Trevor Noah believes America is relying too much on NBA players to "fix everything"

The Milwaukee Bucks' decision to strike ahead of their game against the Orlando Magic was met with equal amounts of hate and support. Fans supporting the Black Lives Matter movement flooded social media with positive messages, while Donald Trump's supporters echoed the president's words. In the latest part of Thursday night's Daily Show, comedian Trevor Noah opted to speak about the NBA boycott triggered by Blake's brutal shooting.

Also read | NBA playoffs postponed following Bucks decision to boycott Game 5 vs Orlando Magic

‘Let’s Dunk on Racism’: Trevor Noah on NBA boycott

The NBA players chose to boycott their playoff games as a response to Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake, 29, was shot by cops in broad daylight while his children sat in the car. The shooting was recorded and uploaded on the internet, where people expressed their anger, calling for justice. Like George Floyd's murder in May, people once again chose to protest, while NBA players reacted on social media. The Bucks were the first team to go on strike, explaining that no one from the team was able to concentrate on basketball due to the unrest in their home state. 

Also read | Donald Trump labels NBA a "political organisation" after boycott over Jacob Blake shooting: NBA playoffs postponed

Trevor Noah focused on the NBA boycott, which was an unprecedented move by the players. He admitted that the whole ordeal is a "big deal", and makes someone like Colin Kaepernick "look moderate". “I bet right now somewhere out there is an old racist guy who’s, like, ‘I miss the good old days when they would take a knee but at least they’d show up for work,'" Noah opined. 

He pointed out that sports is something that never stops, and people take notice when it does. "And massive props to these athletes for using their platform to bring attention to what’s happening in the streets," Noah said. He joked about people being too engrossed in the games, so much that they might not notice aliens landing on Earth. Like most supportive fans on the internet, Trevor Noah is glad the movement was initiated by the players and not the league. If the league did so, he is confident their efforts would come to an end with a simple "Let’s dunk on racism" poster. 

However, the 36-year-old comedian believes the country "relies way too much on the athletes to do everything". "Are NBA players supposed to just shut up and dribble or literally fix racism all by themselves?" he questioned. "They’re supposed to play basketball, fix racism, sell cereal and date all the Kardashians?” He added that if rains can delay games by days, police brutality should be able to do it too. 

Trevor Noah even took a dig at Trump's ‘Make America Great Again' slogan, candidly stating that it is possibly the worst they could have come up with. "Because ‘MAGA’ was an ambiguous call to a bygone era that never really existed. This new slogan sounds like somebody who got hit in the head with a bag of hammers, because what’s implied with ‘Make America Great Again, again’ is that, at some point during your presidency, you f***** up.”

Also read | Analysis: The NBA restart is about to restart, with purpose

Donald Trump on NBA playoffs postponed scenario

While Trump's criticism of the NBA's support for the BLM movement is well known, he referred to the league as a "political organization" post the Bucks' boycott. Previously, he had warned the NBA that they are in "big trouble", pointing out the declining viewership numbers. After the players took the knee during while resuming their season in July, Trump called the players "dumb" for trying something that disrespects the USA.  

Also read | Why are NBA playoffs postponed? Lakers, Clippers come together in boycotting playoffs

(Image credits: Trevor Noah Instagram, NBA.com)