As the NBA gears up to resume the season, one concern has been the league becoming a distraction from social justice issues, namely the Black Lives Matter movement, which several players have been at the center of. One solution the NBA came up with to diminish those concerns was to allow players to wear jerseys with social justice terms and messages in place of their names.
Lakers players Danny Green and JaVale McGee have been reported to take advantage of this new policy but on Saturday, LeBron James told the media that he would not take part in that and would continue wearing his own name on his jersey.
Here’s James in his own words:
LeBron 1/2: “I actually didn’t go with a name on the back of my jersey. It’s no disrespect to the list that was handed out to all the players. I commend anyone that decides to put something on the back of their jersey…
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 11, 2020
LeBron 2/2: … "It’s just something that didn’t seriously resonate with my mission, with my goal. I would have loved to have a say so on what would have went on the back of my jersey. I had a couple things in mind but I wasn’t part of that process and that’s OK.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 11, 2020
No one can fault James who has been one of the most outspoken athletes on social issues and has been a huge advocate for BLM and other Black Rights movements. And while James took a political approach in explaining his decision, there is a valid criticism to be had for the league selecting a handful of pre-approved messages rather than allowing their majority Black players to express themselves more personally.
At the end of the day, names on jerseys are not what these players and people on the streets are fighting for. There is a lot of good that this sort of exposure can lead to but it’s actual actions that James and plenty of other NBA players have taken to support their communities that should be the focus of their involvement in fighting for social justice.
