Jaylen Brown has a lot going for him. As of recently, he’s an NBA champion and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. He’s a multi-time NBA all-star and a former McDonald’s All-American. What Jalen Brown is not is an Olympian.
On July 10, USA Basketball announced that Derrick White, not Jaylen Brown, would replace Kawhi Leonard on the U.S. men’s basketball team for the just completed Paris Olympics. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown are teammates on the Boston Celtics, which recently broke a 16-year championship drought.
The decision to choose Derrick White over Jaylen Brown struck many as odd due to Brown’s performance in the 2024 NBA finals, a performance that led to Brown being named both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP. Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in the NBA finals. Additionally, Brown’s defense was crucial in shutting down Dallas’ offensive stars, Luca Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
And it’s not like Brown’s statistics were unimpressive during the regular season. In the 23-24 campaign, Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Celtics. There is no doubt that Brown, at only 27 years old, is one of the NBA’s brightest stars. Yet, not bright enough of a star for USA basketball to name Brown an Olympic team member.
Now, Derrick White is a terrific NBA player. Nothing written in the coming paragraphs is meant to criticize him or any of the players. There are simply questions that must be asked about Team USA’s snub of Brown.
So, why wasn’t Brown selected to play for Team USA’s Olympic basketball team? Is Brown not good enough? Is he not a team player? Is there some other extenuating circumstance?
Depends on who’s asked
As with many questions, the answer to these questions depends on who is asked. That is no different here.
Let’s start with the man himself, Jaylen Brown. In response to Team USA’s announcement, Brown took to social media with tweets hinting at Nike’s involvement in keeping him off the squad. Brown has been critical of Nike for its connections to overseas sweatshops and its decision to drop Brown’s former teammate, Kyrie Irving, from its brand.
Brown has also criticized Nike for the culture of sexism and bullying that led to several multi-million dollar lawsuits against Nike. For all of these reasons, Brown has consistently refused to sign an endorsement deal with Nike, even though Brown has only worn Nike sneakers for several years. When a reporter later asked Brown if he believed Nike had kept him off Team USA, he said he did. So, there is Jaylen Brown’s answer, and there are many reasons to believe it. But before getting deeper into that, let’s see how other individuals answered these questions.
When members of the news media asked Grant Hill, USA Basketball’s Operating Manager, about the decision to leave Brown off the roster, Hill asserted the decision was purely a basketball one. Hill even went as far as to imply that Brown’s accusations against Nike were “conspiracy theories.”
Several prominent sports media talking heads joined the fray as well. Skip Bayless asserted that Team USA’s snub of Brown was because Jayson Tatum, Brown’s Celtics’ teammate, is on the Olympic roster, and Tatum does not like Brown. Stephen A. Smith went a step further. Smith asserted that NBA players, in general, dislike Brown because of his Muslim faith, his left-wing politics, and his outspoken union activism.
It is interesting that the media narrative and the comments from Grant Hill kept the blame for Brown’s snub focused on the players, whether it be because Brown’s fellow players disliked him or because Brown’s radical politics made it impossible for him to be liked. The sports establishment would seemingly want us to believe that this was all a matter of interpersonal preference between the players.
A voice for workers’ rights
The media’s attempt to depict Brown as self-destructive or interpersonally disagreeable is an intentional mischaracterization. For the past 5 years, Brown has served as a vice president of the NBA Player’s Association, the NBA’s labor union. He was elected to that position by his fellow players because of his commitment to workers’ rights and anti-racism.
The fact is, Team USA’s decision to keep Brown from the roster has nothing to do with his talent or his interpersonal sportsmanship. The snub was born of politics. Team USA and Nike did not want to risk giving Brown access to the microphone and global audience that comes with the Olympics. With access to that stage, Brown could have seized the moment to spread a message of anti-racism and labor solidarity. That could not be allowed.
Nike, USA Basketball, Grant Hill, and the sports media can hide behind any narrative they wish. The facts speak for themselves.
Solidarity with Jalen Brown! Solidarity with Angel Reese! Black Lives Matter!
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