NBA, NBPA establish the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition
The restart of the 2019-20 NBA season was significantly characterized by social justice.
NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) today announced the formation of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, an organization that will lead the NBA family’s collective efforts to advance equality and social justice. Through its mission to leverage the game’s influence to raise awareness, educate and advocate for meaningful reform, the Coalition will focus on action and change in several areas, including voting access and criminal justice system reform at the national, state and local level.
A group of five team governors, five players, and two coaches will lead the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. In addition, the Coalition’s board will include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum, and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts. The first members of the board are:
NBA Board of Governors:
- Managing General Partner of Miami Heat, Micky Arison
- Steve Ballmer, L.A. Clippers Chairman
- Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City Thunder Chairman
- Marc Lasry, Milwaukee Bucks Governor
- Governor and Chairman of Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé
National Basketball Players Association:
- Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers Forward
- Avery Bradley, Los Angeles Lakers Guard
- Sterling Brown, Milwaukee Bucks Guard-Forward
- Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz Guard
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves Forward
National Basketball Coaches Association:
- Lloyd Pierce, Atlanta Hawks Head Coach
- Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach
The creation of the Coalition represents a further stride in the NBA and NBPA’s enduring commitment to promote social justice. This builds on the shared objective of the 2019-20 season restart in Orlando and extends the longstanding efforts by players and teams to tackle racial inequality, lobby for significant change, and encourage increased civic participation.
Throughout their time on the Orlando campus, players, coaches and staff participated in social justice programming organized by the league and union and accessed educational resources and expert speakers, including former first lady Michelle Obama, motivational speaker Eric Thomas and NBA legend and former United States Senator Bill Bradley, to help sustain momentum in addressing systemic inequities and creating meaningful change. Additionally, the jerseys from the opening weekend of the NBA restart, including those displaying social justice messages, were auctioned at Auctions.NBA.com to support a newly-created Player’s Justice Fund administered by the NBPA Foundation.
In early August, the NBA Board of Governors announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community and in October named the inaugural Board of Directors, which included Sacramento Kings Forward Harrison Barnes, New Orleans Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson, Philadelphia 76ers Forward Tobias Harris, Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan, Atlanta Hawks Principal Governor Tony Ressler, NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Board of Governors Chairman and Toronto Raptors Governor Larry Tanenbaum.
The NBA and NBPA initiated a league-wide movement to boost civic engagement and improve voter awareness and accessibility in the lead-up to the 2020 elections. A total of 23 teams dedicated their arenas or training facilities for voting-related activities, with all 30 teams actively advocating for increased civic involvement. The league and union collaborated with players, network partners and impartial organizations such as I Am A Voter and When We All Vote. They advertised during the postseason, participated in National Voter Registration Day, National Vote Early Day and National Black Voter Day, and distributed voting, registration, and census resources to teams and players. The NBA also joined forces with More Than A Vote, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Power The Polls to back the “We Got Next” poll worker recruitment drive. This initiative recruited 20,000 new poll workers, including 10,000 who registered after the league and union organized a virtual fan section with 40 first-time volunteers, President Barack Obama, and NBA legends during the first game of the 2020 NBA Finals.
