NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, and NBPA President Chris Paul spoke to reporters on Friday afternoon to address their now officially agreed-upon plan to restart the season on July 30 at the Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, as well as the league and union’s announcement from earlier in the day that 16 of 302 players tested positive for the coronavirus, as well as the social justice concerns of their players given the current climate of protests.
On the subject of social justice, Chris Paul cut against the perception that the league is forcing players into this situation, as a form of “shut up and dribble.”
Silver concurred that the league will be making tangible efforts to create change.
And while Silver did not detail what number would be the point at which the NBA needs to scrap the season altogether, he did not deny that an outbreak inside the Disney Campus would likely necessitate a full and final shutdown.
Silver and Roberts both did say, however, that among the 16 players who tested positive for the coronavirus, none of them were “seriously ill in any way.”
Cases in the state of Florida are currently spiking, with a new high yesterday of over 9,000 new cases. The consistent rise in cases has forced the state of Florida to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in bars, as of Friday.
The schedule for the eight seeding games for the 22 teams headed to Disney World is going to be released Friday night on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST.
