Saturday Slam: The NBA is taking social justice to another level

                                            (Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool/AFP)

 The Milwaukee Bucks' audacious decision to not play against the Orlando Magic in Wednesday's playoff game in protest of police brutality, specifically the lack of justice for Jacob Blake, sparked even more conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for change when it comes to better policing and racial equality. After a league-wide meeting, the league decided to resume the playoffs on Saturday, but there was reportedly serious talk about cancelling the season. As a matter of fact the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers were united in their vote to cancel the season. 

What prevented a cancellation was the overall consensus that the best way for the NBA to use their platform was to keep playing. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown reportedly pressed players on this, saying that if they were to cancel the season, they better be willing to go in the trenches and not just head home and chill in their gated communities. President Barack Obama also advised players to finish the season for the same reasons. 

Personally, I think finishing the season is the right move for the NBA for all the reasons that Obama and Brown said. However, I do think it's pretty amazing that LeBron James and other players were willing to not finish the season because of how fed up they are with what's going on. The fact that a conversation had to take place on the matter says a lot.

For the first time in NBA history, players are starting to see themselves as more than just basketball players, but as agents for change. They recognize that they have an influence over society and they want to use their platform to the best of their abilities. I think this is great. 

At the same time, NBA players need to remember that without basketball, they have no platform to be agents for change. If they stopped playing basketball, they would also lose the megaphone that they are trying to leverage as much as possible. It's a tricky line to walk, but so far, the NBA seems to be walking it pretty well. It'll be interesting to see how the season finishes up and how players will use their platform going forward. 

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Saturday Slam: Thoughts on LeBron James' comments on gun control

Like seriously man!!!! A baby shot in the chest in Cleveland. It's been out of control but it's really OOC. Ya'll need to chill the F out.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 1, 2015

C'mon man let's do and be better! Don't fall into the trap. This can't be only way. Accept more from yourselves. #TheLand #TheNation

— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 1, 2015

     Rarely do I ever write about topics that are political in nature on here. As a matter of fact, I think it's only happened once previously. But when LeBron James took to twitter this week to speak his mind about the gun laws in the United States, I thought that I could use his comments as a way to frame what I would like to say on the matter. More specifically, I want to talk about why I support what LeBron James said and why I think it's so important that he is speaking out on issues like this.
   
     First of all, I would like to say that I am deeply saddened for the victims of the shooting at the community college in Oregon. Further,  I am deeply saddened for every victim of all forms of violence. Gun violence, domestic violence, etc. No person deserves to be the victim of violence and it is our job as a society to do what we can to reduce the amounts of violence that occurs.
   
     In regards to gun violence, it does seem as though our society has become numb to it. Hearing about a child getting shot in the inner city doesn't even phase us, with only mass killings really gripping our attention. Further, even those kinds of killings are events we have become numb to: Columbine; Aurora; Newtown; the most recent one in Oregon; the one in Louisiana; and the list goes on.
   
     When we hear of a mass shooting, what do we as a society do? Do we demand for change? Not really. Sure, there is some initial outrage for 24-48 hours, but then we go back to our daily routines until we hear of some other horrible incident occurring somewhere else in the country.
   
      This complacency and lack of resolve to make things better is what LeBron James is speaking out against and I applaud him for it. I applaud him for speaking out because I agree with what he is saying and further, he is in a position to really get people to think.
   
     In today's society, professional athletes like LeBron James are role models and people who everybody looks up to. It may not make sense, but that's just the way it is. When a guy like LeBron James speaks out on an issue, people listen and take the message more seriously because of its messenger.
   
     Now, will LeBron James' two tweets reform gun laws in this country? No. But they could help the ball get rolling in the right direction if other people choose to act. Who are these other people? Congressmen? People on Capitol Hill? Actually, the "other people" I speak of include people like you and me. All of us can make a change if we let our voices be heard.
   
     We need to let our government leaders know that we are not ok with the status quo and that we need to do more as a society to reduce the amounts of gun violence that occurs in this country. As President Obama said, when we have failures in our mines, we make changes and after September 11, security at airports got so tight that the elderly were having a hard time getting thorough.

     The point is that every time disaster strikes in this country, we make corrections and adjustments to make things better. But in cases of gun violence, call for change falls on deaf ears and people simply say that "stuff happens" or that we need more guns. These answers are poor and deserve to be called out in the manner that LeBron James just did. I applaud him for having the courage to speak out and for using his public image to bring about positive change in our society at large.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord to keep up with my NBA coverage.