The Holy Land of Hoops

Georgetown wore pre-game shirts during warmups that read "I Can't Breathe", becoming the first college team to do this, following the lead of NBA stars Derrick Rose, Lebron, and others.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2014 ... eathe.html

http://hoyatalk2.proboards.com/thread/28308/breathe

... The players wore the T-shirts during the national anthem while lined up across the court... Then they shook hands with the Jayhawks before taking off the shirts for the announcement of the starting lineups.

...JT3: "The emotions are from fear to frustration to confusion to anger, and the reasons why every individual wanted to wear it is all over the place, too, which is probably pretty consistent with the emotions across the country right now. ... I think the group wanted to possibly put ourselves in the position to be a part of a process, to help where there's positive change, as opposed to just negative reactions."

...Added senior center Joshua Smith: "We didn't wear the shirts to say that the cops were wrong or the system was wrong. We just wore the shirts just to show our condolences to the family because no matter how you look at it, we don't know who was right or wrong, but they still lost somebody. And they won't get that person back."

...When Thompson III was asked about his father's legacy of speaking his mind, the elder Thompson spoke up from the back of the room. "It's a (expletive) school, man," Thompson Jr. said. "That's your responsibility to deal with things like that. We're not a ... damn pro team."

Gotta love PC-alum JT Jr's reaction to a reporter's question afterward... why should a reporter be surprised that college kids are discussing an important issue of current day.

I like Joshua Smith's quote.

Comply and don't die

nuchman wrote:Comply and don't die

Can't think of a rhyme, but I like

"Don't illegally choke someone from behind when they are unarmed"

Oh, and also


"Don't continually choke someone when they are gasping for air and saying they are unable to breath"

Oh, and did I mention other cops were on top of him at that point,so there was no need to continue an already illegal act.

This has no place on the court. You put on the uniform you represent something bigger than yourself. You represent a university and the thousands of people who have gone through that university. I am fairly certain that it is not the official position of Georgetown University, and certainly not the position of each and every one of its alumni, that cops are murderers.

I don't care what you're protesting. I don't care what side of whatever issue you're on. This is NOT the place for it. What next? Maybe some players want to wear pro-abortion shirts. That will go over great at our Catholic universities. Protest the death penalty? CIA interrogation techniques? Where does it stop? Protest whatever you want ON YOUR OWN TIME. When you represent nothing more than yourself. Anyone representing my university, wearing my university's uniform, protests ANYTHING I walk out of the arena.

And it is downright hilarious that this new and ridiculous trend of athletes protesting in uniform at the games they play was started by the Rams wide receivers, the ringleader of that inane, absurd hands-up protest nonsense being Kenny Britt. Seriously. Kenny Britt. I'm supposed to take seriously an anti-cop protest led by Kenny Britt? Child, please.

shupirate98 wrote:This has no place on the court. You put on the uniform you represent something bigger than yourself. You represent a university and the thousands of people who have gone through that university. I am fairly certain that it is not the official position of Georgetown University, and certainly not the position of each and every one of its alumni, that cops are murderers.

+1 This doesn't belong on the court. They can go march as individuals but don't and shouldn't represent the University.

mel ott wrote:

shupirate98 wrote:This has no place on the court. You put on the uniform you represent something bigger than yourself. You represent a university and the thousands of people who have gone through that university. I am fairly certain that it is not the official position of Georgetown University, and certainly not the position of each and every one of its alumni, that cops are murderers.

+1 This doesn't belong on the court. They can go march as individuals but don't and shouldn't represent the University.

-1. They can wear what they want and it's ridiculous how some people are freaking out about a shirt.

JT 2 sounds like an awesome guy

I don't think anyone is "freaking out" about the shirts. Shupirate was right. It just was not appropriate. I, for one, would be very disappointed if our coach allowed players to protest as a group in that manner.

Georgetown basketball has been associated with racial politics for about 40 years now.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2007/03/the_worlds_most_dangerous_basketball_team.html

"But the fear, back then, had as much to do with race as hoops. Georgetown basketball under John Thompson was always intertwined with racial politics. That was inevitable when an elite Eastern university, then as now overwhelmingly white, started fielding teams made up almost exclusively of black players....
Around the time Georgetown won the 1984 national championship, the university trademarked the Hoyas name and snarling-bulldog logo. This was the first college sports team to become a brand—and it was a tremendously lucrative one. By the early '90s, Georgetown apparel outsold even schools with powerhouse football programs. Georgetown Starter jackets sold well across the country, but the team's image was especially resonant in black America. Not only was this an all-black team with a black coach, the Hoyas also played in a majority-black city run by a black mayor."

I'm assuming most of the posters here are white and old. Isn't it a bit tone-deaf to critique college basketball players who are predominantly black to not speak their mind about what is clearly a racial politics issue? Especially since most of us sit around all day commenting on message boards about how well they are performing for our entertainment? The irony is a bit too juicy.