In 2000, Billups settled a civil claim stemming from a 1997 incident in which a lady said she was sexually attacked by Billups and other Boston Celtics players at the time. Messages and remarks and re-tweets from other women began coming with the exact same heart. I understand this not just from the magnitude of the messages, tweets, re-tweets, texts and remarks Ive gotten from females in absolute pain over this, but also simply from the truth that 1 in 3 women have actually been subjected to either physical or sexual abuse from a partner (according to the World Health Organization approximates). Most likely other women in your life are. I have hope that at some point in the future, that will also consist of not providing popular positions of power and larger platforms to men who inflicted pain on females.

Last night significant media outlets reported that the Portland Trail Blazers had actually offered their vacant head training position to Chauncey Billups, a previous NBA gamer and current assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2000, Billups settled a civil claim stemming from a 1997 occurrence in which a female said she was sexually assaulted by Billups and other Boston Celtics gamers at the time. No criminal charges were filed.
The neighborhood surrounding the Blazers had a strong reaction to the news. You can discover thoughts and stories from other ladies in this post. These are my own.
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I wrote a thread on twitter today.
This early morning, I discovered a pattern of tweets on my timeline about the impeding hiring of Jason Kidd as the Mavericks head coach. I check out tweet after tweet that appeared to be individuals confused as to why there was push back, because Kidd is a “good coach” and “knows basketball” and “Dallas likes him”.
I might have closed the app, and went back to sleep, or gone about my day and selected it up once again in a couple of days with hopes that these discussions would have waned by then. However I didnt. Rather, I composed a thread on twitter.
Theres this natural part of me that believes that people are good. I cant help but hope that people do not imply to be hurtful or disrespectful or unkind, however rather that it originates from a place of hurt or feelings of insufficiency or perhaps most likely– a lack of understanding. I cant help however think that if people simply comprehended each other, the world would truly have plenty of sunlight and rainbows. I wrote a thread on twitter.
You see, I am a victim of abuse. I invested numerous years of my life in a violent relationship and even though a considerable amount of time has passed, Ive been in treatment, and Im currently in a terrific location in my life– I still handle trauma from that experience. Its colored my whole presence. I have no say in that.
I composed that in the thread on twitter.
I spent the next several hours attempting to field individualss re-tweets and comments, trying to clarify that my intent was not to determine how anybody else acted or felt, nor was it to make Kidds life unpleasant. I just saw an opportunity to share something individual in hopes of creating a more inclusive, thoughtful conversation about the hiring of a head coach with a checkered past and how that could be bothersome. For hours, what I got instead was a fair quantity of reaction and victim blaming from @user12345 with the superstar player as an avatar.
As my anxiety began to increase and the urge to delete the thread ended up being overwhelming, I got a message. “Your voice is very important and you promote great deals of women who are feeling the same things today about the circumstance.” That wasnt the last of that sentiment. Messages and comments and re-tweets from other females started including the very same heart. I wasnt the only one sensation by doing this.
In a stroke of irony that rivaled the Alanis Morrisette tune, simply minutes later, the Shams tweet came through. “The Portland Trail Blazers are locked in on Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups as their brand-new head coach and are confident to complete an offer”. My heart immediately dropped into my stomach as I understood the bullet I at first dodged had actually simply circled around back around and was coming for me.
While there are differences between the allegations and the outcome of Kidds case and Billups case, the feelings surrounding them are similar– and both are troublesome and setting off for those who have actually handled the delicate concerns of abuse, domestic violence and rape.
Ive been faced with the possibility that my life long Trail Blazers fandom (more than 30 years) may see its end with this choice. At its core, the idea of no longer being a Trail Blazers fan due to the new head coach having had a past of abuse, is just a type of self-preservation– taking care of my own mental health. I dont know if I have the capability to view the video game that I enjoy be tainted by the stress and anxiety that comes with facing this injury.
I understand this not just from the magnitude of the messages, tweets, comments, re-tweets and texts Ive received from females in outright agony over this, but also simply from the fact that 1 in 3 women have undergone either sexual or physical abuse from a partner (according to the World Health Organization estimates). I am 1 in 3. Most likely other ladies in your life are as well. You might not know, since speaking up about this, particularly in the male dominated world of sports, is difficult to state the least. Its never ever met with total support, however rather with excuses, victim blaming and severe words.
It has been an unbelievable pleasure to see the NBA come together over the in 2015 and defend equality and social justice. People have used their platforms, and stood with those who had actually long been standing alone. I have hope that at some point in the future, that will also include not providing popular positions of power and larger platforms to men who inflicted pain on ladies.
While the agreements have not yet been signed, and the main statement has not yet come, it appears like Chauncy Billups will be the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. For me– as an author covering the group for Blazers Edge, a podcaster chatting with Dave Deckard weekly on the Dave and Dia reveal, a fan who was once a little lady with a life-size poster of Clyde Drexler, and a mom watching my kids fall in love with the team Ive liked given that I was their age, and a lady who is a survivor of abuse– Im concerning terms with the truth that my Trail Blazers fandom may no longer be the same.