Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook was a “prominent voice” on a large conference call of NBA players that took place Friday night, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Now 31 years old, Westbrook is one of the league’s most respected players as a nine-time NBA All-Star and the 2017 MVP. He’s also taken an active off-court leadership role in recent weeks by supporting the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd.
That made him a natural choice to speak on Friday’s conference call, which was organized by Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving to discuss the merits of the league’s 22-team restart plan in July. Some players are reportedly hesitant to take part, citing concerns over COVID-19 and racial issues.
Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were among the prominent voices on the Kyrie Irving-organized player call tonight, league sources
Chris Paul, NBPA president, took part as well
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 13, 2020
Here’s how Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports described the call:
A Zoom conference call led by Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving on Friday night that included 80-plus NBA players — and WNBA players — established a unifying front in which opinions on the pros and cons of returning to play were discussed.
The call, which lasted an hour and forty minutes, focused on the role players could play in combating systemic racism, investing in black communities and sticking together through this process, sources said.
Irving made it known he was strongly against going to Orlando, Florida, to resume the season, opting instead to work on the frontlines in his community to focus on racial oppression and systemic racism in the aftermath of George Floyd’s homicide, sources said.
Yahoo Sources: Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving organizes inspiring, galvanizing conference call that led to players opening up on a season restart. Irving: "If it's worth the risk [to play], then let's go do it. If not, we've got options for both ways." https://t.co/O87fYMCX8x
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 13, 2020
Irving is a vice president for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), which is the union representing NBA players.
Later in the call, Irving said he would stand with the group and travel to the “bubble” site near Orlando if players agreed that was the right call.
While the specifics of what Westbrook said on the call have not been reported, it would seem likely that he was a voice in favor of playing. Westbrook and Chris Paul are members of a specialized NBA and NBPA working group to develop return-to-play strategies.
Many NBA players — including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, per Sam Amick of The Athletic — reportedly believe that playing basketball isn’t incompatible with the movement for social reform. In fact, the games might give the players an even greater platform to call for change.
Sources: LeBron James believes he can play hoops in Orlando AND keep making an impact on the Black Lives Matter front. Intel and perspective on why he wasn’t part of Friday’s players call, at @TheAthletic https://t.co/ZXdSp5vnQ1
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 13, 2020
“If we’re handicapping it at this juncture, the games will still go on and the NBA will have a four-month chance to make even more positive off-court impact while the world is watching,” Amick writes.
As of Saturday morning, Westbrook was the only current Houston player reported to have taken part in the call.
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I would assume that Westbrook and CP were strong voices in support of playing, since they were part of the NBA's return-to-play committee.
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) June 13, 2020