(ThyBlackMan.com) The concept of time was different in 2020 than any other year in recent memory. It was a year that was both incredibly long and short. The entire world has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people have died, been physically impaired, and have suffered personal, emotional, and financial losses as result of the global pandemic. In mid-March 2020, businesses and schools closed their buildings across the country as the entire globe watched the COVID-19 pandemic unfold. While the coronavirus consumed all lives, it was also a U.S. Presidential Election year in 2020 featuring two detestable candidates from the Democrat and Republican Parties and it was also a year when social uprisings in America inspired humans across the globe. There is no doubt that the year 2020 will go down in the annuals of U.S. history similar to years like 1776, 1865, and 1968.
Before he got PAID by the Utah Jazz earlier this month, Jazz center Rudy Gobert was a big catalyst for the day sports stopped due to the coronavirus. On March 11, 2020, a game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed right before tip-off after Gobert was placed on the injury list due to illness. He was taken to a local hospital and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA then suspended the 2019–20 season indefinitely. Prior to his diagnosis, Gobert had been brazen in his actions by touching various items like microphones and teammates’ locker room items, apparently mocking the NBA’s new physical distancing media policies. The NHL also postponed their season and Major League Baseball shut down their operations. The pandemic even moved the schedule of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games to next year. Understanding that tons of stadium employees and working people being unable to work due to nationwide shutdowns, professional athletes stepped up to lend support to the people who also make sports experiences great.
As much of the nation was homebound due to statewide lockdowns, millions of people were shaken by the stories and murders of unarmed Black people including Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, as those murders received national attention. It was the videotaped murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin on May 26, 2020 that increased the collective sadness, anger, and fury of those against the murders of unarmed Black people at the hands of law enforcement. People of all races and ethnicities, including athletes, across the country hit the streets in protest and marches against police brutality while calling for the arrests of police who have murdered unarmed Black people and calling for the defunding and abolishment of the police.
The name “Colin Kaepernick” entered the news cycle again as his protest during the national anthem back in 2016 was seen as justified in the eyes of many more white people after he had received support from most Black people. The NFL’s actions since then confirm that the Kaepernick’s stance on police brutality and racial justice were correct but he was still not signed by NFL teams that were plagued with quarterback issues that created further issues due to the pandemic.
Sports leagues and athletes emphasized the concept of voting leading up to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. The WNBA has always been a driving force for social justice causes and athletes speaking out and they added the importance of voting to their causes. The NBA’s bubble served both as entertainment but as a way for NBA players to express themselves through statements and even led to a historic strike after the Jacob Blake shooting.
After Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump to win the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, some athletes understood that a Biden presidency does not mean that Black people and other people of color will get relief from police harassment and police brutality. 2020 was also about the losses of NBA great Kobe Bryant, Georgetown and college basketball coaching legend John Thompson, sports fan and actor Chadwick Boseman, and other Black sports greats. It was also a time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, the increased outspokenness of collegiate athletes, and the elimination of racist sports team names. As 2020 ends, may everyone stay safe healthy and care for each other while realizing that we are all on the same team as human beings in the game of life.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines