Nuggets’ Jamal Murray gets emotional over BLM after 50-point game

Denver’s Canada-born star forward said the fight for Black Lives Matter doesn’t just happen in America; it happens everywhere.

Jamal Murray, a star forward for the Denver Nuggets, got emotional after leading his team to a playoff win over the Utah Jazz, in which he scored 50 points. 

Being interviewed after the game, Murray said he has a “will to win.” Wearing shoes adorned with the image of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Murray said, “These shoes mean a lot.” 

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“We found something worth fighting for, as a league, as a collective unit,” Murray said. “I use these shoes as a symbol to keep fighting all around the world. They give me a lot of power to keep fighting.”

The fight for Black Lives Matter doesn’t just happen in America, he observed; it happens everywhere.

“These shoes give me life,” said Murray though tears. “Even though these people are gone, they help me find the strength to keep fighting this world. That’s what I’m going to keep doing.” 

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In the press conference after the Nuggets’ 119-107 win over the Jazz, Murray, who was born in Canada, said, “I play with a lot of heart. I play with a lot of passion, and when you are fighting for something, it means a whole lot more. We’ve been fighting this fight for a long time, and we are tired of being tired.” 

He said that the league is taking the initiative to make sure that every player is registered to vote. He said that the pause in play that players took after the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin was necessary for the players to gather their thoughts. 

He said that “the NBA is going to keep fighting.” He thanked Commissioner Adam Silver for allowing the players to use their platform.

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“It’s an emotional thing because it’s not just me; there are so many other guys. It’s lives … imagine losing your life. Imagine a father losing his life. Imagine a father, a son, a brother, getting shot seven times in front of their kids. Imagine that.” 

Murray paused before adding: “The least I can go out there and do is fight for something.” 

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Winston Duke, Phylicia Rashad remember Chadwick Boseman during ABC special

Cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films joined host Robin Roberts in showering praise on the “Black Panther” star after a commercial-free airing.

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute For a King aired last night following the commercial-free debut of Black Panther on ABC.

Airing just two days after the family of the 43-year-old actor announced his passing, the special featured appearances by cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Don Cheadle, Forest Whitaker and Winston Duke all offered messages about what made Boseman an iconic actor.

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg also appeared.

Read More: Chadwick Boseman’s final post the most liked tweet ever, Twitter announces

Actor Robert Downey, Jr., who played Iron Man, said that he reached out to Boseman after the police killing of George Floyd. Downey referred to the slaying as a “murder,” saying that Boseman helped him “reframe” the incident.

Downey said that “Black Panther was hands-down the crowning achievement of the Marvel Universe.” He said that the film was one where “people got to vote with ticket sales.” He said that the movie “leveled the playing field.”

Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, said that Boseman’s last tweet, which celebrated her nomination, “encouraged citizens to exercise their right to vote.” Opined Harris: “It is so reflective of Chadwick.”

Read More: Chadwick Boseman’s family confirms he and Taylor Simone Ledward married before his death

Phylicia Rashad recalled her time as a teacher at Howard University when Boseman attended the HBCU. “I received a call from one of the students in the class who said, ‘Ms. Rashad, we wanted you to know we auditioned for the British Academy of Dramatic Arts’ mid-summer program, and we got in.’ I said, ‘That’s great,’ and they said, ‘But we’re not going to go because it’s too expensive.’”

Rashad told the students to pack their bags.

“I made a phone call to a friend of mine,” she continued, “and he called me back, and we talked about it for about five minutes. And he said, ‘Okay, I got this money.’”

Read More: Danai Gurira: Chadwick Boseman was exactly like Black Panther

That friend was Denzel Washington.

Boseman thanked Washington during a June 2019 tribute to the Oscar-winner by the American Film Institute, telling everyone assembled: “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.”

The special’s host, “Good Morning, America’s” Robin Roberts — herself a cancer survivor — said that it was “generous” of Boseman to visit children who were suffering from cancer while, unknown to others, he was also battling the disease.

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Americans Have Saved Nearly $91 Billion From Working From Home, Report Says

Since the spread of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, in the United States, many companies have been forced to close their offices to prevent the transmission of the virus among their workforce. The change has completely reshaped corporate cultures as more companies plan on working from home until 2021. Now, a new study shows that not driving to work has saved Americans close to $91 billion.

The study, done by economist Adam Ozimek of Upwork, explores shifts in corporate structures and workers since the COVID-19 pandemic started. “Since the onset of COVID-19 and the massive shift to remote work, however, many are considering life without a commute,” Ozimek wrote in the study.

“To understand the impact of remote work on commutes, we surveyed 1,000 people currently working from home to see how much time they are saving sans commute. Of this group, 31.4% are working from home due to COVID and 15% were working from home prior to COVID.” The data shows that the average American worker saved $2,000 each from trading in their commute for a home office.

“Of the COVID remote workers, 86% report having previously commuted by car and are now saving, on average, 46.3 minutes per day,” he adds. “Altogether, we estimate that those post-COVID remote workers are saving 32.9 million hours of car commuting per day.”

The reduction in commuting has correlated with an increase in productivity, which is part of why many companies like Twitter plan to permanently stay remote. 

It also has an economic effect: The study estimates that for every day of the pandemic, $183 million was saved in fuel plus the costs of car maintenance and repairs; $164 million in costs associated with pollution, congestion, and accidents; and $411 million as the value of time saved. That’s $758 million a day saved by workers who used to drive to the office, or more than $90 billion since mid-March for those car commuters now working from home.

Despite the savings, cities are hurting from the shift in the area of public transportation that has seen a sharp drop since the pandemic started and social distancing was implemented. In New York City, the MTA announced that they need $12 billion in aid from the federal government or they will have to reduce their operation by 40% to 50% by the end of the year.

“Expenses cannot be reduced quickly and significantly enough to offset the 40% reduction in revenue we have experienced and are expecting,” the MTA said in a statement, according to The Hill.

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