The sports world came almost to a halt Wednesday as players in multiple professional leagues opted not to play and focus on social justice.
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00:00 What's going on everybody? It's Chantel Powell with Sports Illustrated's Gamecock Digest,
00:05 joined by the wonderful Kierra Luck of all Tar Heels. And we're here for a special edition
00:10 of Carolina Connection because in case you didn't notice, the players are on strike.
00:15 Athletes in multiple leagues last night decided to use their voice, their platform, their
00:19 resources to just push the conversation and push the movement forward after the shooting
00:25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin of Jacob Blake seven times in the back. And it started with the
00:30 Milwaukee Bucks not playing in their playoff game against the Orlando Magic. And it just
00:35 was a domino effect until we see the MLB, we see Naomi Osaka, we see Major League Soccer,
00:42 you know, the WNBA, who's always down for whatever, they decided, you know, they were
00:47 going to play, some weren't going to play, but there was going to be a general message
00:51 and a stand taken just first. How did that make you feel seeing all of that transpire
00:57 last night?
00:58 It was surreal. And it gave me chills then and it still gives me chills now. And it made
01:06 me proud to be a fan of the NBA, the WNBA especially made me proud to be a woman, a
01:14 black woman at that. And it made me think that, you know, people of stature of money
01:23 of I hate to say power, but you know, not thinking that the W or WNBA or NBA has like
01:29 power, but you know, people of the those type of prominence recognize that, you know, they're
01:36 still people and they still, you know, have connection to us and they see the issues that
01:46 we're facing because a lot of times when we think of people with affluence of money, they
01:52 don't connect, you know, with people that are in their circle, you know, that's their
01:57 problem, you know, let them figure out, but it made me proud to see that there is still
02:01 that connection and there's still that humanity and they use their, their national, their
02:07 international platforms to invoke change, that this is bigger than us. This has to stop.
02:13 This has been going on way too long.
02:17 And you know, I was kind of sad that it had to come to this because a lot of people had
02:21 this somewhat come to black Jesus moment where they saw that while they were playing and
02:26 while they were doing the black lives matter on the court and the names on the jerseys
02:29 and stuff, another shooting took place. So it's time to ramp this up. And a lot of people
02:35 O'Kiree Irving and apology, disruptor, you know, a bird brain, like different types of
02:42 things for saying like, you know, perhaps this isn't, this is going to take away from
02:47 what we're trying to do and like using our platform and having these type of somewhat
02:52 cosmetic things isn't the way to go. So time is a flat circle. So he's getting his, his
03:02 just do. And I hope people give him those apologies. It was kind of interesting to see
03:08 the media react to the strikes. And it was a lot of Debbie Downers, you know, what can
03:15 this do? What can this change? And it's like, first bro, it's been 10 minutes. Like, let's
03:20 just relax, give them a second and you know, take a deep breath. And then, well, it's not
03:26 on the players to fix this, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, it's not their job to fix it,
03:30 but it is also their fight as well. And they are choosing to participate in that. And for
03:37 me, it's six degrees of separation between everyone. You stop the money flow and have
03:42 these, these billionaires, they know politicians, they can get, you know, lobby for some policy
03:48 changes now, because that's the next step in all of this policy change. It's cool to
03:52 have the signs and the rah, rah, this, that, third, but we need policy change. So I think,
03:58 you know, you stop the money, you get everybody's attention and can now push people to start
04:03 lobbying for things that we actually need.
04:06 Right. And I'm, I'm proud to see that the names on their backs, how many more equality,
04:12 education reform, all of this is more to them than just changing a Jersey. You know, I'm
04:20 glad that they really took a dive into this and really committing not only their time,
04:29 their money, the NBA time and money to this and really forcing the conversation, because
04:36 this is why that that protest that boycott happened. You may think that it doesn't change
04:42 anything that, that what does this actually do? This is what it does. This is the conversation
04:46 that starts. This is how perspective change. This is how hearts change. This is how minds
04:51 change. And I'm super proud of them. And this will forever go down in history as one of
04:57 the most iconic moments in NBA history. And it's worth noting that yesterday was also
05:02 the fourth anniversary of Captain McMillan, and they couldn't have chosen a better day
05:08 to do it. And we need to start the Kaepernick's apology tour along with Kyrie. We might need
05:14 to get Kaep first and then hit Maya Moore and then go ahead and get Kyrie. But absolutely
05:19 all of these players who sacrificed everything deserve to know that, you know, we hear them,
05:27 we see them. And, you know, no matter what the media says, they are vocal in our community
05:33 and they are needed in our community. And we are more than appreciative of everything
05:37 they've done. And I hope now that people see the NBA, see the WNBA, see MLB, tennis, all
05:46 of this and decide to do that in their local communities, because we can't leave this up
05:52 to Marvin Williams and George Hill and Kaepernick and Kyrie Irving. Jesus. Kyrie Irving. I'm
06:04 going to stop right there. What did I say? Hold on.
