Podcast: The NBA and Miami Heat react to pro-Trump riots at the United States Capitol
The Miami Heat and the NBA world are once again reeling because of what’s happening in the world around them.
On Wednesday, a mob protesting the results of a free and fair American election descended upon Washington and invaded the United States Capitol, forcing the United States Congress to delay certification of the 2020 United States presidential election.
The scenes were straight of out dystopian fiction with a mass of rioters, at the behest of President Donald Trump, physically forcing their way past United States Capitol Police to break into Congressional offices and the United States House of Representatives chamber. For NBA players who spent the spring and summer protesting police brutality, it was striking to see how unprepared law enforcement was for the openly discussed invasion carried out by a mostly White crowd attempting to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden.
On a new episode of the Heat Check podcast, David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer, discuss the tragic events in Washington and the league’s reaction to them. It began before tipoff in Miami on Wednesday, when the Heat and Boston Celtics briefly discussed not playing at all before ultimately putting out a joint statement about the events, and kneeling for the national anthem. After the game, players from both teams spent as much time discussing the events of the day as they did talking about the Celtics’ 107-105 win at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Our conversation jumps around a variety of topics, including Boston wing Jaylen Brown’s activism, All-Star post player Bam Adebayo’s continued insistence to end every interview by saying, “Black lives matter,” and the NBA’s and Women’s National Basketball Association’s roles in the Democratic sweep of the 2020-21 United States Senate election in Georgia on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Miami will resume play against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena — less than two miles from the Capitol, but a world apart in Washington’s Chinatown neighborhood. Adebayo said he’ll be afraid to leave his hotel while he’s in Washington and it’s hard to blame him. It’s also hard not to be sad he feels this way right now.
