Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley have emerged as key leaders for a coalition of players who are asking for more detailed and tangible actions of social justice from the NBA as part of the proposed 22-team restart scheduled to begin on July 30 in Orlando, Florida.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Irving and Bradley’s coalition are asking for both the investment of “resources and ideas,” from ownership, the NBA commissioner’s office, management, and the player’s association, towards social justice. Their report also suggests that the NBA and NBPA have been working with each other to address the current climate of social unrest related to racial injustice perpetrated against Black people.
Using the WNBA’s release on Monday as a guide for what their NBA counterparts might do, the NBA will likely announce a commitment to social justice in response to the concerns of players. But as with the WNBA, we will have to see how many players are moved by the response.
