It is a tumultuous time for the NBA. Since the approval of a restart plan for the 2019-20 season, various groups have voiced concerns about the health and safety of players and families, as well as the timing of the resumption of the season amid the ongoing social justice activism across the United States.
In preparation for the return of the season — planned for July 30 following the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors and the NBPA — the league released a statement for all 30 teams regarding the “central goal” of the restart.
Via Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“A central goal of our season restart will be to utilize the NBA’s platform to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice, including combatting systemic racism, expanding educational and economic opportunities across the Black community, enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement.
“We are in discussions with the Players Association to develop a comprehensive strategy on how the NBA, its teams and players can best address these important social issues and uniquely position our league to drive action and create meaningful and generational change.”
The NBA’s statement comes days after Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving and several other players raised issue about the season resumption possibly taking away the attention from the ongoing movement against racism and social injustice. Irving led a large group of NBA players on a conference call over the weekend to address this issue.
While the NBA hopes to resume its 2019-20 season, which was stopped in mid March at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s impossible to ignore the players’ call for social reform. After all, as one of the so-called progressive leagues, the Association is more than capable of sparking change across the nation.
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