UCF professor discusses historical significance of NBA boycott on ‘The Weekly’

Watch ’The Weekly’ Sunday morning only on News 6

It’s been an exciting few months inside ‘The Bubble’ as the NBA restarted its season, but winning a championship hasn’t been the only focus for the players.

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s been an exciting few months inside ‘The Bubble’ as the NBA restarted its season, but winning a championship hasn’t been the only focus for the players.

Social injustice, inequality and police brutality have been discussed ever since the players started to arrive at Disney, and especially when every team boycotted a playoff game over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconson.

Dr. Richard Lapchick, the chair of the University of Central Florida’s DeVos Sport Business Management, told anchor Justin Warmoth on “The Weekly on ClickOrlando.com” that last week’s protest could be the most important social justice statement by sports in half a century.

“To have an entire team, then a league and its players association decide that they were going to stop the play to emphasize the importance of the moment was nothing less than historic,” Lapchick said. “It reminded me of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the victory stand in Mexico City in 1968 and Mohammed Ali’s refusal to go to Vietnam.”

Watch the full interview Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on News 6.


About the Author:

Justin Warmoth joined News 6 in February 2013 as our Brevard County reporter. In March of 2016, after anchoring the weekend mornings since August of 2015, Justin was promoted to weekday morning anchor. You can catch him Monday through Friday mornings from 5-7 a.m. and at noon.