Shut up and dribble, they’re told by those who fear their message.
The message is one of equality, the messengers the athletes who live in a world of meritocracy about as pure as it can be on planet Earth.
Preconceptions, prejudices and biases get dispelled pretty quickly between the lines, where everybody starts off tied and the rules apply evenly to all. I’ve spent my entire adult life around such people. It’s amazing what that environment does to promote the conviction that among the characteristics that truly separate people, skin color doesn’t make the list.
You learn quickly whom you’d want at your side under duress when you share a uniform or a playing surface and, again, the tipping point never comes down to skin color.