That doesn’t mean the league is summarily against actions to support social justice.
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On Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA president Michelle Roberts penned a letter to players seeking their voices and opinions as it pertains to matters of how the NBA as a whole can better serve communities around the country.
The league and the union for the players are working together to plan how to handle any such protests, according to a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
It is against NBA rules to not stand for the national anthem, as Colin Kaepernick has famously done this fall.
Kaepernick’s gesture of kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner” has been imitated by a scattering of players around the NFL, as well as by U.S. women’s footballer Megan Rapinoe and, on Wednesday, the entire Indiana Fever WNBA team before a playoff game in the NBA-affiliated women’s league.
The letter reached out for ideas and encouraged action, referencing the time when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul took the stage at the ESPYs to talk about the violence impacting the United States. The 49ers quarterback told NFL.com’s Steve Wyche in August he was “not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”. “We must all do MORE!#TERENCECRUTCHER #WEAREMORE”, Wade posted on his Instagram account.
The NBA has been praised in the past for being at the forefront on social issues, whether that be the league’s decision to move the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte following the passing of North Carolina’s controversial HB2 law or several NBA stars wearing “I can’t breathe” T-shirts during warmups in protest of police brutality following the death of Eric Garner.
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With pre-season games to begin on October 2 and the regular season set to tip off on October 25, Silver and Roberts urged players to weigh in with ideas. The memo said the league and union would work with each team to get the players’ thoughts on what they want to do.
