LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The sound of sneakers screeching cut through the murals, the first sign of normalcy to return to the NBA bubble. One by one, the players shuffled through the aisles on Friday and got off the buses. They ducked through powder blue doors that led to practice floors and were ready to go back to work. At 12:39 p.m., the NBA and NBPA released a joint statement announcing new commitments by the League for Social Justice. The league was officially back.
It’s been a terrifying 48 hours for the NBA, for the players, a tense stretch that began with Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to play in Game 5 of its first round against Orlando – a decision that was made to draw attention to the Direct police shooting Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin – and continued an inconsistent meeting among the players on Wednesday night. By Thursday the temperatures had cooled and after a video conference between players and team owners an agreement was reached on the resumption of the season.
“Adam [Silver] and the owners were on board, ”said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. “They even discussed the things that they disagreed about.”
Danny Green said, “They gave us their word they had our backs.”
The process was chaotic, players and coaches approved on Friday. The first meeting in a ballroom in Coronado Springs was controversial. “I don’t even know if this meeting went well,” said Rivers. Chris Paul said: “For 15 years in this league I have never seen anything like it. I will never forget the voices that were heard. “The players wondered if the season would continue. “50-50,” said Green. Rivers added, “I think it was tight. I don’t think it was a layup either way. “
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Even so, the players emphasized: The decision to play was not made after a meeting. The Lakers were among the first teams to leave the ballroom. “It was a long meeting, [it] was heated, ”said Green. “I took a meal break. It wasn’t as crazy as everyone made it seem. “The Clippers left soon after. But Rivers didn’t want the discussion to end there. On the eighth floor of the team hotel, Rivers pulled the players into the hallway. He encouraged her to keep talking. Air everything out. Kawhi Leonard spoke. Then Lou Williams. Marcus Morris weighed in. Rivers said, “There was a lot of emotion.”
Further meetings on Thursday. The teams met individually. Then in groups. Michael Jordan participated in the discussions, not as an owner but as an advisor, and helped the players narrow their focus. “He went out of his way to make sure that whatever we want to do together gets done,” said Russell Westbrook. A day after a historic stoppage, the players decided to continue the season. “[A] A lot of our top guys, most of the teams, wanted to be here, wanted to play, ”said Green. “But if we don’t stand for it [anything] We won’t do anything. So we were ready to go. Paul added, “We understood the platform we have and we wanted to keep our foot on the pedal.”
The players needed something. The owners were able to give it to them. The inquiries were reasonable. They wanted a bigger voice internally. The NBA has agreed to form a social justice coalition, represented by players, coaches, and property owners, that addresses a wide range of issues from community engagement to advocating meaningful police and criminal justice reform.
They wanted help with messaging. In the past few weeks, players have noticed a change. The players continued to kneel for the national anthem. However, television stations have stopped showing it, which reduces the power of the demonstration. The NBA agreed to work with players and broadcast partners to create commercials during each game “to promote greater civic engagement in national and local elections and to raise awareness of voter access and opportunities”.
Voting is an important issue within the bubble. You want to create engagement. “Black men have to choose,” said Rivers. “To have vote. The oppression has never been higher at the moment. “They want better access. Recently, several NBA teams announced plans to convert arenas into polling stations. The players asked all NBA teams to do so. The NBA agreed. In fact, Silver told the players, plans for it were in the works anyway. In cities where teams control the arena, owners will be working to remodel it this fall. Soon after the agreement was published, the Knicks and Clippers announced that Madison Square Garden and The Forum would become polling centers. Paul says JR Smith told him officials in his town – it wasn’t immediately clear which ones – and told him they were up to something similar.
“Voting,” said Paul, “is something everyone in the room has.” [was] very passionate. “
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There will be skepticism about what NBA players have achieved. When you’ve done enough to make a three-day break worthwhile. In a league with almost 80% black, these issues are deeply personal. Westbrook grew up in Hawthorne, California and saw “police brutality in everyday life”. In 2018, Bucks security guard Sterling Brown was berated by Milwaukee police for parking illegally. Paul suppressed tears and shared a conversation with Jacob Blake’s father, Jacob Sr. Dad, who studied at Winston-Salem State University – the city where Paul was born. He thought of his eleven year old son Christopher, who watched the video of Blake’s shooting while his father was thousands of miles away.
“Boys are tired,” said Paul. “We’re all hurt. We are tired of seeing the same thing over and over and everyone expects us to be fine just because we get good money. We are human beings. We have real feelings. And I’m glad we had the opportunity to come into a room and talk to each other. “
The interruption was worth it for both players and coaches. It gave them time to process. “We all had to take a breath,” said Rivers. And it got the world’s attention. The WNBA stopped. Also the NHL. Baseball games have been postponed. NFL players discuss options for the fall. “As soon as the NBA stopped, everything else stopped,” Westbrook said. “Our voices were heard.”
The games will continue on Saturday. Nobody knows what to expect. “We have a doctorate in dealing with adversity,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel, but it will be difficult to overcome these emotions immediately. There is a new normal in the bubble. After Boston’s training, Brad Stevens slipped into the Celtics dining room. A few minutes later a booming voice could be heard. Stevens had given a speech by Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, on a laptop. The film work could wait until later.
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