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NBA players are often revered because of their mass wealth and high standing in society as celebrities. Nonetheless, players handle their own unique circumstances and difficulties much like regular citizens. When they speak about politics and social issues, though, they are often ridiculed, with plenty of naysayers telling them to stick to playing their sport.
Recently, Fox news anchor Laura Ingraham told LeBron James to “shut up and dribble”, which sparked a nation-wide debate on how political issues and basketball are related. Ironically on Wednesday, an actual shooting occurred right outside of the Amway Arena, the home of the Orlando Magic, during the Toronto Raptors' practice session, per Eric Smith of Toronto Raptors radio.
Crime scene directly outside Amway Center in ORL. That's the intersection I crossed 60 min ago comin into Raptors practice. Details unclear. Witnesses say multiple shots were fired & police shot a suspect. I'm not sure if the suspect died. Shooting occured while TOR was practicin [sic]
Gun violence has been a concurrent issue in politics in the United States. Thousands of people are injured every year because of gun violence, and this issue definitely transcends into NBA territory.
This deadly shooting could have resulted in an injury or death for many of the players on the Raptors. This could have been a huge blow to the NBA community. This shows that political issues have its place among NBA players.
While not much information has been provided yet, it can be reasonably assumed that no players were hurt in the aftermath of this shooting.
Despite the incident, the Raptors managed to take down Orlando, 117-104. DeMar DeRozan paced Toronto with 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the field, while his backcourt partner, Kyle Lowry, had 17 points. 11 assists, and seven rebounds. Three players scored in double figures off the bench for Toronto, including Paul Siakam, who had 14 points. The Raptors will play the Washington Wizards this coming Friday.
