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Part of the negotiations for the National Basketball Players Association to join the bubble and resume the season included raising awareness for social injustices.
As one way to do so, the NBA and players agreed on a handful of messages that could be worn on the back of jerseys.
Union president Chris Paul will be among those wearing a message in place of his name on the jersey, but he isn’t upset at those who choose not to.
Some stars including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid will wear not wear a message on their jersey, according to The Undefeated.
Paul is close friends with James and said they had the freedom to decide whether to choose a message or stick with their name.
“That’s exactly why we have a league where you get a chance to make a choice,” Paul told The Undefeated. “And I respect any of those guys’ decisions. They may have their reasons why or not.”
The options for the back of the jersey are, according to ESPN:
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.
The Los Angeles Lakers star said the messages didn’t “seriously resonate with my mission, with my goal,” according to NBA.com.
“It was no disrespect to the list that was handed down to all the players,” James said.
“I would have loved to have a say-so on what would have went on the back of my jersey. I had a couple of things in mind, but I wasn’t part of that process, which is OK … Everything that I do has a purpose, has a meaning. I don’t need to have something on the back of my jersey for people to understand my mission or know what I’m about and what I’m here to do.”
Butler, a wing on the Miami Heat, wanted no name or message. Instead, he asked the league if the jersey above his number could be blank to show he’s “no different than anybody else of color,” according to ESPN.
The NBA rejected that request.
Paul, meanwhile, will wear “Equality.”
“I was excited about the opportunity to speak on ‘Equality’ because I was asked about it,” he said to The Undefeated. “And also, for me, I envisioned my kids watching the game, my homies back home who go to the barbershops and talk about us and whatnot.”
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