Ashley Landis / Associated Press
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association released a joint statement Friday confirming that the playoffs will resume Saturday. The statement also outlined initiatives where the two sides work together to drive the social justice movement forward:
Among the initiatives agreed upon, the league and the players will “immediately form a coalition for social justice, with players’ representatives, coaches and administrators, which will address a wide range of issues, including increasing access” to vote, promote civic engagement, and advocate for meaningful police and criminal justice reform. “
The second initiative requires team leaders to work with local election officials in cities where the “league franchise owns and controls the arena” to convert those facilities into a 2020 general election election facility “to enable a safe personal voting option for communities vulnerable to COVID. “
Team governors should work with local officials to find another “election-related use” for the facility, including voter registration and receiving ballot papers, when the deadline for setting up votes in an arena is over.
The final initiative will see the league and players work with broadcast partners to “create and record ad spots” in all remaining playoff games dedicated to “promoting greater civic engagement in national and local elections and increasing awareness to give voters access and opportunity. “
Players, coaches and staff protested Friday for social justice, the third consecutive day that the NBA playoffs were halted.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to decide not to play games Wednesday when they stayed in their locker room as Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic would begin.
Milwaukee’s decision came amid ongoing protests after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 23.
For ESPNs Ramona Shelburne and Tim Bontemps, Bucks players spoke Wednesday with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes on Wednesday after they refused to play their game to ask what they could do to influence real social change.
“They were very interested in a call to action,” Barnes said. “They wanted some tangibility that they could do in the short and long term. They wanted the walkout [from Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic] Step 1 to be. “
After players for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets voted not to play later that day, the NBA and NBPA joined forces announced all games would be postponed and repositioned.
While there was speculation that the playoffs might not be complete, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that players voted to play at one point during a conference call Thursday.
The NBA subsequently issued a statement announcing Thursday’s playoff games were postponed, but the league was “hopeful of going back” to play as Friday or Saturday:
Following the players’ decision to strike, NBA staff followed suit. ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported Friday to leave 100 NBA employees out of league offices in solidarity with NBA and WNBA players advocating for social change.
NBA Referees marched on the campus of Walt Disney World Resort Thursday to protest racism and police brutality.
