Awareness campaigns, solidarity actions and marathon matches: between the NBA and Martin Luther King Day, which commemorates the birth of the pastor and African-American activist of the same name, the link is unbreakable. This day, a public holiday in the United States, takes place every third Monday of January and like every year, this day of tribute to the black cause and the fight for civil rights will rhyme with the NBA. The North American basketball league, very involved in various social battles, decreed a special day in 1986 that has become a global event, in the same way as its Christmas Games, which bring together tens of millions of viewers around the world.
LeBron James
Credit: Getty Images
Having become a major player in these commemorations, the NBA participates in the organization of many events by using its media power, the power of its stars and its NBA Voices platform, aimed at fighting against social injustice. This Monday, no less than twelve meetings will be on the program between 6:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. French time. The franchises of Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and inevitably Atlanta, birthplace of Martin Luther King, will be honored throughout an evening as important as it is special across the Atlantic.
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Before 1950, the NBA was only for whites
However, nothing presaged such a culture in the universe of the orange ball. It took until 1950 for the first black players to join its ranks, with Chuck Cooper (Boston), Nat Clifton (New York) and Earl Lloyd (Washington). Until then exclusively reserved for whites, the authorities of the NBA made segregation reign on its floors.
Despite a beginning of openness, it took many years for the climate of racial mistrust to cease to hover there.. “The referees and the public were white, the atmosphere was tense because many people came to see black people play. And the latter were sometimes refused entry to restaurants or hotels after their matches”, said last year Claude Johnson, the creator of a foundation on the basketball teams of the 1950s, in the columns of West France.
Become an icon after giving his famous speech “I have a dream” outside Washington’s Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, the Reverend Martin Luther King was assassinated in a Memphis hotel five years later on April 4, 1968. In the aftermath of his death, which sparked a wave of race riots across in the country, a playoff match between Philadelphia and Boston was maintained despite the refusal to play legends Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. But the decision of the two African-American stars caused an uproar: “Why cancel a match?”, “it’s a masquerade”, reported the local press at the time. It was not until the merger of the NBA and the ABA (1976), marking the arrival of many African-American players, and especially the appointment of David Stern as its head (1984) that a real position was taken. operates.
The arrival of David Stern as a social turning point
Special jerseys, player speeches, awareness actions, advertising spots and social media campaigns have been organized every year since. The NBA does not skimp on the means implemented to perpetuate a tradition that has become unbreakable. According to Todd Boyd, professor at the University of South California and specialist in racial issues, it is no coincidence that the NBA took an important place on this very special day: “Its players are predominantly black. And culturally, basketball is recognized as a black sport, unlike other American sports. The very cosmopolitan NBA embraces the values of Doctor King in a way no other league ever will.”
It must be said that the former NBA boss, in addition to having made his League popular and prosperous, worked with an iron fist to honorably represent his African-American players. The latter, who has sat on the Federal Holiday Commission since 1984 “MLK Day”, has always done everything to convey his values through his company. When the governor of Arizona made it known that he was against this event, David Stern decided that nothing more would be organized by the NBA in his state until 1992. In 2001, he decided that the Grizzlies franchise migrate from Vancouver to Memphis, home of the National Civil Rights Museum, to organize regular symposiums in tribute to the black cause.
“I’m not saying that this League is perfect. But it is the one that has made the most progress, the one where the percentage of African Americans is the greatest, the one where black players are paid better than elsewhere for this what they know how to do, summed up Bill Russell in 2011. Eleven years later, and while David Stern left the hand to Adam Silver in 2014, this Monday once again promises a big party where LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant will take heart to shine to pay homage to Martin Luther King.
The Martin Luther King Day program:
18h30 : New Orleans Pelicans – Boston Celtics
19h00 : Charlotte Hornets – New York Knicks
20h00 : Philadelphie 76ers – Washington Wizards
21h00 : Brooklyn Nets – Cleveland Cavaliers
21h30 : Chicago Bulls – Memphis Grizzlies
21h30 : Indiana Pacers – Los Angeles Clippers
00h00 : Milwaukee Bucks – Atlanta Hawks
01h00 : Portland Trail Blazers – Orlando Magic
01h30 : Toronto Raptors – Miami Heat
02h30 : Oklahoma City Thunder – Dallas Mavericks
02h30 : Phoenix Suns – San Antonio Spurs
04h30 : Utah Jazz – Los Angeles Lakers
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01/14/2022 At 06:23
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