The NBA does not play “best to vote” – Corriere.it

to meAmerica, the land of rights. and duties. To vote, only at the beginning. And the invitation to go to the polls comes in an unexpected way. A three-point shot that annoys the games of those who keep telling you that “nothing changes anyway”: in a country where abstentions reach alarming proportions. The National Basketball Association has decided to cancel matches scheduled for November 8th. Because that day is the midterm elections. It never happened. Not even for the presidential elections. The palaces closed that day. And on the eve of everyone in the last square a call to go to the polling stations.

An option to help think: fans and players. A message that reaches the conscience of every citizen is a right. Without eloquence. Because American basketball is used to choices that make their mark. Perhaps because it is frequented by people who grew up in suffering. And even if you become a millionaire, you will never forget where you came from. Usually a black ghetto, probably in a southern state. Louisiana Bill Russell, the first to challenge prevailing racism. But even if you are from New York, you have to hope that you will be born into the right family. The NBA raises its voice and wears T-shirts for Black Lives Matter. LeBron James sings it in the face of Donald Trump (hard to repeat even for a president…) And already in 1968, a boy with a great future ahead of him gave up the shirt of the US national team at the Mexico City Olympics. “This is not my country,” said young Lou Alcindor, who was about to change his name and life to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, angrily.

But civic awareness is part of the genetic code of the NBA world. It’s not just the racial issue that angers the basketball giants. Warriors trainer Steve Kerr, wasp-like features: blond, white skin, clear eyes, asked in exasperation after another school massacre: “When are we going to do something against the use of guns?” His father, the dean of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated in 1984. American basketball is able to express even a high-ranking Democratic senator like Bill Bradley. The perfect combination of a hero and a good citizen.

This is why the November 8 initiative is one that must be taken seriously. Like Karim’s sky hook you already know makes the basket.