Entertainment and Christmas
Today is Christmas 2020 and we will be entertained by two sports in which the athletes are predominantly African-American males and I for one am appreciative. We have 5 high-level basketball games and 1 high-level football game to keep us entertained as we are quarantined and isolated away from our families. All of us now know someone who has had Covid and for many of us, we know someone who has been lost because of Covid. Entertainment takes us away from the realities of the current situation we are living through.
We have a modern era athlete that is now opinionated and unafraid to damage their brand to speak on matters important to them. They speak loudly on issues affecting them and their communities. Are they 100% right, absolutely not as no one is. But are they silent and missing from the debate like Michael Jordan was to protect his brand, of course not. They are entertaining and exciting to watch as a fan and I love to hear their thoughts on the current political and societal issues affecting our society.
Many want them silenced, many point to hypocritical stances they may take, but I say let them speak freely and let us debate them while we watch and appreciate their greatness on the court. I worship no athletes, because they are simply playing a sport and idolatry is a deadly mistake, but I do hope we grow more as a society in being able to vigorously debate societal and political issues, without consistently calling for the silencing of those who don’t think or agree with us 100% of the time.
I for one am appreciative of these athletes that take time away from their own families to entertain us on a day in which we normally spend with family, celebrating all in life that we should be celebrating. Things are different in this crazy year, but the one thing that has stayed this year is NBA on television. I am thankful for their great abilities on their court and their willingness to speak their minds and lead on controversial issues off the court.