have, so why not try and find it? Whether that discussion is difficult to have doesn’t matter. It’s important to have it. Just suppose for a moment that these NBA players are doing that. Starting a discussion where common ground can be found.

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