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NBA playoffs are headed for Saturday’s reboot (but not official yet)

Taking a knee during the national anthem. Wearing Black Lives Matter T-Shirts. Speaking of George Floyd o Breonna Taylor or now Jacob Blake. NBA players understood that these were symbolic gestures and felt the impact of their message of social justice fade as NBA seed games became playoff games.

What the players wanted was real change: structural changes in areas like police reform. The kind of changes that happen because influential people – for example, billionaire companies and NBA team owners – can happen.

In the wake of NBA players who chose not to play in the playoffs Wednesday to protest Jacob Blake’s shooting in Wisconsin, owners and players had a conference call on Thursday. LeBron James and other players have challenged the owners, saying they need to be proactive and non-reactive, to see structural changes and actions, listing some specifics, and they want to see owners truly dedicated to the cause.

Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report / TNT has the details.

The owners of the NBA had already devoted $ 300 million over 10 years to strengthening the black community. What the players wanted was for them to use their influence, not just throw money to solve the problem.

LeBron James wanted to see a plan. When he was “adamant” the playoffs had to be closed it wasn’t about the game or the hunt for the ring, it was about the lack of a social justice plan. The Bucks boycotted a game without talking to anyone, not to the league, not to the players union, not to their opponents. There was no plan when the move was made. LeBron understood that the gestures players make at games can only go that far, and that the real change will come from people like billionaire owners of NBA teams who demand it.

With Michael Jordan acting as a bridge, the owners listened. It remains to be seen what form these actions will take and will vary from city to city, but there is now an energy behind it.

The NBA playoffs are expected to resume this weekend.

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