Jaylen Brown explains why he doesn’t stick to sports
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics are on a mission to make a difference beyond the basketball court.
As part of the team’s ongoing “Playbook Initiative,” Brown — along with teammates Aron Baynes and Semi Ojeleye — met with middle schoolers from Lawrence and North Andover Monday to encourage leadership and appropriate behavior in social scenarios that may facilitate discrimination or bias.
The players sat down with the students, from varying backgrounds, and discussed how they would respond in hypothetical situations involving racial , gender, cultural, and other stereotypes.
“The Playbook Initiative seeks to leverage the power of sport and more specifically the appeal of the Celtics to engage middle schoolers on critical and plaguing societal issues,” according to the team.
Following the event, Brown said he was “happy” to be a part of the conversation.
“Some of the things the students were saying were shocking because I probably wasn’t thinking the same way when I was their age,” he said. “They’re well above the curve.”
Brown is one of several players across the league using their platform to speak out on social and political issues. In a recent interview with the Guardian‘s Donald McRae, the 21-year-old was critical of president Donald Trump’s role in perpetuating not only racism, but also bigotry.
“My opportunities are far greater than they would have been 50 years ago, so some people think racism has dissipated or no longer exists,” he told McRae. “But it’s hidden in more strategic places.”
In a video shared by the NBA Players Association in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Celtics forward offered his thoughts on how he would complete the start to MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech:
“I have a dream that everybody unites, comes together, makes a stand, and continues to push forward for progress, for change. I have a dream that this world is made a better place in the next 10, 15, 20 years by a few actions of many or many actions by few. I have a dream that my dream will come true.”
I Have A Dream. #PlayersVoice #MLK50 pic.twitter.com/qDqu7xTYUc
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) January 15, 2018
Brown told Boston.com he has noticed the traditional “stick to sports” notion for athletes has been slowly diminishing, adding that he wants to be “one of the influences” that continues to combat that mindset.
“When people tell me to ‘stick to sports,’ I really just laugh,” he said. “That has been the notion for ages, especially in the NBA and the NFL, that if you’re a football player or a basketball player, you can’t do anything else.”
“It’s changing a lot in this generation,” he continued. “We have athletes who are politicians. We have athletes who are musicians. We have athletes who are fashion designers. The notion is changing a lot more, and I want to be a part of the generation that changes it.”
Brown also noted he is working on becoming more vocal about opinions he feels passionate about. As he explained, speaking out can sometimes be challenging for athletes because of the potential negative feedback.
“I think less athletes should be concerned or scared about the backlash or the media jumping out them,” he said. “I think more athletes should inform themselves about the opinions they feel passionate about and be confident in making statements. The cameras on us 99% of the time. Just being confident enough to make statements that you’re informed about makes a big difference.”
The types of conversations Brown and the Celtics’ “Playbook Initiative” are encouraging carry over into the team’s locker room as well.
“We talk about the racial climate and things that are going around in the world with each other,” Brown said. “We try to keep each other well-versed, and some of us have interesting ideas. But it’s good to just bounce stuff off of each other and learn because we spend a lot of time with each other.”
