Before this past week, before the cocoons many of us were able to hide inside were stripped away by the ultimate reality of a country reckoning with its ugly past (and, for too many, its ugly present), “The Statement” was the perfect vehicle for brands, entities, famous humans or sports leagues to subvert controversy and maintain their comfortable ride.
There are people who go to school just to learn how The Statement works; how to prepare it delicately like a Michelin-star chef laying down a razor-thin slice of artichoke. The Statement, like the needlessly complicated legalese some documents are written in (so you must hire a lawyer) or the dense financial jargon that coils around our life savings (so you must hire a financial adviser) is meant only to neutralize the mind.