We Matter

by Etan Thomas

  Etan: Is there anything you would change if you could go back in time?

  Hodges: Not in my decisions, but I would’ve liked to have had social media back then. Bring that technology to me . . . I could’ve said whatever I wanted to say to millions of people whenever I wanted to just by pushing send? And we had just won the championship and I was winning back-to-back-to-back three-point contests . . . so all of Chicago would’ve been following me on social media. If I had that power that these young guys have now? Man! I wish. Wouldn’t have had to worry about going through the media just so they could put their spin on what I want to say . . .

  And that’s why I wanted to do my book: so that I could publicly tell my own story. I was tired of seeing publications messing up my story. Many times, they didn’t even have the facts correct, they were just creating a narrative that they thought was going to make them some money. Well, now I have my book, and I have my own soapbox to stand on and can speak to these issues that affect my people.

  Etan: Talk about the need to be a public voice against commentators, particularly Black commentators, who condemn, ridicule, mock, or otherwise publicly chastise athletes when they make political statements.

  Hodges: Well, they get guys to say these things because they know the people love them. It’s an intentional tactic. See, I was birthed from a freedom fighter. So you can’t buy me. I received this knowledge of self from birth. It is all about the public discourse. I see Charles [Barkley] doing what he does and the buffoonery aspect of it. You always have the ones who can be bought. I’m not even going to say they are selling out, I’m going to say they are selling themselves short. They don’t understand that they are becoming the mouthpiece for a system that has no interest in us as a people . . . If they are going to continue to garner these high-priced salaries and yet turn a blind eye to racism . . . you may as well stay in your tap shoes. Look, we can’t hoop anymore, we don’t know how to transit the game on a level where it still maintains our dignity as Black men . . . We’re taught, “Okay, you get this opportunity to brand yourself, now you exploit your people the same way that everybody else exploits your people.”

  Etan: And this is my issue—because they don’t have to do that. They don’t have to tap dance.

  Hodges: Of course they don’t have to. It’s a choice. That’s fear. You know that the only reason why you stop at a red light at four a.m. when nobody is around is because you have been conditioned to fear the consequences if you don’t adhere to the rules. The assassination of our leadership bred fear into our generation. This current generation, the fear is pretty much bred out of them. You got the hip-hop, the style, the defiance, and I love it. But my generation, we had been taught that the powers-that-be will kill you over this matter, so keep your mouth shut. And I don’t even mean kill you in the literal sense, although that is a fear too, but I mean kill you in terms of cutting off your economic lifeline that we control. So you’re going to say what we want you to say, if you want this financial stream to continue.

  Etan: There needs to be more people who call them out. For instance, why does Barkley get a pass? Or when Jim Brown went to meet with Donald Trump and came out saying he “fell in love” with him.

  Hodges: You are absolutely right. I wanna know myself. Jim, what made you say that? You are my elder. You are one of my heroes. Talk to me. And I love you the same. You have the right to say whatever you wanna say, but tell me . . .

  Going back to your original question with Michael Jordan, it wasn’t about berating or calling out Michael Jordan . . . It was: we have all this going on in Chicago, you are the king of not only the city but the NBA, your words could immediately have an impact. If you say it, it will be done . . . The lessons of the past tell us everything we need to know. What is freedom and what is not freedom. What is justice and what is not justice. What is exploitation and what is not exploitation. You can’t give me something, then think because you gave it to me, I have to think how you think. I gotta believe what you believe? . . . I can’t be bought with my silence or my acquiesence through somebody paying. I think it was Karl Malone who said if you kiss enough you-know-what, you can have a job in the league for life, and unfortunately, too many brothers are kissing and tap-dancing their way to the top. So I say, keep calling them out.

  Chapter 8

  Speaking Out in the Age of Trump Matters

  The day after Trump was elected president was particularly difficult in the Thomas household.

  The night of the election I started getting tired around my regular bedtime, which is shortly after the kids go to sleep. Watching the election results and the commentary had the same effect on me as the sound of ocean waves or a lullaby after some warm tea for me. I woke up in the middle of the night, rolled over to check my phone to see the updates, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Donald Trump had won the election. I must have gasped because I woke up my wife who had been sound asleep, and she asked what was wrong. I told her and she replied, “Stop playing, that’s not even funny.” But she turned on the TV and it was confirmed: Donald Trump would soon be sworn in as the next president of the United States of America. We couldn’t move. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had to be having a bad dream, a nightmare. So after it finally set in, my wife and I asked each other a question that kept us up for the rest of the night: what were we going to tell the kids?

