Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has confirmed that he will not sport a social message on the back of his jersey, as the NBA has allowed, at the reboot of the American league at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
“I will continue to do my job on the track; when I talk to you, everything I do has a purpose, a meaning. I don’t need to have something on the back of my shirt for people to understand my mission or know what I’m here for. But I congratulate and respect everyone who decided to put something on the back of their shirt. I think it is great and I also respect anyone who does not, “he said in a video conference with journalists.
Furthermore, he considers that displaying a message is not part of his “mission”. “I would have loved to say what I would have put on the back of my shirt. I had a couple of things in mind,” he said, agreeing with some Lakers players, such as Kyle Kuzma, that the messages approved by the NBA are ” lukewarm “and wanting something” more personal “.
“We will continue to let people know that we are also human. No matter the color of our skin. We don’t want to be used only for our God-given abilities in terms of our talent on the runway, in the music industry, in fashion. or things of that nature. We also want to be recognized by our brains, because we are just like everyone else. And we should be treated that way, “he continued.
In early July, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) agreed that players could carry vindictive messages instead of their names on the back of their jerseys during the first four days of the North American league restart in the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
Among the approved messages, as confirmed by the Los Angeles Times, are phrases such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ -Black lives matter-, ‘I Can’t Breathe’ -I can’t breathe-, ‘Vote’ -Vote-, ‘Justice’ -Justice-, ‘Stand Up’ -Lift up-, ‘Listen’ -Listen-, ‘Listen to Us’ -Listen to us-,’ Say Their Names’ -Di su nombre-, ‘Peace’ -Paz-, ‘How Many More ‘-How many more’-,’ Education Reform ‘-Educational Reform-,’ Liberation ‘-Liberación-,’ Equality ‘-Equality-,’ Freedom ‘-Liberty- or’ Enough ‘-Enough-.
It will also be possible to read on the t-shirts, in Spanish, ‘Sí Se Podemos’, as well as ‘Say Her Name’ -Di su nombre-, ‘Mentor’, ‘I Am A Man’ -I am a man-, ‘Speak Up’ -Speak louder-, ‘Ally’, ‘Anti-Racist’ -Anti-racist-, ‘Justice Now’ -Justice Now-, ‘Power to the People’ -Power for people-, ‘See Us’ -Look at us-,’ Hear Us’ -Listen to us-, ‘Respect Us’ -Respect us-,’ Love Us’ -AMANS- and ‘Group Economics’ -Group economy-. After the first four days, players will be able to keep the messages on their jerseys with their names below their number, or completely renounce the messages.
Some Lakers players have decided to use previously approved slogans, such as center JaVale McGee, who plans to put ‘Respect Us’ – ‘Respect us’. “Respect is a key factor in social injustice,” said McGee. “We need to achieve equality, have the same respect as everyone else. It is a blessing to have this platform and that the NBA does everything it is doing to help,” he said.
