The HBO documentary, The Day Sports Stood Still, directed by Antoine Fuqua, explores how professional athletes became full-time activists amid the global pandemic and social justice revolution of 2020.

When the National Basketball Association canceled its season on March 11, 2020, the reality that the COVID-19 virus had spread across the U.S. was unavoidable.

The next day, every sports league in the country also canceled their seasons as the nation went into lockdown.

In the HBO documentary The Day Sports Stood Still, athletes reflect on the day that changed everything.

Little did they know at the time that the COVID-19 pandemic was just the beginning of the many sweeping changes coming to the sports world.

The murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people at the hands of the police ignited a social justice revolution in the NBA and other leagues.

Athletes started using their platforms to demand change for African Americans living in the U.S., which included players refusing to play and boycotting their sport altogether.