“I think if people are coming together, fighting for a cause, and they’re using their amendment of freedom of speech, and they’re able to go and rally, they’re able to go and protest and fight for something that truly matters, I think that’s the most American thing possible,” he said. “So, if you’re not calling that American then I don’t think you should call yourself an American.”
But Lewis also says he understands why fans might be made uncomfortable by players’ activism. At the same time, though, he believes changing hearts and minds is possible, especially with athletes voicing their concerns more than ever before.
“The world is run by money, and it’s been a history where the more athletes go out of their fans’ comfort zone and talk about things that pertain to not sports and it makes people feel uncomfortable,” he said. “The fact that we’re taking ourselves out of the player and making people understand that we’re people before players, it was shocking at first… I think this is the first time where a multitude of athletes are focusing on one thing and being extremely loud about it, so I think we’re in a great time.”
Lewis said it can be frustrating for him at times that some people don’t see racism in society the way he does. He talked about the small things that delineate the white experience in America from the Black experience, such as when he first got his driver’s license and his mother and grandmother gave him a list of areas he should avoid as a Black man.
But he recognizes that the movement has to bridge that gap to broaden its support.
“This is over 400-plus years of history that we’re trying to break down and get people to understand,” he said. “Most people look at Black people and say, ‘Oh, he or she is crying for help,’ instead of ‘We’re asking to be on a similar playing field,’ or people look at Black Lives Matter as something totally different than what it actually is. So once I started really locking in on things that I thought were valuable and important, and I realized other people didn’t feel the same way, I questioned, how could you not feel the same way? How could you not understand what the Black Lives Matter movement is trying to get across… How can you not understand that black and brown bodies are dying, not because of their actions but because of the way they look? How can you not understand that social justice is a thing, or systemic racism is a thing? The fact that people don’t understand that these are real-life things that go on every single day, it would raise a lot of questions for me.”
Though not everyone has been receptive to players like Lewis speaking out, he said that his ultimate takeaway from the protest was that there’s reason to be positive about the future. He said the cross-generational unity he saw gives him reason to believe things will get better.
“There’s a lot more things to be hopeful for than I thought. I think the one thing that scares me the most is that history repeats itself. And the fact that you can see, and look out to the crowd and see a little white boy holding up a sign that says Black Lives Matter, that’s a whole entirely different generation to mine. So, that kid can spread the same message to all his friends, and they’re all chanting that even if it’s seriously or playfully, I think that’s a good sign. So, I think it’s just that I’ve been more hopeful going to certain protests than I would have thought I would have been before.”
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