As the NBA tries to move forward with their season in order to crown a champion for 2020, they are also trying to make sure that their players feel heard and can take advantage of the platform of playing NBA games in another way. While Adam Silver said on Friday that the league would be forming a committee to try to enact real change, while LeBron James has been leading a new coalition of athletes and entertainers named ‘More Than a Vote,” the league and their main apparel provider are trying to give a symbolic gesture to the players as well.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday that the league and Nike are going to work with players to have personalized social justice messages on their jerseys. If you’ve seen the English Premier League in their first games back, every player in the league had a jersey that said “Black Lives Matter.”
It will be interesting to see what limits the league puts on their players for these statements, as well as the choices made from players.