LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. _ Collette Flanagan grew up as an NBA fan, played point guard at Dallas' Kimball High School and later even played pickup games with her son, Clinton.
She professes, though, that when Rick Carlisle emailed her last month she had no idea he still coached her home city's team, the Mavericks, until she Googled to check.
"A lot has changed," she said, "since I lost Clinton."
Clinton, 25, was shot and killed in 2013 by a Dallas police officer. Of the seven bullets that struck unarmed Clinton, one entered his back and another pierced an armpit, indicating that at least one of his hands was raised.
Since then, former IBM executive Collette has dedicated her life to leading Dallas-based Mothers Against Police Brutality, which she founded to unite and give voice to mothers who have lost children to police violence.
Not coincidentally, Carlisle's email arrived within days after the world, on May 25, watched George Floyd die while being pinned face-down onto a Minneapolis street by a police officer.
Carlisle explained to Flanagan that the Mavericks organization wanted to partner with a local organization to deepen dialogue and affect change in the fight against racial injustice.
"We hit it off immediately," Flanagan said. "He was very straightforward in wanting to work with MAPB and dig in and learn about police brutality locally. Where he lives. Where his players live. I thought that was very impressive.
"He has done that and more."
On Thursday night, the NBA season recommenced here in what has been dubbed The Bubble on the Disney World campus, ending a four-plus-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Twenty-two teams, including the Mavericks, are scheduled to play 88 seeding games. Provided virus-control protocols continue to work, there then will be a 16-team postseason and the crowning of a champion in October.
The setting and circumstances are oddly historic, with the bubble as a global stage amid the still-raging pandemic and ongoing racial justice and equality protests occurring across America.
The NBA, with an estimated 80% of its membership being men of color, intends to utilize this platform to call for social change: Individually. Collectively. Unitedly.
The words "Black Lives Matter" are featured prominently on the three arena courts on which teams are playing on the ESPN Wide World of Sports campus. For the first four days of the restart, many players are replacing their last name on their jerseys with social justice messages.
"There's an enormous rock that has just got to keep getting chipped away at," Carlisle said. "Four-plus centuries' worth of insidious events. At the heart of it is the fact that this is a moral issue."
The Mavericks franchise is uniquely positioned to leverage its stature and visibility, nationally and especially in North Texas, to make a tangible difference.
Carlisle is the 15th-year president of the NBA Coaches Association. Cynthia Marshall is the league's only Black female CEO. Owner Mark Cuban is, well, Mark Cuban.
"You have three people who are willing to listen," fifth-year Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley said. "You have three people who are willing to coordinate and collaborate with one another. People talk about 'The Movement,' but these three have gone into action.
"I do believe they have become a model for how we go about creating change. You have to have the conversations. People say it has to start within your home. Well, the Mavericks is our home family. So we're starting it at home."
