Good morning, folks. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear.
Shouts to y’all for rocking with me so heavy this week. We talked about Mamba Week for a sec and it took off. It wouldn’t have happened without y’all. So thank you.
But unfortunately, it's going to get heavy today. Buckle in.
Bigger than sports, bigger than sneakers, bigger than anything
(Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash)
Today is one of those days. Yet again, it is impossible to talk about anything but the violence and abuses Black people face in this country every single day. This time, it’s been sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin seven times in front of his kids.
What’d he do? He broke up a fight, reportedly. Officers confronted him after and he went to get in his car. They shot him. Again. SEVEN. TIMES.
Here we are, yet again. I'm sick of this. This is the same story, all over again. I didn't watch the clip. I didn't have to. I've seen this so many times before. And it just keeps happening. Its the same story.
Another Black person shot by the police, sworn to protect. He’s paralyzed from the waist down. We're fortunate enough to see him live to tell this story, despite the officer's efforts.
But, still, here we are yet again. Another Black family, traumatized. Another Black life, broken. Maybe to the point where it can’t be repaired. And for what? Don’t answer that because there’s no good answer to it.
Its clear that being Black is a crime in this country that our ancestors were literally forced to build. Driving while Black, sleeping while Black, running while Black, and now keeping peace while Black all seem to be grounds for being shot. To be quite frank, it's bullshit.
And listen, I’d much rather be sitting here and writing about Mamba Week and Nike. Or Under Armour and UCLA’s lawsuit. Or the Space Hippies. But I can’t. Enough is enough.
Much like the Milwaukee Bucks probably wanted to play in that playoff game and try to get to the next round. Much like the Washington Mystics probably would much rather continue with their season.
I’m exhausted and I imagine they are, too. It’s always on us to solve the problems that we didn’t create. We’re always the ones everyone else leans on for strength. It’s always us who has to clean up America’s mess.
I mean, think about it. It was essentially three months ago that we had this same conversation. Yet here we are. And thats why I'm writing this again. It's why employees at Nike are refusing to work. Thats why these athletes have disrupted your entertainment. Because it's clear the message needed to be reiterated.
“Do you want sports? Do better.” That’s their message. And they were so desperate for you to hear it that they used their bodies as the leverage to get their point across, as ESPN’s Maria Taylor so poignantly explains here.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything like this. It is a movement in the truest sense. And it is one to be respected and treated with reverence.
You’ll see a number of people online continue to ask what more can be done.
They’ll argue that they’ve already committed to the Black Lives Matter movement in both the WNBA and NBA bubbles. They’ve allowed their players room to speak and voice their concerns. They’ve dedicated $300 million to economic empowerment initiatives over the next 10 years. What else is there?
Don't fall for this trick. The answer is always this: There’s always more. Let’s not conveniently forget how money and politics work. Especially when you’re worth literal billions of dollars, as Tom Ziller brilliantly points out here.
Things won’t change overnight. We’ve got centuries worth of institutional disenfranchisement to dismantle. But if we’re not doing everything we can to do that, then we’re not doing anything at all.
It’s exhausting, yes. But this moment deserves every single ounce of our strength. It deserves our time. It deserves our attention. It deserves our resources. Let’s all give it.
One more thing. Give the WNBA its flowers
The WNBA has been at the forefront of the social justice movement in sports for years now and hasn’t exactly gotten the credit it deserves for it.
They continued their work on Thursday. As the league cancelled its slate of games for the day, those women stood hand in hand together in an empty gym as a show of solidarity with the movement.
I hate comparing these kinds of things because a movement is a movement. Whether you’re the first one to the party or you’re late to it, all that matters is that you’ve shown up and you’re doing your part.
But we absolutely need to acknowledge the WNBA here. No league has done this better. Those women move as one. They’re all on the same page. They’re all united. And they’re all working toward the same goal, which is the dismantling of America’s racist institutions and equality for all.
You absolutely love to see it. Keep it going ladies. In the words of the great Ari Chambers, the WNBA is so important.
That’s a wrap for Friday, folks. No #TheKicksWeWear in the newsletter today. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week.
Until then, though, just take some time to reflect on this moment and figure out what you can do better individually. I know I will.
Anyway, family. I love you and I’ll miss you. As always, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