Sports often intersect with social issues in our world, as was the case in Minnesota on July 9.
The recent shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile compelled four Minnesota Lynx players to take a stand against racial profiling and brutality from police. The players wore warm-up shirts that said, “Change starts with us. Justice and accountability” on the front. On the back of the shirts, the players honored Castile and Sterling by having their names and “Black Lives Matter” written on the bottom.
At a pregame news conference the players also said they wanted to denounce racial profiling by police officers.
“We are highlighting a longtime problem of racial profiling,” said forward Maya Moore, who was the 2014 WNBA MVP.
Four off-duty Minnesota cops who normally work security for the Lynx games took offense and decided to leave their posts and stop working the game. By leaving the game, they continued the trend of certain cops in America not doing their job correctly or at all.
Castile was shot by a cop because he fit the description of a suspect in that area, but so does just about every black man. According to a story by FOX61 in Minnesota, more than half of arrests made in the St. Anthony area were of black people.
Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, told the Minneapolis-Star Tribune that he commended the officers for quitting Saturday. When asked why only four officers were working the game, he said, “They only have four officers working the event because the Lynx have such a pathetic draw.”
However, that game drew 7,613 fans, which is a little the WNBA’s league average for the 2015 season. Instead of going on a serious power trip maybe those officers should sit back and take a second to think about what the Lynx players were saying.
Saying the words “black lives matter” doesn’t mean they hate police officers. Just like the Lynx players, the movement is trying to bring attention to a system that doesn’t treat black people the same because of their color, among other issues.
Athletes have a large platform and the right to voice their opinions. Saying “black lives matter” shouldn’t offend anyone, let alone someone who was trained to serve and protect the public.
Who knows what offended those officers, but the Lynx players didn’t denounce police officers or say anything disrespectful. They were only speaking the truth by shedding light to a problem in our country.
The truth hurts. But if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.