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I thought of your posting as I encountered the attached sculptures and labels in the Met Museum's exhibition "Fictions of Emancipation." As the labels indicate, one artist has viewed an NBA player as a contemporary version of the limited 1868 French vision of an "emancipated" slave.

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2022/carpeaux-recast/exhibition-objects

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/824469 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/853536

While severe carnage is more common in pro football, it is not the only gladiatorial venue where athletes face the lottery of risks and rewards and fans in their passion often forget that while teams can recover from defeat, some players never recover from intended or unintended rough contact.

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