NBA commissioner Adam Silver remains confident the league will restart the season, despite growing concerns from a faction of players.
There’s a growing concern from some players that the resumption of play could take the focus off social justice reforms. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley are heading up a coalition of players. The group is taking a deep dive into the league’s plan to restart the season at the end of July.
The commitment of resources and methods to move forward an agenda of social justice reforms are at the top of the coalition’s wish list.
“Things are changing around us,” Silver said. “The social unrest in the country was — in the same way we never could have predicted the pandemic would unfold, in the way it has — what’s happened since George Floyd’s death is also unprecedented. I’m incredibly sympathetic and empathetic to what’s happening in people’s lives. And in the midst of all that, to say, ‘We’re looking for an opportunity to restart this league, to try to move forward with crowning a champion,’ it’s not top of mind for a lot of people.”
We’re also amid a global pandemic. The coalition of players has raised concerns regarding the recent spike in Florida of positive coronavirus cases.
The NBA return-to-play format will be in Orlando. There’s concern amongst the players for the restrictive environment at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The list of concerns are valid. They include insurance for the players regarding potential illnesses. Also the risk of injuries during an accelerated finish.
“Listen, it’s not an ideal situation,” Silver said. “We are trying to find a way to our own normalcy in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of essentially a recession or worse with 40 million unemployed, and now with enormous social unrest in the country. And so as we work through these issues, I can understand how some players may feel, that it’s not for them … it may be for family reasons, it may be for health reasons they have, or it may be because they feel — as some players have said very recently — that their time is best spent elsewhere.”
And that time spent elsewhere has a national spotlight shining on it.
Silver believes the league could use their large platform to help get the social justice message across while also resuming basketball games.
On the other side of the table, the players will need to find common ground on what their next steps are. Do they choose to sit out the season and pass up on an opportunity to be heard while also returning to work? Or do they use the league’s platform to help maximize their voices? This must be a united front from the players, either way.
This must be a united front from the players, either way.
“In terms of social justice issues, it’ll be an opportunity for NBA players in the greater community to draw attention to the issues because the world’s attention will be on the NBA in Orlando if we’re able to pull this off. … I think part of it’s going to require a fair amount of listening, something we’ve been doing already,” he said. “But then engaging in very deliberate behavior, together with the players, in terms of how can we use our larger platform, the NBA together with the players, really to effect change.”
It remains to be seen if Silver and the NBA are able to pull off a return to basketball. Right now, the focus is where it needs to be.
