The LA Clippers are making sure they are on the right side of history

The LA Clippers are on the right side of history.

Given their history of supporting the community, and the public stance they took against the openly exposed racism of prior owner Don Sterling, it is unsurprising that the LA Clippers continue to support Black Lives Matter and work toward social justice despite criticism from President Donald Trump.

In a recent radio interview, President Trump called NBA players “very nasty” and “very dumb” while expressing his disapproval of the league’s players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice.

On opening night in the Bubble, every player on the Clippers and rival Los Angeles Lakers took a knee during the anthem, arm in arm with coaches Doc Rivers and Frank Vogel. Doc Rivers has publicly worn a Clippers’ branded baseball cap with the word VOTE in capital letters, and has characterized Trump’s comments regarding the protest and efforts to discourage voting as “disgraceful”.

The Clippers have come out at the forefront of the current groundswell in the social justice movement, and remain committed to the fight. Not only have many of the players taken the court in Orlando with messages of support such as Black Lives Matter (JaMychal Green), Equality (Landry Shamet, Lou Williams), Enough (Ivica Zubac), I am a Man (Terance Mann, Patrick Patterson), Education Reform (Marcus Morris Sr.), How Many More (Amir Coffey and Montrezl Harrell), Liberation (Reggie Jackson) Peace (Rodney McGruder) and Justice (Joakim Noah), but the Clippers have released a line of branded shirts and hats in a new Voters Win collection.

All of the proceeds from this collection are earmarked to support voter education and social justice. Messages such as Your Vote Counts, Black Lives Matter, and Enough are featured prominently as statements on the new line of Clippers’ branded gear.

While taking a scheduled rest day due to his knee injury, Kawhi Leonard was seen courtside supporting the movement in his Clippers Black Lives Matter hat; multiple players have been seen on the Orlando campus sporting other items from the Voters Win collection.

Despite the President’s ominous predictions to the contrary, the NBA has seen solid viewership numbers during the restart, which ratings will only continue to rise as the playoffs get underway starting August 17.

Doc Rivers, the Clippers players, and organization, and the NBA are on the right side of history.  We should all be proud of the Clippers’ continued commitment to equality and social justice.