I’ve not podcasted or blogged in quite a while out of respect for more important voices that should be amplified. Now, well, there are times when silence is less virtuous than others. So, here comes a thread.

I’m a bit flummoxed by the vitriol some people are expressing towards professional athletes attempting to bring attention to pertinent social issues. Even members of the @Bucks have been castigated by a small percentage of their own fan base from my hometown.

My common reaction to ignorance is to roll my eyes and move on because, quite honestly, it’s better for my blood pressure. As my wife likes to tell me, “Joe, you can’t fix stupid.” But I know her too well to accept she believes that; it’s her coping mechanism.

Part of me thinks I should leave this topic alone, but part of me also feels compelled to go into “educator mode.” Part of me realizes that Tweeting doesn’t move the needle a damn inch, but part of me also wants to believe there might be some people who are open to change.

The most common question I hear is: “Why do these professional athletes think ‘quitting’ is a useful response to social unrest? How does refusing to play change anything?” An allegation underpins this query, one that theorizes athletes are pampered, out-of-touch millionaires.

Herein lies the first real disconnect. Would I, as a middle-aged white man pouring countless hours into the teaching profession trade places with any Black man in America regardless of his acquired fame and fortune? Based on what we’ve witnessed the last 400+ years…hell, no.

The inability to access another perspective lies at the heart of this contentious debate. Those who would malign an NBA athlete for not playing basketball have not thoroughly considered what it would be like to walk in those sneakers beyond the shoe deal that provided them.

In looking for common ground, can we first agree change is necessary? If not, stop reading this thread. You’re the person my wife is referencing.

However, if you agree that change is necessary but loathe pro athletes attempting to initiate it via their current strategies, perhaps I can help.

First…facts: a disproportionate number of Black men are incarcerated and shot by law enforcement in this country, and a disproportionate number of NBA players are Black men. This is an important distinction.

NBA players understand better than any of their white fans the nature of their existence. In this instance, white fans should listen rather than speak. We know nothing.

2nd, to ask an athlete to entertain me as a means of some sort of escapism and not remind me about the pervasive injustices we daily witness in this country WHILE BEING SOMEONE who is unable, based on the color of his/her skin, to escape that very injustice?! That's absurd!

3rd, should not every citizen do his/her part to make positive change? I ask myself daily: what can I do to make it better? Few people notice. That’s ok. It speaks to the limitations of my power and my audience. I influence the space I occupy. But to do nothing is not an option.

Athletes also face limits as to what they can do to improve our country’s ills. But do something they must. The difference is when they choose to peacefully protest (an act we all agree is preferable to the alternative), their audience is substantial. It garners global attention.

And like all great movements and works of art, it disturbs the comfortable.

Fourth, and related to limitations, it might surprise you to hear that millionaires cannot change the direction of America. Billionaires can (and do). NFL, NBA, and MLB teams are owned by billionaires who make their billions on the efforts and talents of millionaires.

This is also true of the billionaire owners of the networks who broadcast the feats of these millionaire athletes across the world.

Now, when the millionaires stop playing, I grant you that some of them will no longer be millionaires. I also grant you that some of the billionaires will no longer be billionaires.

This is where conservative talk show hosts and pseudo sports experts are exposed for being so myopic. They deem a boycott dumb because it will cost the players $. They overlook the fact that the players will gladly sacrifice wealth for justice.

Athletes are accustomed to sacrifice. How do you think they got where they are?

The conservative talk show hosts and hot-take sports jocks can’t fathom an ideal/ethic birthed out of a desire to right wrongs even at great cost to oneself. They struggle to understand any human motivation whose genesis is not power or greed. This is how all small men think.

Meanwhile, too few of the aforementioned billionaires have felt the conviction to shift their positions. When you’re at the top, why would you change anything? People at the pole position are intent on maintaining the status quo and leveraging the system to remain there.

However, threaten the production of that billionaire’s cash cow—poke a hole in the hull of his/her source of revenue? Now, you have his/her attention. This brings the shot-callers to the table wondering how they can help mitigate the leak. This is a positive outcome.

Lastly, and consistent with the previous point, let’s maintain some perspective, shall we? While professional sports is a livelihood to some and a multi-billion dollar industry that can lead to some lavish lifestyles, it pales in comparison to what truly matters in the world.

I tend to fux with people who have the wherewithal to pursue an enlightened view of our pitiable place in the grand scheme of a glorious & mysterious universe. We are peons pretending to be kings. Sadly, we establish faux kingship by subjugating our neighbors and our fellow man.

We should celebrate that these athletes/coaches are recognizing the world is larger than they are and that there are causes greater than a ring/trophy. Who will remember the leagues formed, the games played, and the championships won in a world that eventually burns?