(ThyBlackMan.com) 2021 has gotten off to an “eventful” start. As millions of Americans face eviction issues, homes belonging to two of the most powerful and influential servants of capital, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell, were vandalized. Both homes were defaced with graffiti with messages like “$2K,” “CANCEL RENT!” and “MITCH KILLS THE POOR”. There was some good news later for Pelosi as she was re-elected as House speaker as only 5 House Democrats didn’t support Nancy Pelosi for speaker despite pressure to withhold votes for Pelosi in favor of a floor vote for Medicare For All. Days after Pelosi’s re-election, the Democrats took control of the U.S. Senate after victories in Georgia Runoff Elections, which means that Democrats control the U.S. Presidency, House, and Senate.
On January 6, 2021, there was an insurrection at U.S. Capitol as mobs of white Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. Because athletes and sports figures have proven time and time again that they are more than their professions, there were various reactions displayed throughout the events of January 6th. Prior to their game against each other, players from both the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics walked off the court and held a closed door, 45-minute players-only meeting. They returned for the game and took a knee during the national anthem. In another symbolic act, the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons players, held the basketball, as all players took a knee on game’s opening possessions.
Here are some of the more stirring comments from sports figures from an eventful day:
-“We saw a Black police officer being chased and players said to me, ‘So this is what they can do?’ And people don’t get this privilege stuff? I know how they’re feeling. I am so angry and pained — and refusing to cry. It reminded me of something that James Baldwin said, when asked what it was like to be a Negro in the United States of America. He said that if you’re conscious of what’s going on in the country, and you’re a Negro, you’re in a constant state of rage.”-National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts
-“It’s pretty disturbing, obviously, sad. But what it’s not is — I keep hearing ‘this attack on democracy,’ it’s not. Democracy will prevail. It always does. It shows a lot though. When you saw the protests in summer, you saw the riots or more the police and the national guard and the army. And then you see this and you saw nothing. It basically proves the point about a privileged life in a lot of ways.”-Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers
-“This is who we are, you know what I mean? This is what’s going on. And it’s been incited. People can’t be surprised about what’s happening, because it’s been kind of provoked, for a long time.”-Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Duane Brown
-“We had seven or eight million more people who voted for [Joe] Biden than for [Donald] Trump. Every state has certified those results. Every court appeal has been turned down. A legitimate election is suddenly questioned by millions of people, including many of the people who are leading our country in government, because we’ve decided over the last few years to allow lies to be told. This is who we are. You reap what you sow.”-Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
Staff Writer; Mark Hines