Heat’s Erik Spoelstra: ‘This is not a time to be silent or stand on the sidelines.’
Erik Spoelstra had something to say.
So the Heat’s head coach called for a teleconference Saturday afternoon with three local reporters to say it. Spoelstra’s words came as passionate protesters marched around South Florida for the eighth consecutive day in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer drove a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was face down on the ground.
“Well, when [my wife] Nikki and I first saw the visuals, we were horrified and disgusted,” Spoelstra said. “Then we got really deflated and deeply saddened that this was still happening in our country in the year 2020. In the last 10 days or so, I’ve really spent the time listening, educating myself, trying to gain more perspective and really reflecting on everything that has been happening.
“And two things, I would say, that really stuck out: First, that things have to change. I mean we just simply can’t stand for the systemic racism, social injustice and police brutality against the black community any more. And it’s really about standing up for what’s right versus what’s wrong. And the other thing is that it really is a call to action. We have an opportunity to be part of a movement to finally impact change. My family and I are all in on this fight. The Miami Heat are all in on this fight. This is not a time to be silent or stand on the sidelines.”
The movement against police brutality and in support of racial equality and social justice has drawn demonstrations across the country in reaction to the death of Floyd.
Spoelstra said the team already held a virtual meeting to discuss what’s happening around the country and how players and staff can help make a change.
“We used it as an opportunity just for our players to express themselves on how they’re feeling about this,” said Spoelstra, who was also part of the recent statement issued by the National Basketball Coaches Association that spoke out against “police brutality, racial profiling and the weaponization of racism.” “And our players are grieving, they’re hurting and trying to heal through this. It was raw. But our guys also are extremely motivated to do something together, to change something, not try, to change something. And that’s inspiring. Guys talked about unity and doing things together to make people notice and to force change.”
What actions can be done to make a positive impact?
“I think the first things are these uncomfortable conversations and the privilege that people have been talking about for the last couple of weeks, it’s real,” Spoelstra said. “And that privilege in many ways has given people the opportunity to not talk about this. Well, those days are behind us now. We have to talk about this. And those conversations may be uncomfortable at first. But they have to happen. The head coaches association, you read our statement, we are all going to get involved, and I’m going to do this also with the Miami Heat. We’re going to get involved with local organizations that have experience in policy reform. And the specific things that we want to see changed, that’s what they do.
“I jumped on a Zoom call with UD, the mayor and some local civic leaders, and I was just there to listen and try to offer support and gain more perspective. I jumped on a couple other calls with the community leaders and really just to listen to the grief that’s coming out of our communities, and specifically our black communities. We have to acknowledge that first before we can start to make changes.”
Even before Spoelstra used his voice to speak out against racial injustice, the Heat had already made it known it’s on the side of peaceful protesters working to make a change.
The Heat issued a statement Monday following a weekend of protests around South Florida and amid days of unrest around the United States.
“One of the characteristics that makes the city of Miami so unique is its immense cultural diversity,” the Heat said in the statement. “This diversity is a celebrated part of South Florida, both inside and out of AmericanAirlines Arena. It is one of the reasons we deeply mourn the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others, whom we have lost to acts of extreme and excessive violence against African-Americans; acts that have unfortunately become all too commonplace.
“The Miami Heat sends their deepest condolences to the Floyd, Taylor and Arbery families. Our hearts are broken. But our resolve is not. We urge everyone to responsibly let their voices be heard and encourage our community to come together.”
The Heat also participated in the #BlackoutTuesday movement by sharing a photo of a black square on the team’s social media accounts with the message of “Black Lives Matter” and the hashtags “BlackoutTuesday” and “HEATNationUnited.” The “BlackoutTuesday” campaign is a symbol of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests that are sweeping the country.
In addition, Heat captain Udonis Haslem has used his voice in recent days to speak out on social justice issues, but also to encourage protesters to remain peaceful. The Miami native and longtime Heat forward spoke Sunday afternoon at a press conference held by the City of Miami Police Department to try to help unite the community.
“I want to be a part of the solution,” Haslem said during the press conference. “We have to have a plan moving forward, it has to be together. ... I say to everybody, those people were terrible people before they put that badge on. They were terrible people before they put that badge on. For you to stand there and watch that, that ain’t got nothing to do with your badge, that has nothing to do with your color, that has nothing to do with your race. That’s something inside you that’s messed up. That’s your soul that ain’t right. So if you can stand there and watch that, I can’t say we can blame the whole armed forces and everybody who wears a badge. Ain’t no way.”
Of Haslem speaking out, Spoelstra said: “I was thinking that UD is the beacon of leadership, not only for the organization but this entire city, and one of the beacons of leadership in this country. He mentioned then that he didn’t think growing up in any time that he would be a leader, and I think a moment creates leaders and everything that UD has experienced in his life, coming from this community and really understanding all the complexity of this and the challenge of this, has prepared him to really step forward and be a leader for everybody to really get people off the sideline and get into this fight and get into a form of action. I know he has moved me.”
Other Heat players such as Bam Adebayo, Jae Crowder, Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, Duncan Robinson, Solomon Hill and Tyler Herro among others have also recently used their social media accounts to make statements on social justice issues.
The Heat has experience when it comes to stepping in front of topics like these, like when the 2011-12 Heat team took a photo together all wearing hooded sweatshirts with their heads bowed in the aftermath of the death of Trayvon Martin.
“With Trayvon Martin, we all thought when our players took that iconic photo and the players had the idea of doing that on their own to really bring it to light to everybody that this is wrong,” Spoelstra said. “We all thought that was going to move the needle, and it didn’t and it broke your heart. Then when it happened over and over and over, what this is going to require is not even trying to evaluate. It’s just put your head down and get into this fight and make it happen this time. There is momentum.”
Even with the NBA taking a big step forward this week in its effort to resume the 2019-20 season, Spoelstra said he’s not surprised there has been more discussion around the league about social justice issues than basketball games.
“I don’t think anybody is really ready to move on, and we shouldn’t,” he said. “If anything, I’ve talked to a lot of head coaches and a lot of players that in many times before, so tragically there would be a similar incident of social injustice like this and then two weeks later people forget about it. This will be an opportunity for the entire association to land in one spot and a motivated association of players and staff and personnel to keep this conversation going and use our platform to make sure that this doesn’t go away.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 3:53 PM.
