- Chris Webber spoke out in support of the NBA players' decision to refuse to play on Wednesday in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
- Webber, fighting back tears, explained why it was important to fight for justice, even when you know change is a long way off.
- Webber applauded the players for laying the groundwork for generations to come.
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Former NBA player Chris Webber offered an emotional speech on Wednesday in response to the Milwaukee Bucks and later the rest of the league's players' decision to boycott their playoff games on Wednesday.
While a full day of NBA playoff action had been on the schedule, the Bucks refused to take the court for their game against the Orlando Magic in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Minutes after the Bucks had made their intentions clear, the rest of the teams scheduled to play followed suit — no games would be played on Wednesday.
Speaking on TNT's "Inside the NBA," Webber gave a powerful call to action in support of the players, fighting back tears while explaining why it is important to keep fighting even when it felt like change was a long way away.
"I wanted to have a voice in here because I feel like we only have the same couple of voices talking during these times," Webber began.
"We know that there's been a million marches, and nothing will change tomorrow," Webber said. "We know 'Vote.' We keep hearing 'Vote, everybody vote.' But I'm here to speak for those that are always marginalized. Those that live in these neighborhoods where we preach and tell them to vote and walk away.
"If not now when? If not during a pandemic and countless lives being lost, if not now, when? That's all I just want to hear from the rest of the night when everybody's pontificating and thinking and soap-boxing and all of that."
Webber said that while it was clear that change would not come immediately, that wasn't a reason to give up the fight.
"We know nothing is going to change. We get it. Martin Luther King got shot ... We've seen this in all of our heroes, constantly taken down. We understand that it's not going to end. But that does not mean young men that you don't do anything.
"Don't listen to these people telling you 'Don't do anything because it's not going to end right away.' You are starting something for the next generation and the next generation to take over.
"Do you have to be smart? Yes. Do you have to make sure that you have a plan? Yes. Do you have to be articulate about that plan? Yes. All of those things. But that's what you're going to do. They're professionals. They know how to be the best of themselves. And so I applaud it. I applaud it because it is the young people leading the way."
—NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 26, 2020
Webber wasn't the only former player to stand with the players inside the bubble after they decided to protest. One of the co-hosts of "Inside the NBA," Kenny Smith, walked off the set just moments after beginning their broadcast.
"As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players, and just not be here tonight," Smith said.
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