06:11 Winning your community. And I hope people who see this recognize
06:19 that it's not just up to NBA players and people of affluence to just do this alone. It's going
06:24 to take us as well. So locally, statewide, in your governments, make sure you vote. Make
06:31 sure you know who you're voting for. I don't care if you vote for whomever, as long as
06:37 you're voting and you understand the ramifications behind that vote. So please get in your voting
06:44 box and vote because your voice matters, especially, especially in this election.
06:51 So we need to now talk about how does this connect to our prospective states, our prospective
06:57 colleges and what we've seen the players of our schools done on the front lines.
07:05 You know, so the South Carolina Gamecocks, there's several in the WNBA, NBA. DJ Dozier
07:12 plays for the Denver Nuggets and tweeted last night, it's a difference between them hearing
07:15 us and them listening. Time for something to shake.
07:19 I like to hear it. I like to see it. Because to your point, voting is important, but we
07:25 need candidates that actually have our interests in mind and can push, push the movement forward
07:31 through those policy changes and do more than just, you know, paint the streets and name
07:35 the boulevards and what have you, and actually start getting, you know, things that we need
07:42 to quell these issues. So, you know, I'm excited to see what they're doing. I would advise
07:48 everyone to just give them a second. It's starting to become a little, a little sensationalized.
07:55 With every single step of the meeting being tweeted out and being reported, now it kind
08:01 of looks reality TV-ish to me. And I'm just trying to take a step back, let them do them
08:07 and let them work and trust that these grown men, women will collaborate and will, you
08:14 know, come up with something that will help push this forward.
08:17 Absolutely. And it's funny that you say that because we literally got updates of them in
08:22 a meeting. They're not discussing, Oh, I heard this too. Wait, they're coming out. Oh, they're
08:27 now on lunch break. Oh, they're now drinking soda. Wait, now they're back. It's becoming
08:32 that and I do totally agree with you. There needs to be like, they need to just push media
08:37 out and really get some type of like, okay, what are we doing? And I totally agree with
08:43 you that I didn't even look at it that way. And as far as North Carolina, they've literally
08:51 been everywhere. Brendan Haywood was of course on ESPN and then Kenny "The Jet" Smith walked
08:58 off inside the NBA. And that was, people were speechless. They weren't expecting that. And
09:08 it was monumental to see him align himself with the players and protest along with them.
09:14 And I thought that was incredibly admirable. Who else? Vince Carter actually kind of broke
09:20 my heart. He was on, I believe, GetUp on ESPN. And he said that he now carries his phone
09:27 and ID to get his mail. And he said, just in case, you know, they might recognize me,
09:34 they might not, but just in case I carry my ID and my phone to my driveway. And he said
09:40 that it hit him the other day, like, dude, you are really carrying the necessities in
09:46 case something happens. And that's scary. And that's sad that they have to do that.
09:52 We have to do that. And even Carolina recruits have been incredibly vocal. I'm talking 17,
10:01 16, 18 year olds who are, you know, saying Black Lives Matter, who are in protest. Power
10:08 Echols out of Charlotte, North Carolina has actually started a nonprofit and making sure
10:13 that the community is educated on reform and how to make changes and understanding black
10:19 voices and what they can do to remind themselves on the right side of history. It's so many
10:23 of these children who are leading this. And that makes me incredibly proud that the future
10:29 is really in good hands. And we don't have to worry because these kids know us. They
10:35 see it all. And they're vocal about it. They're not hiding it. They don't care about the followers.
10:40 They don't care about the media. You know, they care about the skin color and making
10:45 sure that that's not the first thing that they're judged on. And, you know, it's sad
10:50 that we have to continuously echo Martin Luther King's words to make sure that people really
10:57 understand that no one should be judged by the color of their skin, judged me by my character.
11:05 And I just hope that, you know, this is it. I don't want to go through another year of
11:13 this. It's heartbreaking. And the comments on all this, like I told all my friends and
11:20 family, like stay away from comments. Don't read the comments to keep your heart, to keep
11:25 your mind, to keep your sanity, to keep you from arguing and going into a rabbit hole.
11:31 Just do the right thing, post the right thing, and just stay away from the comments. So I'm
11:37 super proud that, you know, Tar Heels are standing in solidarity. They're speaking out
11:42 and they're not hiding. They're not hiding at all.
11:45 And it's kind of slimmed down to where now athletes understand and kind of adopt the
11:49 Malcolm X by any means necessary mentality because Boston College today I read didn't
11:55 practice. So it'll be interesting to see if this domino effect continues and, you know,
12:01 when athletes feel empowered and really know just how much change they can make and just
12:06 how to use their voices. So I'm really excited, you know, props to everybody for staying solid
12:12 and just, you know, everybody stay engaged and be good to one another. So thank you guys
12:18 for just joining us again, and we'll catch you next time.
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