Ex-NBA player Caron Butler urges athletes to be vocal on social issues

MANILA, Philippines — Former NBA star Caron Butler has seen it all. And he hopes that younger children would be able to learn from his struggles and spare themselves the hard lessons of life.

That is why he is utilizing his platform’s voice to extend his reach to troubled youths.

“I’m using my platform to inspire and tell the story of basketball from my eyes — from what I’ve seen,” Butler told the press during his visit at the NBA Store in TriNoMa in Quezon City, Thursday.

Butler, now 37, was at one point in his life, a drug dealer. He turned his life around after spending nine months in jail, picking up a basketball and learning how to play with it. Eventually, he lived the dream and became an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Rolling out his ordeal through a book, Butler hopes that many athletes could also speak out beyond the confines of the box put onto them by the sport they play.

“I think it’s great when you see athletes outside of what they are considered to be,” Butler said of the growing number of athletes who are standing by using their social media platforms.

“Whenever [someone has] talent, you want them to stay in that bubble as a talent,” he offered. “All you want to see them do is shoot the basketball or play football.”

“But these people are human beings, too. They have feelings,” he said.

Among the notable athletes who have embraced activism and promoted social awareness are fellow NBA player LeBron James and former NFL player Colin Kapaernick.

“I wanna see more of it,” Butler shared. “It’s good to see athletes use their platforms and their following to educate to the best of their knowledge and talk about things that are really [problematic].”

In the realm of Philippine basketball, youngsters Kobe Paras, Kiefer Ravena and Ray Parks Jr. have been notably following this trend.

The son of PBA legend Benjie has been spotted in the Jones Cup with a basketball shoe inscribed with a dedication for the victims of Marawi crisis. Parks and Ravena, for their part, have been outspoken about the battle that’s still raging on in the southern city during the Southeast Asian Games.

But while Butler actively rallies athletes to jump on the wagon, his words also bear a hint of caution.

“If you wanna go out there and be vocal about something, make sure you’re educated enough to talk about these things and answer questions in an intelligent way,” he closed.