Opinion: Donovan Mitchell’s voice is important, but so is yours

Mitchell wants the world to be more empathetic. That means we all have to play our part.

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What is the story about?

There are many ways to write a story like this.

I could simply recap the events that have taken place in Minnesota this month, while including the quotes from Donovan Mitchell, who shared his thoughts on the matter after the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.

Or, I could let loose and vent my frustrations on how we have reached a point where civilians being executed by masked federal agents is something we debate on its merits.

I won’t be doing either of those things.

Instead,

I want this story to focus on empathy, Mitchell’s role as a leader, and the importance of community building.

“It’s violence, it’s senseless violence,” Mitchell said of the recent events in Minnesota. “It’s become the norm, it’s become something that, quite frankly, I don’t feel like any of us in here should be like ‘man, this is just a normal thing.’”

I read something like that, and can’t understand how anyone would disagree.

How a quote as uncontroversial and apolitical as ‘hey guys, let’s not kill each other,’ can incite such inflammatory responses online is somehow still surprising to me, even in 2026.

We can point to a million reasons for how we got here. Everything from increasingly partisan news outlets to social media algorithms that build their profit by keeping you angry. But there’s one thing that everyone stuck in this loop has in common:

We’ve been robbed of our empathy.

“We are in this bubble as NBA players, we are removed,” said Mitchell. “But being in Minnesota when that happened, it really made you open your eyes because you’re there, you feel it.”

This bubble that Mitchell references isn’t exclusive to the NBA. We all live in our own bubbles. It’s easy to ignore what’s happening to other parts of the world, and even easier if you consider those people to be lesser than you.

Empathy requires understanding. Understanding means opening yourself up to consider something new. The bubble can only pop if you allow it. For many of us, that’s a comfort zone we aren’t willing to leave.

“We lose the human part of it, that’s what’s alarming,” Mitchell said. “I have family who came to this country, they fear for their lives, and they are legal citizens.”

A quote like that should immediately incite sympathy. One human telling another that their family feels unsafe. That’s a universal language that anyone on Earth can empathize with.

Rather, the predictable response of “stick to sports” is a reminder of how isolated we’ve become.

You can only dismiss Mitchell’s quote if you view him as an athlete, not a person. In that case, he should keep shooting jumpers instead of talking about his family. Those conversations are for people, not basketball players.

I don’t know how to break through that level of cognitive dissonance. All I can do is reiterate the core of Mitchell’s message and highlight the ‘human’ part of this, which we have somehow lost.

“That can’t be who we are as a country and as a people,” Mitchell concluded.

The two-party system has asked us to unconditionally align with one side of the government rather than the people we live with. To choose celebritized politicians over the communities we share.

This team-sports mentality is what causes someone to watch two civilians be gunned down and refuse to consider if a line has been crossed. It’s no different than the belief that your favorite team has never committed a foul, no matter how egregious the contact.

Mitchell’s comments are important. Someone with his platform has a responsibility to educate themselves and speak truth to power. Cleveland is lucky to have a star who can do both of those things and articulate their thoughts righteously.

But, with all due respect, Mitchell’s voice will never be enough. At least, not on its own.

Each member of a community has a responsibility to the others. This is something that we have forgotten in our individualistic society. We can not build a greater sense of belonging if we are willing to throw other groups into the meatgrinder just because a larger-than-life politician told you it was right.

Empathy has to return to the front of the line.

Get involved locally. Volunteer to help someone less fortunate. Join groups founded on positivity and make friends who enrich your life. Get a hobby. Hell, do anything else besides doom-scrolling your humanity away. Your life and the world around it will be better for it.

I’ve included a list of things below. I’m confident you can find more if you search.

Volunteer and Food Banks:

Community Building

I have no delusions that this blog will stop someone from hating their neighbor, or justifying any horror the federal government can inflict on a group they deem worthy of its assault.

I only hope to speak to the good in humanity. A goodness that I believe makes up the overwhelming majority of people — even if the smaller, opposing voices might be more prevalent online.