Tag: Walt Disney World NBA

Kyrie Irving, Avery Bradley, pushing for league investment in social justice

Among the demands of Kyrie Irving and Avery Bradley are asking ownership, the commissioner’s office, and more to commit to social justice.

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley have emerged as key leaders for a coalition of players who are asking for more detailed and tangible actions of social justice from the NBA as part of the proposed 22-team restart scheduled to begin on July 30 in Orlando, Florida.

ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Irving and Bradley’s coalition are asking for both the investment of “resources and ideas,” from ownership, the NBA commissioner’s office, management, and the player’s association, towards social justice. Their report also suggests that the NBA and NBPA have been working with each other to address the current climate of social unrest related to racial injustice perpetrated against Black people.

Using the WNBA’s release on Monday as a guide for what their NBA counterparts might do, the NBA will likely announce a commitment to social justice in response to the concerns of players. But as with the WNBA, we will have to see how many players are moved by the response.

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Haynes: Many players not happy about agreement without full union vote

Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported that there are several players who are upset that the restart was agreed to without a full vote.

After what there was an agreement last week for a restart between the NBA and the NBPA, the rapid nature of the agreement, as well as the simple fact that it was not subject to vote by all 450 players, has now come to bother a significant portion of players as the details on said agreement are still being worked out.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported on Friday that privately, several players are upset that there was not a full vote to approve the 22-team proposal from the NBA before the union moved to ratify the agreement last week. The players are also concerned about the optics of a majority-black league to be sequestered for the purposes of making money and entertaining the masses amid a backdrop of national outrage about racial injustice.

The complaint, privately expressed by multiple players, is that every player’s voice wasn’t heard for this critical and potentially life-changing vote, sources said.

The unease about relocating to a quarantined campus during the COVID-19 pandemic was already viewed as hazardous and unnecessary to many players. But because of the George Floyd tragedy and the powerful movement for racial justice that’s sweeping the nation, some players believe it’s bad optics for a league comprised predominantly of black men to be sequestered in one location for up to three months merely to entertain the masses and ease the league’s economic burden, sources said.

Another concern for the players, according to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, is also that the bubble restrictions on the players are too restrictive.

The divergent concerns and interests among the players is an obstacle, in addition to other negotiations with Disney and Disney’s own employees.

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