The NBA playoffs will continue Saturday, yet not before the players got the league and its proprietors to consent to certain social justice plans.
In a joint statement from NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Players Association executive director Michele Roberts on Friday, those plans were spread out.
The league and its players are quickly establishing a social justice coalition, that incorporates players, coaches and team proprietors, “focused on a broad range of issues, including increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.”
Each team that possesses and works its own field, will work with their local election officials and transform the field into a voting location for the 2020 general election. In the event that the deadline has gone in specific cities, those team’s proprietors will work with local authorities to use the field for other voting-related activities, for example, voter registration.
The Houston Rockets reported Thursday that Toyota Center will be used as a voting location for any Harris County registered voter.
The league additionally has consented to work with players and TV partners to make advertising spots advancing city engagement in elections and raising awareness around voter access. These ads will be used in each NBA playoff game.
In a Zoom video conference, Thunder guard Chris Paul, who likewise is the president of the Players’ Association, said players “understand the platform we have an we want to keep the foot to the pedal.”
The joint articulation additionally read: “These commitments follow months of close collaboration around designing a safe and healthy environment to restart the NBA season, providing a platform to promote social justice, as well as creating an NBA Foundation focused on economic empowerment in the Black community. We look forward to resumption of the playoffs and continuing to work together – in Orlando and in all NBA team markets – to push for meaningful and sustainable change.”
The tied Rockets-Thunder series resumes with Game 5 at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
