The NBA and NBPA approved a plan to restart the NBA season in late July with 22 of the league’s 30 teams congregating at Disney World in Orlando, but a large contingent of NBA players have issues with the proposal.
On Friday evening, a large group of players – including many superstars – participated in a conference call to discuss a potential return to play, and Nets guard Kyrie Irving reportedly said that he is opposed to going to Orlando. Irving, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, would not be in action for the rest of the season, but he made it clear that his focus is on social reform in the wake of worldwide protests against racial injustice and systemic racism.
Other players reportedly voiced concerns about health issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
The situation, of course, is extremely complicated, and it remains to be seen how much support other players will have for Irving’s stance that the season should not resume. Irving’s Nets teammate Garrett Temple, an NBPA exec, told ESPN that he believes Black athletes in the NBA should try to earn as much as they can and close the economic gap.
Via ESPN:
“The difference in the economic gap between white America and black America is astronomical. I can’t in good conscience tell my brethren to throw away millions of dollars in order to create change that I don’t see the direct impact of — if there was a direct impact of laws changing, that would be a different story.”
A refusal to play would also have drastic economic impacts on the league and its players, not just in this season but in the years to come, which could likely lead to reduced salaries for players.
