The NBA will resume its postseason in what has become a historic week for the undisputed leaders of the sports world. During lengthy and productive meetings this week, members from the NBA and NBPA decided how they would resume the season in the midst of a player boycott, which stemmed from the senseless shooting of Jacob Blake. The overwhelming sentiment and desire of the players was to determine a plan of action, which was addressed in a joint statement obtained by ESPN:
“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 the resumption of the playoffs and continuing to work together—in Orlando and in all NBA team markets—to push for meaningful and sustainable change.”
One of the most talked-about issues was establishing that NBA arenas across the country would be used as voting poll centers for upcoming elections. Among the franchises that have already agreed to provide accessibility for voters are the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets.
Lebron James provided a statement in support of the decision via his recently formed More Than A Vote nonprofit organization, which read in part: “We stand ready to support the NBPA’s and NBA’s effort to convert every NBA arena possible into a polling location for this fall’s election. We know that voting will not end our pain. Voting cannot bring back those killed by the police officers sworn to protect us. Voting cannot erase the scars of slavery and segregation. It cannot change our history, but it can change our future.
“If it couldn’t, those in power wouldn’t be trying so hard to take the right to vote away from us. They wouldn’t be trying so hard to erect barriers to the ballot box.”
Check out the weekend schedule after the jump.
