This is a commentary on the reality of the young Black male professional athlete. It seems that there couldn’t be enough examples of their predecessors’ ills to deter their behavior. Once you “make it” in the world of sports, you become a resource for many around you. It’s at that point where it may become difficult to discern how genuine the people around you are. I’m sure it’s a tough position to be in.
Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards went viral. Some would say, for all the wrong reasons. A message thread was leaked between him and a young woman he was seeing, in which she told him she was pregnant. In the conversation, you can read Edwards requesting that she please get an abortion. He even offers to pay her $100,000 to ensure that this happens, but she remains hesitant. Once this was leaked, social media went abuzz and accosted Edwards for his request.
On the surface, Edwards came across as most white men in positions of power have in this country. By essentially pleading for her to get an abortion, one could take that as him trying to take away a woman’s autonomy to navigate pregnancy as she wishes. I certainly don’t believe that was Edwards’ intent. But with this being leaked for public consumption, folks can conclude that they’re led to.
Others also believed that Edwards’ decision-making and athletes like him should be called into question. Black women blamed men like Edwards for situations like this that they find themselves in. And to be fair, these are grown men, they do have to hold the bag on a lot of this. But why does this continue to happen? How can these young men become better prepared?
There is a bevy of players who have gotten themselves caught up in similar situations. There’s Zion Williamson, for instance, who almost found himself blackmailed by a woman. It’s such a shame that these women can have such a profound impact on your future, while not having much invested in you prior. I have my own logic as to why this happens. I think partially, where in this country a player grows up plays a role. Their lifestyle regarding their upbringing is relevant too. For instance, I think these players spend so much time in practice, and playing games, that they don’t have the same type of time to learn how to navigate interacting with women. These guys are socialized differently.
Once these men get into the league of their chosen discipline, they’re thrust into a world where they become even hotter commodities. It’s before this point in their lives where I hope their parental figures impart their wisdom onto them. If you have a child that has a real trajectory into professional sports, I don’t think you can handle them with kid gloves. You have to be brutally honest with these athletes about the enormous amount of attention they’ll garner.
It isn’t beyond me that it would be helpful if the NBA also provided workshops to these men on who to look out for as they mature with the amount of resources that they have. Again, this doesn’t absolve these men from making the decisions that they make. The final judgments come from them with these women.
But maybe I’m too caught up with how I believe one should protect their assets. I may be the unrealistic one who thinks moving responsibly at that level is still possible. At the same token, I think this subject is worth the discussion that we’re having. When these young men’s lucrative futures are literally in the palm of their hands, they have to remain cognizant of how precious the opportunity is. It just isn’t worth being that careless with it, with people who you don’t mess with like that.
In sports, they have a phrase where they say, “Don’t leave the game in the ref’s hands.” That means that sure, a ref may make a call or decision that you don’t agree with. But you as the player have to remember you’re in control of most of the game. So play properly. I see things similarly with Black male athletes’ conduct with women sexually. Don’t leave the game in her hands, do the things that you need to do, to assure yourself a simpler and fulfilled future.
