There are whispers that Donovan Mitchell doesn’t want to play for the Jazz in Utah anymore. He wants to go somewhere else.
Nobody on the outside knows whether this is true or not true, whether it’s etched in stone with a hammer and iron chisel or written on a napkin in soft-leaded pencil.
Mitchell has not directly commented on the matter, one that was publicly noted by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, that Dwyane Wade is concerned Mitchell wants to play elsewhere.
Wade, a partial owner of the Jazz and a Mitchell confidante, would know enough to be concerned, if that is, in fact, the case.
What everybody on the outside knows is that Mitchell was extremely dismayed, distraught even, by the way the Jazz season ended. He wants to win and he wants to win a championship, and he wants to be on a team capable of both. Can the Jazz put enough talent around him to achieve that goal? It’s a big, big deal to the 24-year-old star.
What else is a big, big deal to him is … equality for Black Americans and all people of color in this country who need and deserve a fair shot at being treated with decency and respect and proper justice by both individuals, all individuals, and institutions, all institutions.
He’s been completely upfront about that, admirably so, establishing himself as a bright, young leader not just in the world of basketball, not just in the world of sports, but in the big, wide world, the world in which we live and work and play and suffer and discriminate and fear.
And for his strong statements about social and racial justice, his concerns about education for children from all backgrounds and in all neighborhoods, especially disadvantaged ones, Mitchell has received great praise. He’s been lauded for his strength and forthrightness, his voice calling for change in a nation that has always needed it, and needs it still.
Conversely, he’s also been ignored and, worse, criticized by those sorry souls who simply don’t get what the hell he’s talking about. When he tweeted out in celebration of Juneteenth a year ago that Black Americans have been “free-ish” since 1865, the loud shouts of ignorance on social media complained that as a wealthy Black professional basketball player he shouldn’t be qualifying the free status of Black America.
Some sad people cannot see through their blind view enough to comprehend that Mitchell is giving voice to so many of those who are not normally heard, feeling their pain and, as a person who a great many do see and hear, calling attention to the desperate human pleas of others.
The negative response to him on social media by extremists does not reflect the feelings of the majority of Jazz fans, people who respect not just his basketball talents, but also his intelligence and the message he’s sending. It doesn’t mean that everyone agrees with all of his opinions, but they do respect the man.
Mitchell is on the record concerning wanting to talk to Utah lawmakers about the teaching of critical race theory in schools. He said it’s one thing to tweet these things out, it’s another to communicate with those who make important decisions, to have an impact.
And when news of that kind comes out, so do the angry beasts on social media platforms who go after the messenger in wicked words and wicked ways.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s Bryan Schott reposted some of the bitter far-right reactions on Facebook to Mitchell when they discovered his desire to influence, or at least talk with, lawmakers. Here’s a sampling:
• “Play ball and STFU.”
• “Here we go again, another dumb athlete jumping on the woke bandwagon.”
• “He needs to stick to basketball and stay the hell out of politics!!”
• “So I identify as an NBA superstar, I want to talk to him so I can tell him to shut up and sit down and just play basketball unless he can show me his Masters Degree in American History.”
• “So he is another Rich Black Athlete who blames Whites for the problems in the Black Community … Maybe he should shut his pie hole ... He has made Millions off White Fans … Maybe he should put some of his own money into the Black Community …”
Enough.
I have no clue who these respondents are, but I know what they are.
And so does Mitchell.
Pathetic.
There’s no proof they are Jazz fans, and there’s no proof of any level of their education. The level of their ignorance is obvious.
If Mitchell is disturbed by the way the Jazz season ended, so be it. If he’s disturbed by these messages on social media, so be it.
But he must know one thing: They do not represent the feelings of most fans of the Utah Jazz. If they did, if they represented the feelings of most residents of the state, then we should all want to get out of here.
The reality is that Donovan Mitchell is one of the brightest, most conscientious young athletes anywhere, and the majority of Jazz fans love the guy. Again, they may not agree with all his views, but they respect him.
And they want him to stay. He signed a huge contract extension before this past season, and the terms of the deal have him remaining here for another fistful of years, years during which he may win a championship, if the Jazz find a way to make it happen.
He’s getting jumpy, a bit worked up, anxious.
He wants to win.
And he wants to win for a community worthy of the winning.
Hopefully, the whispers aren’t true.
And if they are, then maybe Dwyane Wade or Quin Snyder or Justin Zanik or Ryan Smith or Rudy Gobert or Royce O’Neale or Jordan Clarkson can reel him back in.
Maybe three million enlightened Jazz fans can reel, too. And maybe those fans can help change the small percentage and the small minds of the obtuse, the dim, the dense, and maybe those in positions of power who should, will, in fact, listen to what the man has to say.
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Jake Scott weekdays from 2-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone, which is owned by the parent company that owns the Utah Jazz.
