thependulumswings

In the last few months for the NBA, the NHL, and MLB great preparation and an abundance of caution have been taken for players’ safety to minimize or prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.  Lessons were learned from this an applied to try to get the NFL and NCAA football teams in camp and able to start the 2020 fall seasons successfully.

The jury is still out, but the preponderance of the evidence seems promising that success can be had.

Little did anyone know that another problem could and would spread faster through the leagues than even COVID-19 could.

It’s called BOYCOTT-20.  It’s not as deadly, but its actual root cause is to prevent deaths ironically.

It started three days back in a meeting of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks team meeting.  They decided collectively that they had had it with the continued unnecessary deaths of black men at the hands of white cops.  Indeed, that is a valid concern.

Quickly, the BOYCOTT-20 festered in the NBA bubble.  All playoff games for Wednesday were boycotted.  The Clippers and the Lakers, led by the King, decided in a Wednesday PM meeting that they were done with the season.  And, Thursday’s games were canceled as the league tried to find agreeable ways to combat the warp speed virus.

The damn thing jumped out of the Orlando bubble and hit MLB like a Nolan Ryan beanball and the NHL like Gordie Howe slapshot.  They went dark last evening too.

And yesterday the SEC Kentucky Wildcat football team boycotted practice. Other SEC teams may follow today.

The PAC 12 and the Big 10 want desperately to boycott their football practice too.  Unfortunately, they succumbed to the deadly CC-20 (cancel culture) weeks ago. Unfortunate.  RIP.

The jury is still out on the success of these boycotts as well.

As a matter of fact, the jury hasn’t even been empaneled for the state v. Rusten Sheskey, the cop that shot Jacob Blake seven times.  As a matter of fact, Rusten Sheskey hasn’t even been arrested.

But, The Movement moves fast.  They’ve seen enough.  A black man shot in the back SEVEN times.  It’s all there on video.  It’s all there on video except all of the facts that led to that moment or those seven moments.

As a society we haven’t learned yet from the deaths or shootings of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL, or Freddie Gray in Baltimore, MD, or Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, or Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, or George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, or now Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI.

We want change and we want it now.  If we don’t get it, we’ll take our ball and go home.  No more games.  That’ll show America.

Except it won’t.

America wants change too.  America doesn’t want more police interaction with criminals who disobey their commands.  America doesn’t want chokeholds.  But, America wants peace.

Acting like a petulant child spraypainting a building, shooting fireworks, or much worse won’t help.  Boycotting won’t help.

America wants an America where The Movement recognizes that multiple time offenders like Floyd and Blake aren’t good people.  Should they have been killed or nearly killed?  No.  But, they’re bad people-period.  In fact, they are really bad.  Look up their police records if you have 45 minutes to spare.  Maybe some will want to boycott armed robbery or sex offenses.

Boycott for the next ten seasons if you wish.  But on your way to the woke walkout take a minute to realize how very bad actors put themselves in very bad positions where very bad things can and do happen.

With all of the extra time off that boycotts bring, athletes can ask their woke self what they would do in an instant when you fear for your life even when you have the gun and the badge.  Then ask yourself if it would be better for those resisting arrest to avoid the situation altogether.  Again, and again, and again.

But BOYCOTT-20 might be subsiding.  Rumor has it the NBA told the remaining playoff players that their income might be clipped by 25-30% should they cancel culture their livelihood.  Sounds like sneakers will be squeaking on the hardwood floor as soon as today.

At a bare minimum can America wait for a jury to hear all of the facts?

It worked for OJ.