You never know how much leverage you have until you use it. Sometimes you never know you’re about to make history until you’re part of it.
Turns out NBA players have plenty of leverage and will forever be remembered for using it.
When the Milwaukee Bucks arrived for the 4 p.m. tip of Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, they likely had no idea they were standing at the precipice of what could be a watershed moment for North American sports and – maybe? – the modern civil rights movement.
They just felt like something had to be done. That the police shooting of Jacob Blake in a small city not far from Milwaukee couldn’t come and go. That they had to turn his trauma and theirs into something that mattered.
So they didn’t play and the rest of sports followed suit, eventually.
Sports went dark to remind us that Black Lives Matter, as a spur to have us recognize that the slogan should prompt action.
By that measure, the athlete-driven action has worked spectacularly. Instead of pre-game shows and half-time panels, sports fans tuned into conversations that were vital and important, even if they might have been uncomfortable for some.
But here’s the thing when trying to exert maximum leverage, when conducting a physics experiment in real time with the world watching and some portion – some even in the highest office in the Western World – hoping you fail:
Load up that lever too much trying to move that metaphorical boulder, and it snaps.
The boulder remains as it ever was and you’re left with no leverage, trying to pick yourself up, having underestimated the task and over-played your hand.
Based on reports from Walt Disney World Resort, that seems to be the basis of some of the frustration within the player ranks about the ad hoc nature of the Bucks independently refusing to play their game on Wednesday.
The Bucks walked out spontaneously and seemingly without a plan, raising questions that have needed answers on the fly: On what basis does the league return to play? For what gains? And for what cause would you walk out again?
Now we know. As high profile as NBA players are, they were never going to do this without help. By halting play temporarily they got the owners to the table and emerged Friday afternoon with a workable three-point plan with potential to make change now and in the future.
They earned a commitment from the league and from owners to formalize their pursuit of social justice by way of a multi-party coalition; they secured a promise to have the owners back something as actionable as using team facilities for voter registration and polling; and an agreement to have social justice messages front-and-centre on playoff broadcasts.
It’s a win and it allows play to resume with a sense that committing to finishing the 2019-20 season will be about more than basketball-related revenue or personal glory.
Now, after the most tumultuous 48 hours we’ve arguably ever seen in sports, the NBA season is ready to resume (again) and the rest of sports will too.
There’s no doubt that they’ve achieved a ‘reset’ as one NBA veteran put it – a reminder that part of the purpose of playing through a pandemic was to keep front and centre the systemic inequality of which violent encounters with police are perhaps the most visible of many symptoms.
Making this bigger than the 200 or so players in the bubble was vital.
It was heart-wrenching to listen to Raptors Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam speak about the soul-searching they were forced to go through after the video of the Blake shooting began to circulate.
Listening to their stories also proved to be valuable because it spoke to some of the unfairness of the situation that they felt like they had to speak.
Trying to shift the weight of generations of inequality is not something the NBA or NBA players should have to shoulder alone.
The last two times NBA players raised the possibility of a boycott or – in the Bucks’ case – a strike, the problems they were trying to solve were finite; they existed within the league’s known universe. At the 1964 All-Star Game it was pension rights; in 2014 it was to demand the ouster of then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling. On both occasions, solutions were at hand and gains won.
This time it’s almost as if the players are on the dark side of the moon now trying to navigate a distant, uncharted solar system.
That they are trying means they have earned admiration and respect and very likely a place in history alongside athletic icons of the 1960s-era civil rights movement.
But eventually – and sooner is better than later – they need to be unburdened, or at least the burden needs to be shared.
The Bucks, after all, can ask for the Wisconsin state Republican-held legislature to reconvene to pass a police reform bill first tabled by Democratic governor Tony Evers in June, but they’ll have difficulty making it happen.
The unfortunate likely reality is – given the polarized political climate in some parts of the U.S., Wisconsin among them – the notion that a group of wealthy Black athletes trying to force the hand of Republican lawmakers might only embolden those legislators to hold firm to appeal to their voting base.
So in some ways the mountain remains Everest-like in scale in some corners of the league.
Owners of the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are all high-profile Republicans and have supported Donald Trump in the past.
The structures that have perpetuated systemic inequality – in the U.S. in particular – are deeply rooted and can almost certainly only be changed incrementally – likely over years and multiple election cycles.
So it’s not fair to expect only the players to use their platform for social justice.
Had players decided to walk away from the 2019-20 season, it would have severely damaged league revenues for this season and likely caused the current CBA to be torn up, most likely requiring players to negotiate a new one from a distinct disadvantage.
Striking against the league or owners hurts the players disproportionately given they share league revenues evenly with ownership, but the owners – all wealthy before they ever bought a team – split their half 30 ways while the players split theirs 450 ways, and have a brief window in their lives to do so.
And the issues prompting the walkout aren’t going away, sad as it is to say. The killing of George Floyd and maiming of Blake won’t be the last time police use lethal force against an unarmed Black person. Although data is incomplete, some estimates suggest there were 235 such instances in the U.S. in 2019.
When another video surfaces next week or next month or next year, what happens then?
Can play continue? Should it?
It’s not a choice the players should have to make by themselves.
This cohort of NBA players have done their share and seem determined to make their voice heard and their influence count.
But it’s not their job to reverse generations of history and certainly not theirs alone. They can’t be expected to stop working every time tragedy strikes or be the only source of leadership on the issues that give rise to them.
Using this walkout to earn promised support from the league is an important step, but there is more to be done and over a long horizon.
They deserve massive credit this time around for having leaned into the task, but they need a giant lever with many hands on it to move mountains.
When they return to play and we start watching again, that’s what needs to be remembered above all.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
