The NBA will paint the words “Black Lives Matter” on all of its courts by the time play resumes in a closed environment in Orlando, according to an ESPN report citing league sources.
The WNBA is also reportedly discussing the same plan.
NBA Players Union President Chris Paul also told ESPN that the league and union are working together to allow players to wear uniforms with personalized messages that address social justice instead of the players’ last names. .
Several NBA players have called for the league and the players’ association to take an even firmer stand for social activism and racial justice amid national protests sparked by outrage at the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Some NBA players have questioned whether the game, which stopped in March when the coronavirus crisis took over the country, should be resumed, worried that it would divert attention from the social justice movement.
Twenty-two teams are set to resume play starting July 30 at Walt Disney World in Orlando. They will play an abbreviated schedule to determine the final lineups for a 16-team playoff. All teams will play a “bubble” element in Orlando to try to protect them and the staff from the coronavirus. No fan will be present at the games.
The league reported Friday that 16 of 302 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the first set of mandatory tests conducted before the restart.
Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed after a white police officer knelt on his neck while asking for help. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers at the scene were also accused of aiding and abetting the murder.
According to a recent Pew Research poll, two-thirds of American adults say they support the Black Lives Matter movement, and 38 percent say they strongly support it.
Support extends across racial lines, with 86 percent of African Americans, 60 percent of whites, 77 percent of Hispanics, and 75 percent of Asian Americans showing your support for the movement.
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