The 2019-20 NBA season will resume at Walt Disney World in Orlando on July 30. The season returns amid an ongoing pandemic and with the United States in the midst of racial tensions we have not seen since the Civil Rights Movement. It’s in this that the Association and its players are going to make a statement in Orlando.
NBA, players agree to social messages on jerseys for remainder of season
According to ESPN’s Marc Spears, the two sides agreed on what messages can be worn on the back of players’ jerseys right above their numbers. The list includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Black Lives Matter
- Say Their Name
- I Can’t Breathe
- Enough
- Power to the People
- Yes We Can
- Liberation
Most of these terms are already built into the American lexicon. The Black Lives Matter movement is currently as popular as it’s ever been. The term “I Can’t Breathe” sadly became part of the national conversation back on May 25 when George Floyd was heard uttering uttering those words right before he was murdered by a then-Minneapolis police officer.
Obviously, “Yes We Can” was former President Barack Obama’s rallying cry as he shocked the nation and became the first African-American President back in 2009.
The NBA season and national anthem protests
It seems that there’s going to be a lot of protests at Walt Disney World in Florida starting later this month. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested as much recently.
It really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given just how outspoken some of the NBA’s biggest stars have been. Specifically, LeBron James just set up his own voting rights organization ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election. There’s going to be a lot to look at from a social justice standpoint at Walt Disney World following the murder of Mr. Floyd,