Chris Paul has become a staple in the NBA to members and Fans alike. When news broke of Donald Sterling’s personal opinion of African Americans and minorities, we all looked to the Clippers to take a stand against their owner, more specifically the leader of the team, Chris Paul. One can only imagine what its like to have the weight of the entire world on your shoulders and eyes critiquing your every move, but Paul handled it as swift and quietly as he could. Paul and his teammates held a “players only” meeting, discussed the incident and made the best decision in playing for the fans. While their protest of throwing their warm-up jackets in the middle of the court was small, it was something. Following an emotional Game 4, in which they lost… Game 5 was at home, at that point it didn’t seem like it was “home” for fans and even some players.
However, Adam Silver made an incredible statement as his first major decision since becoming commissioner and gave the maximum punishment under his power to suspend Sterling for LIFE and a $2.5M fine. Silver did an amazing job. He handled the press conference as a pro, answered questions without hesitation and gave swift justice under his hand. Silver gave the Clippers organization to the fans and the players… saying “The league is bigger than one owner”
Game 5… The Clippers are pumped. They come out to “Trophies” by Drake and play their hearts out. Deandre Jordan had an amazing night, making numbers 25 pts, 18 rebs,4 blocks and Chris Paul looked like a leader. In the end they won, leading the series 3-2. What most didn’t know was that Paul was near tears.
“I’m an emotional person,” Paul said. “So running out for warm-ups, it took everything not to break down. That is something I will never forget forever.”
This goes to show how much this incident hurt everyone. Racism has no place in this world. Hate has no place in this world. This is bigger than the NBA and we all need to commit to making a change, commit to fighting the war on hate because this is just a battle.
We are One.
