We Refuse to Shut up and Dribble – Senator James Sanders Jr. Stands in Solidarity with the NBA and other Sports Teams on Strike over Police Brutality

State Senator James Sanders Jr. said: "I stand in solidarity with the NBA teams who have gone on strike to protest police brutality, most recently shooting of Jacob Blake who was shot multiple times in the back by police officers in Wisconsin, and is now paralyzed from the waist down. It is a significant message that this behavior will not be tolerated, Life will not go on as usual.  

The move was first initiated when the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play game five of their playoff series against the Magic and the decision followed months of protests spurred by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the murder of unarmed jogger Ahmaud Arbery by three white supremacists in Georgia and innumerable others
 
Similar strikes have now spread to Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, professional tennis, and the WNBA. While these sports figures are certainly not political leaders, they do have a strong voice and a significant platform in being able to shape public opinion. I fully support their peaceful demonstration against the inexcusable violence being perpetrated against black people.

In 2018, when LeBron James and Kevin Durant were vocal in their criticism of President Trump, Fox News's Laura Ingraham told them to 'Shut up and dribble.’ Well, we won’t shut up and dribble. Now is the time for everyone to show through both words and action that Black Lives Matter and the disgusting and racially motivated killings of black people by both police officers and white supremacists ends now.
 
LeBron James fired back against the “shut up and dribble” comment by stating that the protests were occurring because people are tired of staying quiet and that they expect change. He even repurposed  Ingraham's words into a 30-second Twitter clip that shows the evolution of similar words and how police use them justify brutality to black Americans. Phrases like “Shut up and lay still, Shut up and take of that hood, Shut up and stop running, Shut up and you fit the description,” and so on. It’s a powerful clip that everyone should see.
 
This month also marks the 4-year anniversary since former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick began sitting, then kneeling, during the playing of the national anthem before games. He explained his actions by posing the question – “How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation … that is so unjust to many of the people living in it?” I think that is a question that we are all asking ourselves right now."