Jrue Holiday, Mickey Arison, JB Bickerstaff
Hatred is growing. A quick scan of recent headlines reveals a series of tragic incidents of anti-Semitism across the country.
And in November, the FBI released data showing this is part of a broader pattern that should alarm us all. In 2021, state law enforcement agencies reported 7,759 hate crimes, representing a 12-year jump at the time.
Sadly, the trend has since worsened dramatically, with 11,634 incidents reported in 2022. It pervades our community spaces, public dialogue, and politics, alongside anti-Semitism, hate speech, harassment, and violence against Black, Asian, Muslim, Arab, LGBTQ, and other communities. unprecedented rate.
We all have a responsibility to fight hate and we can all make a difference.
As part of the NBA family, we know that sporting events are one of the last remaining places where people come together to connect, be inspired and feel a sense of belonging. Sports elevates people through friendship and competition.
The NBA attracts a wide range of people.
The NBA is especially proud of its wide fan base in the United States. And around the world, we connect people in the more than 200 countries and territories where our games are distributed. People of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and faiths are united by our love for the game, our team loyalty, and our admiration for our favorite athletes from more than 40 countries around the world.
That's why we serve on the board of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. To harness the power of basketball to unite people and advance common-sense policy solutions to justice issues in our communities and beyond.
When it comes to addressing hate in 2024, it is both sobering and reassuring to remember that we have fought this battle as a nation before. We can and should learn from other painful chapters in American history. The forced removal and persecution of Native Americans since the 1600s. The scourge of chattel slavery since the 1700s. Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and his 60s. LGBTQ discrimination and the growing grassroots movement of the 1970s. and the Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism of the early part of this century.
That history must never leave our minds, and we must remain united in our determination to tear down the walls of hatred that have been erected.
Because our work at the Coalition focuses on judicial policy advocacy, we are pleased to see a series of legislative and public policy efforts underway to curb the upward trend. A wide range of new state-level interventions focused on preventing hate are being implemented across the country, including in New York, Texas, and California.
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At the federal level, Congress passed an anti-hate crimes bill in 2021. And in 2022, all 94 U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country launched the United Against Hate Initiative and held regional forums to connect community groups with federal, state, and local governments. Law enforcement agencies promote community awareness and reporting of hate crimes.
Policymakers are key leaders in this effort, and these types of measures are meaningful in addressing hate crimes, ensuring accountability for perpetrators, and supporting recovery for victims. But if we truly want to win the war against hate, we must start doing so long before any crime or public act occurs.
Hatred must be confronted directly
Across the NBA, we will continue to do our part. And each of us has a role to play in achieving real progress.
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Whenever we are faced with growing hatred, we must face it head on. We have to give it a name. We must remember our history, define our values, and stand up for our friends, neighbors, and families. We must again take up the difficult task of creating truly pluralistic societies that find commonality because of, rather than in spite of, their unique origins and traditions.
This is not the time for us to succumb to apathy or despair, but for us to rise up to meet the demands of the day. We take pride in weaving together the disparate threads of many cultures to create a single, vibrant tapestry of American communities where no one is excluded and all are welcome to participate. You can become a country with
Jrue Holiday, Mickey Arison and JB Bickerstaff are directors of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. Holiday plays his basketball professionally with the Boston Celtics and is the co-founder of the Jrue & Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund. Allison is the managing general partner of the Miami Heat and chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc. Bickerstaff is the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
