Being an NBA fan in America may be one of the most dynamic social experiences that American culture has to offer. From crazy dunks to wild ankle breakers, game sevens to top five debates, all-star games and celebrity courtside appearances, the gravitational pull of the NBA has the ability to make all other aspects of American society bend towards its bright lights and big stages. And for good reason; at its core basketball in its highest is the physical manifestation of human expression. As a young black boy struggling to find a way to make the world his own, watching LeBron James embody the combination of power, grace, and technical genius on the hardwood inspired me to do the same in my own life. However, LeBron’s magic on the court was not the only thing that I took notice of and connected with my own life. As I sat down to watch “The Decision” I fought to suppress my feelings of nervous excitement; if the reports were true LeBron would be going to play in Miami alongside THE Flash: Dwyane Wade. I knew that if this happened we might be afforded four or five years of the best basketball the world had ever seen. Apparently the world around me saw not an opportunity for greatness, but of evil. That summer was a tough one for me, as it was I can imagine for LeBron (although dude was moving to Miami and getting a pay raise, so all-in-all not a bad deal). His jersey was burned throughout the streets, he was told by his former boss that the city which he was born in no longer welcomed him home, he was called a cheat, a liar, a punk, accused of betrayal and the murder of the hopes of oh so many lost Clevelanders. Fast forward 6 years and now we come to a situation with glaring similarities. Kevin Durant, whose silently lethal jump shot and devastatingly explosive ability to finish at the rim have launched him into conversations of the league’s best, made a decision similar to LeBron’s: leave the only franchise you’ve known your whole career in search of personal development, a great city, and of course, the holy grail of basketball: the Larry O’Brien NBA Finals Trophy. I watched the reactions of America unravel and as I sat at my TV and on Twitter I was forced to come to this conclusion: that the institution of NBA fandom is incredibly racist. In a major way, racism in NBA fandom revolves around the notion that fans and franchise officials have complete ownership over the lives of black players. When you examine NBA franchises as a plantation, then it becomes easy to see the ways in which racism infiltrates the way in which we consume sports. When Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City he was not without his great reasons; Oakland is a HUGE upgrade over OKC, one of the smallest and least desirable markets in the NBA. Kevin Durant’s growth as a player had been stifled over the past couple years, especially by the presence of ball-guzzler Russel Westbrook and the inability of the Thunder to spread the floor for Durant in crucial possessions. Oklahoma City’s chances at a title were already running thin, given that Westbrook’s contract is up next year as well, and the team still has not landed a major piece which would vault the team into major title contention. Then of course, THERE’S THE MONEY: Durant still landed a max contract in Golden State, so in other words, IT’S THE PERFECT DECISION. However, racism in America has a way of wiping all reason from situations in which the autonomy of black men and women is involved. The only part of the decision that so-called fans of basketball saw was that Kevin Durant took power into his own hands and changed the competitive balance of the NBA. Think about how impactful that is. With one signature Kevin Durant changed the trajectory of two major corporate entities, and possibly the direction of the league overall, which is worth billions. That is true power. Which is exactly the problem that the majority of sports fans in the country had with the decision. Furthermore, the burning of Kevin Durant jersey’s shows that his value to Thunder fans is only connected to his ability to produce a commodity for them, in this case, W’s in the win column. Forget that the Thunder only landed in OKC after an illegal relocation of the team from Seattle. Forget that Durant put his body on the line for nine years on a team which was absolutely horrible when he arrived. Forget that Durant was the Thunder’s first ever superstar, an MVP, and the life of the organization for almost a decade. Racism leaves no room for gratitude. Kevin Durant left the Thunder and can no longer produce a commodity for its fans. Should he be missed? Of course. But to deny him the respect, dignity, and love he deserves for literally putting his body on the line for a city is nothing short of disgusting. The same goes for Dwyane Wade, who after sacrificing his body for 13 years in Miami (suffering through multiple back and knee injuiries), winning 3 championships and recruiting the greatest Heat team of all time while NEVER being the team’s highest paid player, was refused the pay raise he felt he deserved. When Wade subsequently left for Chicago, his hometown his jersey was burned by the #HEATNATION which he was the heart and soul of for over a decade. NBA Commissioner said recently in an interview that he wishes that NBA players didn’t have the power to essentially take their careers into their own hands and form super teams, saying instead that he would prefer a collective bargaining agreement in which it made it easier for every team to have a superstar. How convenient, to strike a deal in which every NBA town got its own black man to idolize, fetishize, and toss in the dumpster when his body gives out on him only to bring a new one into town. This is the way the league used to operate, with every market, big or small, afforded one or two superstars so as to create parody, regardless of what it meant for the players. Imagine landing in a city across the nation from your family, not being able to negotiate the contract you deserve, being pimped out for sponsorships and endorsement deals, not being able to gain leverage in contract negotiations, and not being able to prevent yourself and your family from being traded and having to start life over in a completely new city. LeBron James is not only a pioneer in that he has changed the way the game is played, but also the way in which the entire league operates. Now players in a league which the talent is overwhelmingly black and the ownership and fan base overwhelmingly white, are experiencing increasing power over the everyday operations of the league, and it’s giving basketball fans all over the country fits. Today, players from every team network and forge relationships with each other. This is evident in the reports that Kevin Durant had an ongoing friendship with Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala, which started on the 2012 US Olympic team. Of course LeBron and DWade’s friendship is one which will go down in history books as the friendship which changed basketball history. This absolutely rejects the plantation model of isolation, and brings the dismay of both fans and ownership alike, who want to see players despise each other and form confrontational relationships which would prevent them from coming together and taking the trajectory of their own careers and subsequently the Association into their own hands. With increased power, of course, comes increased autonomy, which can’t be good for your everyday fan who previously was afforded the privilege of turning on the tv, or filing through a turnstile, without ever having to take into mind the humanity of the players which they were paying to see perform. Expressions of humanity such as celebratory dances and trash talk alike are now seen as over the top. LeBron wore an “I Can’t Breathe” TShirt last fall and threw the sports world into a frenzy. The nearly all-black Los Angeles Clippers team was heavily criticized for their black tshirt pre-game protest of Donald Sterling, Donald Trump’s contemporary, and then when the team threatened to strike, its fans threatened to abandon them all together. Imagine the backlash that would ensue should the whole players association pressure the country to take action on police brutality and systemic racism as Carmelo Anthony suggested. In American sport, white fans assuage their privilege, prejudice, and bigotry for a few hours and root for black men under the conditions that they don’t taint their beloved game with too much blackness, put their bodies on the line with unquestioning loyalty, and don’t disrupt the status quo or the bottom dollar. Black athletes in the NBA have violated all of these terms of agreement, and now its fans are finally starting to show their teeth.
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October 2018
Matt BruceViva DSM!! |