Human at Half-Time: Why the NBA Should have Suspended Sunday’s Games
At what point are NBA players more than commodities to their employers making millions of dollars off their talents and hard work daily? Does the NBA understand the physical health required for basketball also entails maintaining players’ mental health? Will the dignity of athletes ever be respected or will we let the prospect of profit deny them their humanity?
If you were ever forced to read Franz Kafka’s La Metamorfosi (The Metamorphosis) in high school, then you probably are aware of his critique of capitalism. I, along with many other progressive millennial and Get Zers, happen to align with Kafka’s view. Capitalism cloaks itself under the concepts of “free trade” and a “free market economy”. Plus, thanks to the 1980s, it’ll also claim that if you don’t achieve economic success, you just aren’t working hard enough. However, for most working-class Americans, this is not their reality. The true heart of capitalism is privatization rooted in dehumanizing some people in order to uplift others. In other words, the practice of capitalism unjustly profits off of humans while simultaneously shaming their humanity.
Last February, Forbes reported that the NBA made a total revenue of a whopping $8 billion. They additionally reported that the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics had a combined worth of an insane $16.9 billion. Now you’re probably asking yourself, “why is this relevant?” The players are nowhere near underpaid with a league average of $7.7 million paychecks. You’re not wrong. However, the issue is, no matter how large of a paycheck these players receive, their humanity is greatly undervalued for the amount of heart and effort these dedicated men put into the game. The company that makes billions of dollars off their work has shown time and time again that they will always put their company first over the mental health and well-being of the men raking in their money. This is especially evident when the league did not suspend games this past Sunday, following the passing of the beloved NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Masses of tweets and Instagram tributes across the globe were posted to pay respects and mourn the loss of Bryant, his daughter Gianna, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan in the dreadful helicopter crash. This tragedy cuts deep. Very deep. The reports of their untimely death came in the early afternoon amidst NBA players warming up for the day’s scheduled games. Although the recording and photo-taking of their reactions are already problematic, you can easily see that the footage showed these players were in shambles over the news. Most of them just lost their idol, role-model, and friend. Some men walked off the court to grieve in private while others remained court-side visibly devastated and crying. Yet, moments later, somehow, someway, buzzers rang and whistles were blown to signal the beginning of the first quarter. The NBA not suspending these games was unacceptable and inhumane. In other words, the association deemed the profit to be made was a more pressing matter than the players’ compromised mental well-being.
Saying “play for Kobe” was not the appropriate response to the players’ feelins of grief. Claiming that his death would “inspire them to play their best” invalidated their emotions. Insisting “he would want the game to on” was an enormous favor to ask. Some players put their emotions aside in attempt to focus on the game. However, other players being too devastated to play in his honour was an equally valid response. While their responses varied, it all came from the same place — heartbreak.
“At first I think it’s [mental health] getting over the stigma of it being something that is embarrassing or a sign of weakness. It is not a sign of weakness. I think that’s step one…I think the best thing that we can do is not ignore it. Ignoring it the worse thing we can do because then it festers and it becomes something that has control over us versus the other way around. We rise, but we rise step by step…” ~Kobe Bryant speaking to WeRise in 2018.
The “tough it up”, “push through it”, and “be strong” mentality is harmful and goes against the very nature of what it means to be human. As social beings, relationships are a defining aspect of humanity. As emotional beings, the death of a loved one can be one of the most traumatic and painful things we will ever experience. Yet, a capitalistic society has conditioned most of us to believe that vulnerability and sadness are shortcomings. This is especially the case for men as society has long been conditioned to believe and shame them for publicly displaying the entirety of their emotions. Demanding men to “suck it up” means demanding they stop being human. Missing and wishing you had more time with a person who brought you joy and love is a normal response. The league should’ve embraced, respected, and honored the emotions their players were feeling.
As we move towards a more progressive 21st century, it’s time to put people first and profit second. Athletes need the space to process their loss and feelings without fear of going against their employers. The NBA paid tribute to Bryant’s legacy through their various media platforms to stand with grieving fans. So why couldn’t they hold themselves to the same standard when it came to their grieving players? The association should’ve suspended all games Sunday and for a portion of the week, not just the Lakers-Clippers game. Bryant’s impact was not just in Los Angeles but spread throughout the entire league and, really, across the globe. Looking forward, they must do right by the saddened players and fans who need time to grieve. It will also show as a sign of support for Bryant’s family who lost both a husband/father and daughter/sister. The NBA must sufficiently respect the profound impact on the game Kobe’s contributions made — 18 all-star appearances, 5 championship rings, 33,643 career-total points, two-Olympic gold medals, and billions of dollars cultivated over the span of 20 ground-breaking seasons. He truly was an inspiration to the world and a friend/mentor to his teammates. Suspending the games grants him an authentic moment of silence and acknowledges that the game lost a change maker, and honestly, an architect of the craft way too soon.
