[jwplayer B6kZwvEr]
Washington Wizards rookie Admiral Schofield said Monday that citizens educating themselves on social issues and racism will be the key to helping create meaningful change.
Schofield has used his platform in recent months to help raise awareness for key social issues in the United States and around the world. Schofield, along with several of his Wizards teammates, including John Wall, Bradley Beal, Troy Brown Jr. and Rui Hachimura, took part in a two-plus mile march on Juneteenth in Washington, D.C. to help spark social justice reform.
Juneteenth typically has been a day for Black people to help celebrate freedom but citizens around the U.S. this year used the holiday to continue raising awareness on social issues. The Wizards players on hand marching each were seen wearing Black Lives Matter shirts, a movement started to condemn police brutality. Schofield believes the things he and his teammates have done is helping create change.
I think the most important thing now is making the right moves, not just making so many moves as far as educating and spreading the word about social issues and social justice. I think the biggest thing right now is to educate. Education is the key to creating change. The lack of education, the lack of knowing, the lack of being aware of what’s going on is what causes the conflict. I think education reform and educating a lot of our people — not just Americans, white — no matter the color, Black people need to know, too.
I just think that education reform needs to be made but also everyone just needs to be more accepting to being more aware to the right information. It’s not a perfect world. I just think the little things that we’ve done — my teammates Brad [Beal], John [Wall] and those guys — is great and heading toward the direction of change.
Since the death of George Floyd and several others, including Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, the NBA and NBPA have agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart this month would be to find tangible and sustainable ways to address racial inequality across the country. The two sides will work in the coming weeks to help influence meaningful change.
The NBA will allow the players participating in the season restart to inscribe a phrase or message on the back of their jerseys in place of their names to help raise awareness for a social cause or movement. Paschall said he chose to wear “Enough” on the back of his jersey because systematic oppression and racism needs to end.
While the NBA and NBPA discuss ways to create change in the future, players have banded together in the immediate short term to continue to use their platforms to raise awareness on social justice issues and racism worldwide.
[lawrence-related id=19585,19516,18427]
[vertical-gallery id=14282]