Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
Even though basketball is returning, social justice is still on the minds of many players. They don’t want the NBA returning to distract from a lot of the social activism they’ve been promoting. The league has made a number of changes to allow players to promote messages they’d like. One thing that they’re allowing players to do is to put messages on the back of their jerseys instead of their last names.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been among the most vocal figures when it comes to social justice. However, on Saturday, the star player revealed that he won’t put a message on his jersey and explained why.
“I actually didn’t go with a name on the back of my jersey,” James said, via Mike Trudell. “It’s no disrespect to the list that was handed out to all the players. I commend anyone that decides to put something on the back of their jersey. It’s just something that didn’t seriously resonate with my mission, with my goal. I would have loved to have a say so on what would have went on the back of my jersey. I had a couple things in mind but I wasn’t part of that process and that’s okay.”
Some of his teammates have already revealed what they plan to say on the back of their jerseys, but it appears James will just stick with his last name.
James Makes Goal Very Clear
There’s no doubt James will still be working on social justice causes while he’s in Orlando, but he’s very focused on basketball right now. He made his goal for the season very clear.
“I’m here for one goal and one goal only and that’s to win a championship,” James said.
James and the Lakers have been on a mission all season. As his career gets closer and closer to its end, James is only going to have so many opportunities to win championships. He’s already going to go down as one of the greatest players of all-time but if he wins another championship, it’ll be hard to argue that he isn’t the greatest ever.
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James Talks About Safety of Playing
Basketball players are among the healthiest people around but that doesn’t mean the NBA won’t be cautious with their approach to this return of play. With most players having arrived at the bubble, the league’s safety guidelines will be strictly enforced. James believes that the league is doing the best job they can.
“I believe the NBA and Adam Silver took all precautionary measures to make sure that we as a league are as safe as we can be,” James said. “Obviously there can be things that can happen, but we’ll cross that line if it happens. We’re doing everything from a league, from every franchise, to make sure everyone stays safe during COVID-19, during this pandemic.”
Time will tell how the new procedures work.
Regardless, James has taken the extra time off to get himself fully healthy.
“I’m here 100 percent, in great health, and I’m looking forward to getting back on the floor,” James said.
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