The NBA is one of the more progressive sports leagues in the world, giving players a platform to have more power and freedom. In leagues such as the NFL, a player wouldn’t have the same opportunity to leave a team to get a bigger paycheck with another. The NBA is a players league, while the NFL is an owners league in the eyes of some. This being said, there is more of an area for marketability or spotlight on the stars of the NBA, and with that gives them a large responsibility of using their platform for the good.

Almost a year ago to the day, journalist Laura Ingraham was quoted to say ‘Shut up and dribble’, in response to Lebron James talking about politics. This created a movement of some sorts, orchestrated by James himself, leading to a documentary series bearing the same title as the insulting comments. The documentary focused on the changing role of black athletes in today’s cultural and political environments. “Shut Up and Dribble” chronicled the modern history of the NBA and how the current atmosphere allows athletes to grow their brands off the court and become icons.

I think that this is a tremendous action to spark change and conversation, as a lot of today’s youth look up to the stars of their respective sports leagues and the NBA has a huge following. There are more movements of change and respect to these players, which has been a long time coming. The stigma used to be that these athletes had no voice or any reasoning to speak on nation-wide topics, but these athletes, and black athletes in particular, are pushing the envelope and creating a role for themselves in the media.

This correlates with the current state of America and how there is an underrepresentation of minorities in this country. For this country to be more unified and be as great as advertised, there needs to be change occurring for the better, with leaders that adhere to all races, ethnicities and cultures. Whether it be an athlete or a politician speaking on these topics, both of them are citizens of the U.S. and see what is going on in this country. They need to be respected and listened to which in turn can lead to more communication in this country. Hopefully the direct result of this will lead to change and fewer disputes and violence.