  The next morning, there was an eerie atmosphere. We sat eleven-year-old Malcolm, nine-year-old Imani, and six-year-old Baby Sierra down at the breakfast table and we told them the election results. They too were in denial for quite some time. Imani and Baby Sierra said they were ready to move to Grenada, where my family is from. Malcolm just sat there in disbelief; his little heart was broken. Like when a kid finds out that there is no Santa Claus, or no tooth fairy, or that wrestling is fake. It’s like his whole entire world had turned upside down. He just kept repeating, “How could this happen, Daddy? There are that many racist people in the country? There are actually that many people who don’t like women and who don’t like Mexicans or Muslims or Black people? There are really that many people who agree with him and think that he would be a good president for us?” I told him apparently so.

  Imani’s mind was made up: she told me to call the prime minister of Grenada (as if I could just ring him on his cell phone or something) and explain that we were ready to come home. She said it wouldn’t be safe for us here in the US. She had friends who were Latino—would it be safe for them here? Should they come to Grenada with us? Nichole was hugging them and trying to assure them that we were going to be okay, but her eyes betrayed her. I really couldn’t come up with any words to say at all. I had nothing. I was still in shock myself.

  Malcolm said he was scared and didn’t feel safe, and that on the one hand he didn’t want to live here anymore, but on the other—and he paused before asking—“Would Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, or any of the people I have learned about run away, or would they stay and fight? I don’t want to give Trump this country, he doesn’t deserve this country.”

  I told him that was a good point, then I said that Black people have survived much worse than Donald Trump, and we still made it. Malcolm said, “That’s right.” Nichole smiled and said she couldn’t argue with that at all.

  Later that day, I discovered there were protests all over the country, on social media, in DC, New York, Chicago, LA. All over the country people were letting their voices be heard. And athletes were tweeting their disapproval of the election results. It was almost as if Trump’s victory was energizing everyone. Not long after, I asked ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon for his thoughts on athletes using their platforms to speak out against Trump.

  Interview with Michael Wilbon

  Etan: Right now, athletes are speaking out more than we’ve seen since the 1960s. Do you think this is a good thing, or do you think athletes should pretty much stay in the lane of sports and athletics?

  Michael Wilbon: No, I don’t ever believe in anybody sta
ying in any type of a box. I think it’s absolutely incredible what I am seeing from athletes. I think there are many reasons that have ignited this surge of athletes speaking out. Two of them are the election and the relationship, or the lack thereof, between police and specifically young Black men. And you’re absolutely right—this is not new . . . But I think the difference is, there is less risk. I am old enough to have covered athletes when there was enormous risk. Where people would just shut you down completely, and I’m not talking about being at risk of losing your endorsement dollars, I mean being at risk of losing your career, your livelihood . . . We are blessed to live in a different world now. We are now in a time where we have more freedom, and I say “we” because I couldn’t have my job in the 1960s if I had written some of the things I wrote in the 1980s, so there is less risk for me as well.

  Etan: Now, with current players speaking out against Trump, and many NBA CEOs being conservative Republicans, I would think there would still be a great deal of risk in speaking out.

  Wilbon: Well, you know why I don’t think so is, for one, you have half the country speaking out against Trump, and in a case like Gregg Popovich, who is really in a place where few public figures in sports have dared to go, that’s something that didn’t happen thirty, fifty years ago . . . But it’s a different time. We saw entire basketball teams speak out against police violence, even with the WNBA situation. They initially wanted to punish the players and silence them but they couldn’t . . . The entire power dynamic is different now, and I’m sure that emboldens people.

  Etan: Yeah, but it seems like sometimes you have the freedom to say it, but only as long as enough people agree with it. There are certain things that you still can and will be punished for.

  Wilbon: Well, some protests are much more popular than others, there’s no doubt about that. But there are others that have direct penalties and others that will allow you to only be unpopular, but won’t cost you your job.

  Etan: We have seen a surge in players speaking out about racism. Some players seem fearless: Jeremy Lin taking strong stances against racism and what he has been subjected to as an Asian American; Bradley Beal standing up for Black Lives Matter; Serena Williams taking a break in the middle of Wimbledon and tweeting, “In London I have to wake up to this. He was black, shot 4 times? When will something be done—no REALLY be done?!?!”

  Wilbon: I am so glad that they are using their voices and I could do a complete section on each of the people you named. I was so happy to see Bradley Beal take the stance he took, especially me being here in DC and covering the Wizards. But let me talk about Serena. Look at the support she got from within the industry and outside of it—it was wildly effective. If Arthur Ashe did the same thing forty years ago in his heyday, would it have had the same effect? . . . There were other people who supported Serena in bringing that racism that she experienced to the forefront, and that was extremely important. Just as it was extremely important for Jeremy Lin to bring that racism to the forefront . . . When athletes like Lin and Serena take those stances, they are taking it for all of the people who don’t have the power they have to bring racism to the forefront.

