With less than a month left before the NBA resumes its 2019-20 regular season at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the league still faces plenty of uncertainties.

Several high-profile NBA players have already tested positive for COVID-19, while others have begged off from joining their teams in the “bubble”.

Still, the biggest issue facing the NBA’s players is continuing to play basketball given the ongoing social justice dynamic happening in the entire country.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has found a compromise, allowing the NBPA’s request to replace the names on payers’ jerseys with powerful social justice messages. The playing courts in Orlando will also feature “Black Lives Matter” stickers.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBPA president Chris Paul earlier spoke about the importance of using the NBA’s platform to further support the cause of the BLM movement.

“We’re just trying to continue to shed light on the different social justice issues that guys around our league continue to talk about day in and day out. People are saying that social justice will be off of everybody’s mind in Orlando. With these jerseys, it doesn’t go away,” he said.

As of writing, the NBA has approved 29 messages that could be seen at the back of jerseys. This includes the following, per ESPN’s Marc J. Spears:

Black Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Vote; I Can’t Breathe; Justice; Peace; Equality; Freedom; Enough; Power to the People; Justice Now; Say Her Name; Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can); Liberation; See Us; Hear Us; Respect Us; Love Us; Listen; Listen to Us; Stand Up; Ally; Anti-Racist; I Am A Man; Speak Up; How Many More; Group Economics; Education Reform; and Mentor.

Black Lives Matter

This right here is the entire movement, so it’s safe to say that we’ll see BLM symbols all over Orlando. The global organization was founded in 2013 and continues to put an end to white supremacy and build local powers to intervene in violence inflicted on black communities.

The NBA, of course, is home to multi-cultural players and coaches and continues to be the most vocal professional sporting league in terms of support for the BLM movement.

Say their names

It’s truly a horrific reality that African-American people continue to lose their lives at the hands of their supposed protectors. This grim scenario has been so prevalent that victims are often just treated as mere casualties and just numbers on statistics and graphs.

It’s a must that the public continues to raise awareness on the unjust killings of George Floyd, Breona Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others. Speaking out their names not only serves as a tribute to their families but also vital for change to actually happen. And the NBA hopes that with this statement they are doing their parts.

I can’t breath

The NBA is no stranger to this message, given that they also allowed several superstars to wear statement warm-ups in 2014 following the death of Eric Garner. Six years removed from that haunting incident, it’s quite the tragedy that the same despicable act continues to happen to the black community.

Power to the people

This slogan has been used in many forms since the ‘60s, but it is best remembered as the battle cry of the revolutionary Black Panther Party.

Protestors often raise their fists in unison to protest the rich, the ruling class, and of domination of society — which continues to be relevant even in today’s modern century.

Anti-racist

The phrase is as straightforward as it gets, yet it’s sad that people must still utter it to this day. Despite their constant battle for equality, minorities continue to be deprived of even the most basic human rights.

The NBA has had its battles with racism even amongst its highest ranks. Commissioner Adam Silver was lauded for how he handled the Donald Sterling saga in 2014.

How many more?

As mentioned earlier, a staggering number of racially-motivated deaths among the black community has been recorded every year.

The people have had enough, and the killing of George Floyd in broad daylight at the hands of the police should be the final straw. Sadly, it’s highly unlikely that this will be the last.