Suddenly, the coronavirus and the return of professional sports have become footnotes in the American news cycle.
For the past week, protestors across the country have taken a stand against police brutality in the name of George Floyd. Floyd, who was 41 years old at the time of his death, was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
Since then, corporations, organizations and celebrities have all joined hands in protest against police brutality in the black community, and the NBA community has been among the most outspoken.
LeBron James, Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr haven’t been afraid to speak out on political and social issues impacting the country, and neither has Chris Paul.
Despite sitting as the current President of the NBA Players Association, Paul joined his comrades in observing “Blackout Tuesday,” a silent social media protest designed to encourage social media users to unplug and observe the activities occurring within their communities. At this point, according to CNN, each of the 50 states have had at least one demonstration in protest of Floyd’s killing.
Within the NBA community, Paul joined the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony and Vanessa Bryant in joining the protest. The official NBA Twitter account did, as well.
The protest comes in the form of posting a black image on one’s social channel with no caption, but including the hashtags “#BlackoutTuesday.”
