The NBA has had a lot of firsts over the past few months, and there seems to be a bit more of this on the horizon. The league has reportedly opted to provide all its employees with a paid day off for Juneteenth — the first time this has ever happened in league history.
This is via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
According to a league source, the NBA’s hope on the June 19 holiday is to give employees a chance to reflect on black history and the current state of race in the country.
Juneteenth celebrates the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States dating back to June 19, 1865. On that day, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery on January 1, 1863.
This is a commendable move by the league, as it continues to live by its thrust of fully supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and everything it stands for.
Earlier, commissioner Adam Silver himself made an official statement showing his support for players and NBA personalities who have taken part in the peaceful protests throughout the nation.
In these current times, it is no longer unusual for private businesses like the NBA to take a stand in polarizing social issues, regardless of the possible consequences. Clearly, the league is behind the movement to fight any and all forms of social injustice.
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