Gordon Monson: For all those angry athletes, please consider this …

It seems that some sports fans are angry and frustrated at NBA players because they are angry and frustrated about the racial inequality in the country, and their demonstration of anger and frustration by boycotting games and briefly considering threatening to ‘ to run the postseason in the bubble.

I’ve heard it all from those fans, and accused players of ‘spoiled’ and ‘out of touch’ and ‘uneducated’ and ‘meaning to harm the country.’ Some of those fans have indicated that they are “ready” with the Utah Jazz and the NBA as a whole. They give nothing more about NBA games, they say, and if things settle down, they will not return to their former place in the seats.

They say they had it.

This reactionary anger over the primary anger is staggering.

When Donovan Mitchell, an intelligent, conscientious, law-abiding individual, says he does not feel safe in his own homeland because of the color of his skin, it sounds like some Black Americans are and are being treated by authorities someone who is depraved or who has no education or does it mean to take down the United States of America?

Does he sound like someone you would recommend “Close and dribble”?

Anyone who suggests that runs straight into the face of the principles that make America what it is.

I get it, people can react the way they choose. And we can not agree. Once upon a time the beauty of being American. But the message that is sent by most of these players – in the NBA, in the WNBA, in Major League Baseball, in Major League Soccer, and many other realms – is not only a hindrance to people who do not can or will, it is not a personal attack on Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, whose team voted not to play Wednesday night, to his regret. It is not meant to be troublesome for people who are offended by the actions of the athletes. It is an attempt by individuals with higher profiles to give voice to those who have not been heard for decades after decades.

And if you’re white and intimidated by that collective voice, or worried that Black Lives Matter is some kind of threatening organization that will destroy the nation’s traditional family and core values ​​instead of a base movement, support by a majority of Americans, calls for equal treatment of all citizens, regardless of their color, then stop and give it some more thought.

This voice, this call, this movement goes beyond specific incidents of police violence, although these are also very important. It goes to the way people of color are treated every day, in the course of their normal livelihood, sometimes to their great detriment.

Professional athletes, many of them, have overcome that disadvantage, through their work, their talent, their unique determination and skill, their opportunity, and many of them recognize and recognize that. But they are still black, a fact that many of them are proud of, as they should be.

For them, too, the ever-present threat of how they can be treated, in a different way than white people, even if they are completely within the framework of what would be considered responsible, … tired.

And if they make some kind of mistake, say, get a fast ticket, or drive an unregistered car, or get an argument with someone, and authorities appear, then they have to worry about how their actions are being interpreted or misinterpreted .

I’m white. It did not happen to me. But I have interviewed hundreds and hundreds of Black athletes over the course of a 40-year career, and have heard their experiences and their concerns.

They are real, real problems.

Not always extreme in cases of violence, but nevertheless tangible.

A black player on one of USC’s national championship teams who was overtaken at a traffic stop and roughly made by a police officer – until that officer saw the national championship ring on his finger, and suddenly changed the policeman’s attitude, now full respect. He was a Trojan fan.

Two black players in Auburn who were going to the school library to study and they were apprehended by an officer who sat on the sidewalk in the rain for an extended period of time while an officer searched them did – to do nothing wrong.

“It’s not just the shooting, the killing, it’s the intimidating factor,” said one of those athletes. ‘It is diminished as a human being. That constant pressure. If you are Black, there is no benefit to the doubt. ”

Those who get the benefit of the doubt, some of them now angry former fans, have the chance to stop it all, if they have not in the past, and think about its existence, how that would be . Which is to say, if you are not a color person, you might want to take the time to consider the plague of racial inequality, and rearrange your perspective a bit. Or a lot.

Many of these angry athletes are involved in their communities. They are not just sitting in the castles on a hill, completely removed from the causes they are currently supporting. They want change and do what they can, outside of complaining about it before and after games, to push it forward.

Does anyone think that angry NBA players, for no reason, would rather not play, rather disrupt a professional system that pays them millions of dollars? They give that aforementioned voice to a movement that needs to move forward.

Is it perfect? Nothing is ever. But its thrust is desperately calling for attention.

America can be great, but it needs a major improvement in certain areas. Pointing out these areas, with shouting and whispering, is a worthwhile endeavor. Buildings burning to the ground? No, not that. But just because some extremists do extreme things, the importance of the messages within peaceful protest does not diminish.

Not playing a few games is peaceful, even if it is angry, and that message should evoke new thoughts, not anger, in response, in the hearts of those who have hitherto been privileged in their lives not to understand.

GORDON MONSON host “The Big Show” with Jake Scott weekdays from 2-7pm on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.