Kyrie Irving has been the biggest story in the NBA over the past couple of days thanks to his efforts to bring players together in an attempt to stop the NBA from continuing the season. In addition to being against the bubble city idea, Kyrie and his colleagues believe there are much bigger things to worry about right now. With all of the protests going on, Irving would much rather focus on social change and he believes basketball distracts from that.
Last night, Dwight Howard sent a statement to CNN in solidarity with Kyrie. As he explains, he very much supports Irving's position and would rather the league not continue the season. Howard even went so far as to say that unifying his people is much more important than winning a championship. Regardless of your thoughts on this stance, there is no denying that this is an admirable take
Per Howard:
“I agree with Kyrie (Irving). Basketball, or entertainment period, isn’t needed at this moment, and will only be a distraction. Sure it might not distract us the players, but we have resources at hand majority of our community don’t have. And the smallest distraction for them, can start a trickle down effect that may never stop. Especially with the way the climate is now. I would love nothing more than to win my very first NBA Championship. But the unity of My People would be an even bigger Championship, that’s just too beautiful to pass up. What better time than now for us to be focusing on our families?
This is a rare opportunity that, I believe, we as a community should be taking full advantage of. When have we ever had this amount of time to sit and be with our families? This is where our Unity starts. At home! With Family!! European Colonization stripped us of our rich history, and we have yet to sit down and figure us out. The less distractions, the more we can put into action into rediscovering ourselves. Nations come out of families. Black/African American is not a Nation or Nationality. It’s time Our Families became their own Nations. No Basketball till we get things resolved.”
Over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how this all progresses. The NBA seems to be keen on continuing the season no matter what although if too many players boycott, a return will be impossible.