Okay, big things happening in the NBA bubble. The Bucks are refusing to play. Few things: 1/

It’s not a “boycott.” It’s a strike. Boycotts are what consumers do. Strikes are what labor does. It’s a work stoppage. 2/

Today’s move dwarfs anything that’s happened in pro sports in the last 10 years. It’s bigger than @MiamiHEAT hoodies in 2012. It’s bigger than @Kaepernick7 in 2016. Why? 3/

Because it puts direct economic pressure of the owners and deprives the league of revenue. Obviously, the NBA can’t stop the police from shooting, but this causes economic harm, which is where all leverage resides. 4/

It is, moreover, the political antithesis of the Nike-Kaep deal from 2018. Nike tried to profit from anti racist sentiment, but their symbolic support is fundamentally *contingent* on market trends. If sentiment went the other way, so would they. 5/

This is a move that can’t be co-opted, at least not intrinsically. You can’t profit from absence, especially if it spreads, which leads to... 6/

This is HUGE cover for other athletes, not just in the NBA but in other sports, especially because it LINKS the dynamics of racism and racial violence to LABOR. It’s proof that labor power can be leveraged to challenge racist institutions and structures. 7/

Finally (for now) let’s recognize the (largely amateur) tradition from which this move emerges. @SJSUAthletics football in 1967, @SyracuseU football in 1970, and most recently, @MizzouFootball in 2015. 8/

The kids have known for a while that their WORK can move mountains. Now the pros know, too. THE DOMINOES ARE STARTING TO FALL 9/