Jaylen Brown has gone viral this week, not for his athleticism but his intellect.
A clip of Brown giving a lecture breaking down Michel Foucault‘s philosophy currently has over a million views on X.
“In 1975, in his work Discipline And Punish, he explored the evolution of power and how the dynamic of it has changed from physical authority to psychological authority,” Brown said. “So, Foucault uses this as his theory of modern power. That surveillance is used as a key instrument in modern institutions to govern and control the masses.”
Brown compared Foucault’s philosophy to his recent experience as a Black professional athlete. In 2022, when Nike cut ties with Kyrie Irving for sharing a documentary the company felt was “anti-Semitic” online, Brown publicly asked when Nike ever cared about ethics. He went viral for the comment, and some say payback seemed to come this year when Brown became the first player in 45 years to win NBA Finals MVP without a shoe deal.
Next, the USA men’s basketball Olympic team seemingly picked his teammate Derrick White over Brown. It was an interesting selection, not just because White has never been an All-Star and Brown is a multi-time All-Star, but also because Nike is the official team sponsor of Team USA.
“In my opinion, media and or social media is a form of a panopticon; it’s a watchtower,” Brown said in his Foucault lecture. “Athletes are taught to act and engage in a certain way through media training, and there’s a societal pushback or risk of loss of endorsement, if not.”
lol wtf pic.twitter.com/7hNCrxwXIZ
— ward j littell (@TheHazeFoley) July 24, 2024
