Jaylen Brown has never been shy about using his platform, and a resurfaced interview is once again drawing attention following his blockbuster trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Speaking candidly about the pressures athletes face, Brown argued that many professional athletes and entertainers are conditioned to stay silent rather than use their influence to advocate for issues beyond sports.
“If I can’t use my voice, then what am I doing here?”
Brown went on to describe what he believes is a system built around profiting from athletes while discouraging them from exercising their independence.
“It’s a whole industry around our athletes that’s built just to take advantage of them.”
According to Brown, some of the loudest voices encouraging athletes to “just focus on basketball” often have their own interests in mind.
“The people around me are like, ‘Nah man, just focus on basketball,’ and those are the people that try to take advantage of you.”
Brown also challenged the notion that athletes and entertainers exist solely to entertain.
“They want our musicians, our athletes, our entertainers, our people of influence to think that we’re only for entertainment purposes, and I’m gonna forever disagree with that.”
He concluded by saying many athletes don’t even realize the control they relinquish throughout their careers.
“It’s such a normalization that some of our athletes don’t even know they’re giving up their agency.”
The interview originally took place while Brown was still a member of the Boston Celtics. At the time, he was coming off what many considered the best season of his career, averaging 28.7 points per game while establishing himself as an MVP candidate. He later helped lead Boston to an NBA championship and earned NBA Finals MVP honors before being unexpectedly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for veteran forward Paul George.
Brown’s comments have resurfaced amid renewed discussion about player empowerment, athlete activism, and the influence teams, agents, sponsors, and business interests can have over professional athletes throughout their careers.
