The NBA worked with the Players Association to give players the option of sharing certain messages on the back of their jerseys for the NBA’s resumed season in Orlando. A specific list of pre-approved words and/or phrases were put together by the league that players can choose to have on their jerseys.
LeBron James says he will not have one of those messages on his jersey.
Why is that? James told reporters via a conference call on Saturday that he did not feel the messages resonated with his “mission” and “goal.”
LeBron says he's not putting a social justice message on his jersey in Orlando: "It's just something that didn't resonate with my mission, my goal." He commends every player who did, though. pic.twitter.com/763ptFjzaF
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) July 11, 2020
James said that he would have liked to have been consulted on what the approved messages were.
The list of approved messages include: Black Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Vote; I Can’t Breathe; Justice; Peace; Equality; Freedom; Enough; Power to the People; Justice Now; Say Her Name; Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can); Liberation; See Us; Hear Us; Respect Us; Love Us; Listen; Listen to Us; Stand Up; Ally; Anti-Racist; I Am A Man; Speak Up; How Many More; Group Economics; Education Reform; and Mentor.
According to an ESPN report on Wednesday, over 80 percent of players had picked a message to put on their jerseys. “Equality” was said to be the most popular choice.
James has been unafraid to share his stance on political and social matters for years. At times, that has resulted in some criticism.
