“I still have mixed feelings about [the bubble],” shared Boston Celtics star forward Jaylen Brown in a recent interview with GQ’s Michael Pina.
A sojourn to the Lake Buena Vista NBA restart in central Florida was good for bargaining with his grandpa Willie to get cancer treatment if he went, the two men making a pact to fight when the will of both wavered.
But as to the goal of focusing on fighting for racial equity — a major concern for the Georgia native — Brown is still unsure whether his choice to make the trip to the Disney NBA campus did more to help or harm that critical cause.
Jaylen Brown, Tacko Fall, Grant Williams model official City Edition jerseys https://t.co/ba9n7nBgZ6
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 20, 2020
And it’s not for lack of trying.
“I tried to use my platform to the utmost capacity that I could, to try to play basketball, bring awareness, and balance the daily rigors of just being in the bubble,” offered the Cal-Berkeley product. “Anxiety, depression, all that stuff that surrounds it. A part of me still thinks like I made the wrong decision.”
The whole restart very nearly came off of the rails despite the determination of young leaders like Brown to forge ahead in the belief that the platform does more good with the bright lights of an NBA season trained on it.
Will NBA's plan to limit travel in 2020-21 season also help reduce injury? https://t.co/YbC5SyUKj5 via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 15, 2020
Regardless of whether it was the right situation or not, Brown believes the league needs to dig in to social justice issues on a permanent basis, and “continue to improve” it is committed to fighting injustice in society.
“I think the NBA needs to make that a lifestyle,” says the Georgia native.
“It’s getting harder and harder for us to accept and entertain people who feed into our demise and then go back and look in the face of our communities and not hear their tears. Not see the struggle that they deal with every day and not want to help.”
The NBA seems poised to do so, with the leadership of young stars like Brown to guide them in the fight.
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