On Derrick Rose and athletes speaking up

On November 29, Knox College basketball player Ariyana Smith left her position from line and fell to the ground next to the American flag for 4.5 minutes during the playing of the national anthem. After Michael Brown was killed, his body laid in the middle of the street for 4.5 hours. She was suspended by her team for this, but Knox rescinded it a few days later. Although Smith's protest didn't receive much attention, her bravery should be celebrated. And it looks as if athletes in the pros have followed her lead.

In the NBA, Derrick Rose brought the issue to the forefront by wearing an "I Can't Breathe" shirt before his game against Golden State. As a parent and popular personality in American culture, Rose wanted to set an example for his and other children across the US.

So far at least, the criticism Rose has received has been a bit off. Dan Bernstein agreed with what Rose did, but didn't think he was capable of expressing why he wore the shirt. It's worth remembering that Rose has been active in his community surrounding important issues. Over at the Daily Herald, Mike McGraw wrote:

If Rose wore a shirt during warmups that read "Support the police," what would the reaction have been? It's a perfectly reasonable sentiment. The police play a vital role in every community and perform tens of thousands of positive acts for every awful incident such as the death of Eric Garner in a chokehold or the shooting of Akai Gurley in the dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project.

This misses the point for a couple of reasons. The first? Scroll back to the beginning of this article. Secondly, the majority is OK with what the police are doing so Rose wouldn't have been saying anything if he did wear a shirt that said "Support the Police."

Even with that criticism, Rose has inspired his peers to follow his lead. On Monday night, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Jarrett Jack, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and Alan Anderson all wore "I Can't Breathe" shirts in solidarity with protesters across New York and the entire world.

It's always important to speak up, but when you do it with the entire world watching and British royalty present, it becomes even more inspiring. I think we sometimes lose the bigger point when we ask "Why don't athletes walk out if they're really about this?" Anytime a person breaks from their norms and speaks out on injustice, they should be celebrated. Athletes probably won't be on the frontlines, but their voices and contributions can still be influential. For the person unaware of a particular issue, seeing someone like Rose or LeBron shine a light on it can do wonders. It can lead them into learning about what's going on, and from there, they can decide what should or shouldn't be done. Professional sports are an inherently political affair, and we'd be better off acknowledging that.

We've reached a point where we can't afford to be silent on these issues anymore. Watching people get killed by police and not even having a trial ought to scare the hell out of you. A short term inconvenience is nothing compared to losing a member of the community after they were killed. Seeing today's athletes using their platforms to speak on the issues affecting all of is heartening and the rest of us should follow suit.