As the NBA moves towards its July restart at the Walt Disney World bubble in Orlando, how the league plans to approach social justice initiatives has been among the topics commissioner Adam Silver has needed to consider.
And according to ESPN, the league may allow players to replace the names on the back of their jerseys with messages related to social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.
That report inspired an edited photo of Ja Morant that now has the Grizzlies rookie apologizing.
After a Photoshopped pic of Morant’s jersey displaying the anti-police message of “(Expletive) 12” hit Twitter on Sunday, Morant himself shared the image on his Instagram Story and added on Twitter that he wanted the message on his jersey.
Morant eventually deleted the tweet and IG Story. And late Sunday night, he apologized for sharing the image. He said that his post was “intended to focus on the bad cops who get away with the murder of unarmed Black men and women, and those who continue to harass peaceful BLACK LIVES MATTER protestors.”
Morant, though, wanted to make sure his apology wasn’t confused with a shift to silence.
The Grizzlies rookie intends to continue to speak out against racial injustice and police brutality. He also urged Louisville to arrest the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor.
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