  Interview with Chris Hayes

  So many athletes did just what Michael Wilbon is referring to: they took to social media to show their disapproval of Donald Trump, especially when he signed an executive order to suspend the entire US refugee admissions system and implement a Muslim ban. The executive order targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and looked to prevent individuals from those countries from entering the United States for ninety days. It suspended the US refugee program for 120 days and put an indefinite halt to all refugee intake from Syria. It even prevented quite a few legal US residents who were en route to the United States when Trump signed the executive order from entering when they landed. Several of those travelers were detained and others were deported back to the countries that they had flown in from. Thousands of people flocked to airports across the country to protest.

  After the signing of the order, a number of athletes utilized their social media platforms to voice their disapproval. Los Angeles Laker Luol Deng told reporters:

  I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the opportunity to find refuge in a safe harbor. For the people of South Sudan, refugee resettlement has saved countless lives, just as it has for families all over the world escaping the depths of despair.

  It’s important that we remember to humanize the experience of others. Refugees overcome immeasurable odds, relocate across the globe, and work hard to make the best of their newfound home. Refugees are productive members of society that want for their family just as you want for yours. I stand by all refugees and migrants, of all religions, just as I stand by the policies that have historically welcomed them.

  Former NBA superstar Hakeem Olajuwon told reporters, “I’m a public figure. I’m a Muslim. We don’t have too many public figures that can really speak up. If I don’t, then I’m not taking my responsibility . . . We can’t exclude some people or countries. He can say it’s not against Islam, but really, indirectly, it is.”

  The Major League Soccer Players Union issued the following statement:

  We are deeply concerned, both specifically for our players who may be impacted, and more broadly for all people who will suffer as a result of the travel ban . . . We are extremely disappointed by the ban and feel strongly that it runs counter to the values of inclusiveness that define us as a nation. We are very proud of the constructive and measured manner in which [US men’s team captain] Michael Bradley expressed his feelings on the ban. It is our deepest hope that this type of strong and steady leadership will help to guide us through these difficult times.

  I tried to show my son every time people were demonstrating or marching or protesting, and athletes were tweeting, and Malcolm’s reply was always the same: “Good, I hope everyone who has a voice continues to use it.”

  I asked MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, host of The Chris Hayes Show, for his thoughts.

  Etan: You’ve been supportive of athletes using their voice as a political platform. How important do you think it is, right now, for athletes to speak out?

  Chris Hayes: Well, I think it’s always important, but I don’t think it’s any different from any other citizen. It’s important because citizenship is important, and civic society is important, and athletes are citizens; they are human beings; they are fellow members of the American political system. It’s particularly important, I think, because it’s not just a massive platform, but access to audiences that might not find their perspective. That, to me, is why it is so important, but it is also a very loaded topic.

  A professional athlete has an access to a set of people watching him or her that is not defined by politics. Whereas the rest of media is increasingly organized around political lines. So if you’re LeBron or Dwyane Wade or Russell Westbrook or you’re Colin Kaepernick, and you’re giving a postgame press conference, the audience for that is not an audience defined by people’s politics . . . That’s actually what’s both so powerful and so explosive about it. Because people are coming to it because they want to see how their fantasy football players did. And they’re like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa . . .”

  Etan: Right. So it’s kind of invading their space.

  Hayes: That’s exactly right! Yeah, but that’s productive. One thing I struggle with is that it’s gotta go both ways also, in the sense of an athlete who’s a Trump supporter has every right to express their ideas and thoughts and opinions as an athlete who is not. Because people are selective, where they’ll be like, “Oh, I’m glad you’re speaking out,” when you agree with me, but it’s like, “Oh, you’re an athlete, why do I want to hear what you have to say?” when they don’t agree. You can’t do that. It has to go both ways.

  Etan: Nobody is disagreeing with the athlete speaking out about domestic violence. But anytime you’re dealing with a more divisive topic, whether it’s Mike Brown or Trayvon Martin or Trump, that’s where t
here’s an issue. But from an athlete’s perspective, you have to know that when you do speak out, some will agree with you, some will vehemently disagree with you, and that’s okay.

  Hayes: Oh no, that’s fine. I just feel like people need to check themselves, myself included. If an athlete is speaking out in a way that you don’t agree, there’s that instinct to be like, “Well, what the hell do you know?” (Laughter) But if they speak about a thing you do agree on, there’s an instinct to be like . . . (clapping), but you gotta be consistent.

  I do think there’s a particularity around race. Because the racial dynamics of sports performance and fandom are so complex, and loaded, and now I think it’s part of the other thing that’s so profound and powerful, particularly around issues of race: that Black athletes have an access to a white audience to be able to talk to them about the experience of race that very few others will have or ever have . . .

  I think the politics of sports are interesting, and sports is such a massive part of our public life . . . It’s like Silicon Valley isn’t “politics,” but there’s a lot of politics about what goes on in Silicon Valley. You can’t understand Silicon Valley without understanding politics. Politics are what shapes the structure of those markets, the structure of how things get raised, the perception. The same thing is true with sports, and in some ways sports occupies even a bigger part of our mental landscape.