NBA players decided to resume the playoffs and finish the season this week

Source: Kevin C. Cox / Getty

News has just broken that the NBA players have held another meeting this morning and have decided that they will continue the playoffs and crown a champion this season. Word came down via ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter:

Reports are that the players-only meeting last night was fraught with emotion with some players frustrated with the Bucks for leaving them in the dark about the boycott plan while others like the Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown arguing that the Bucks had no reason to explain themselves.

George Hill and Sterling Brown stood tall and read a statement on behalf of the Bucks about why they were boycotting and what they want to see change.

Chris Webber lent his voice to the conversation with an emotional message about inspiring the youth and remembering those who live in the neighborhoods that the police are terrorizing.

Webber, an NBA commentator on Turner Sports and former player on the Sacramento Kings, referenced the brutal killing of Emmett Till, a young black boy who was horrifically beaten and lynched in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Those allegations later revealed to be untrue. He says these events have revealed the historical trauma Black people have experienced in America and are still living through today:

“The only reason I watch the videos of the death of Black men … is because Emmett Till’s mother decided to put him on the cover and decided to put his picture out there when he was so brutally killed years ago. I always think about her strength. Because if she didn’t put that picture out to show what lynching, what the KKK, what others were doing — that right there opened America’s eyes in a lot of ways. It got the attention. That gruesome, ugly picture of a young boy not even old enough to vote being killed for a lie.”

Webber’s powerful actions mimic a similar sentiment to Kenny Smith who also shared a few words about the case involving Mr. Blake before walking off set of his talk show.

How do you feel about the return after yesterday’s historic boycott?